Darwin Sceptic: 'views cost tenure'

clipped from www.nature.com He's a young astronomer with dozens of articles in top journals; he has made an important discovery in the field of extrasolar planets; and he is a proponent of intelligent design, the idea that an intelligent force has shaped the Universe. It's that last fact that Guillermo Gonzalez thinks has cost him his tenure at Iowa State University. But other researchers think that the department's decision was entirely justified. "I would have voted to deny him tenure," says Robert Park, a physicist at the University of Maryland in College Park. "He has established that he does not understand the scientific process." The 43-year-old astronomer is also a deeply religious evangelical Christian, and his faith has shaped his views on science. "The Universe is designed for scientific discovery." But Park says that a researcher's views on intelligent design cannot be divorced from the tenure decision. But not all scientists agree. "intelligent design was not a major or even a big factor in this decision."