Summary: Guy Consolmagno is not your typical scientist. The director of Vatican Observatory is also a Jesuit Brother, astronomer extraordinaire, MIT graduate, former Peace Corp volunteer and self-described science fiction geek.<br> <br> The second-generation Italian-American, born in Detroit, now divides his time between the Vatican Observatory in Italy and the Mount Graham International Observatory in Tucson, Arizona.<br> <br> In 2014, Brother Guy received the Carl Sagan Medal from the American Astronomical Society for his unique position as a scientist and man of faith, and he believes firmly that the scientific and spiritual inquiry are more complementary than conflictual.<br> <br> Consolmagno is the author of several books about astronomy, and science and faith, including most recently, "Would You Baptize an Extra-terrestrial?" He also authored "God's Mechanics: How Scientists and Engineers Make Sense of Religion," and gave a lecture at IHMC on that topic. That lecture can be found on YouTube at https://youtu.be/MJGsdY2bcsk<br> <br> In another IHMC lecture, Brother Guy discusses "Discarded Worlds: Astronomical Ideas that Were Almost Correct": https://youtu.be/Gr0R5oiIoak<br> <br> Brother Guy writes for a blog called the Catholic Astronomer, which can be found at www.vofoundation.org/blog<br> <br> STEM-Talk co-host Tom Jones, a former NASA astronaut who shares Brother Guy's love of astronomy—as well as the same MIT thesis advisor, John Lewis—interviews Brother Guy about his life-long journey to understand the universe and the role of faith in that pursuit.
