Betz, Druyan, Helfand elected CSICOP fellows; 3 consultants named

Three new Fellows have been elected to the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP), publisher of the SKEPTICAL INQUIRER. CSICOP Fellows are distinguished scholars, scientists, educators, or investigators who have made significant contributions to science and skepticism. Fellows are nominated and elected by the CSICOP Executive Council.

The new Fellows are:

* Willem Betz, Professor of General Practice Medicine at the University of Brussels (VUB), Chair and Director of the Academic Center for Training and General Practitioners, and co-founder and general secretary of the Belgian Skeptics organization SKEPP. He is active in science and public education about distinctions between alternative medicine and scientific medicine.

* Ann Druyan, writer/producer and CEO of Cosmos Studios, Ithaca, New York; co-author of the PBS series Cosmos, co-author (with Carl Sagan) of Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors, Comet, and other books; co-creator of the motion picture Contact; and co-writer of the full-dome multimedia planetarium feature "The Search for Life: Are We Alone?"

* David J. Helfand, Chair and Professor, Department of Astronomy, and Co-director, Columbia Astrophysics Laboratory, Columbia University; author of more than 150 scientific papers plus many popular articles on pulsars and neutron stars, X-ray astronomy, supernovas, superclusters, and the large-scale structure of the universe. He serves on NASA advisory and other professional committees, is active in public outreach and is recipient of the Columbia University Presidential Great Teacher Award.

IN ADDITION, three people have been elected CSICOP Scientific or Technical Consultants, in recognition of their work in science and skepticism.

The new Scientific or Technical Consultants are:

* Taner Edis, Assistant Professor of Physics, Truman State University, Kirksville, Missouri; author of The Ghost in the Universe: God in Light of Modern Science.

* Bryan Farha, Professor of Behavioral Studies in Education, Oklahoma City University; member of the CSICOP astrology subcommittee; critic of TV psychics' tactics and methods.

* Luis Alfonso Gamez, science journalist, El Correo newspaper, Bilbao, Spain; one of the founders of ARP-Society for the Advancement of Critical Thinking, the Spanish skeptic group, and first director of its magazine, El Esceptico Digital.

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