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James Tour is a synthetic organic chemist, specializing in nanotechnology. He is well-known for his work in molecular electronics and molecular switching molecules. He has also been involved in other work, such as the creation of a nanocar and NanoKids, an interactive learning DVD to teach children fundamentals of chemistry and physics. Dr. Tour was also a founder of the Molecular Electronics Corporation. He holds joint appointments in the departments of chemistry, computer science, and mechanical engineering and materials science at Rice University. Dr. Tour received degrees from Syracuse University (BS, 1981), Purdue University (PhD, 1986) and completed postdoctoral work at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (1986-1987) and Stanford University (1987-1988).

He also sparked the controversial article "Better Killing Through Chemistry", which appeared in Scientific American a few months after the September 11 attacks, by which he tried to raise awareness of the lack of reasonable controls on the accessibility of chemical weapon precursors within the United States.

Controversial petition

In February 2006, the New York Times reported that Dr. Tour was one of a small number of nationally prominent researchers out of several hundred scientists and engineers whose names appeared on the Discovery Institute's newly launched website promoting a controversial petition characterized as "A Scientific Dissent From Darwinism", which states "We are skeptical of claims for the ability of random mutation and natural selection to account for the complexity of life. Careful examination of the evidence for Darwinian theory should be encouraged." Tour's field of organic chemistry is a branch of scientific research which establishes his credentials as a practitioner and advocate of the protocols of the scientific method as they apply to all branches of science. The controversy arises from confusion over whether the statement is an expression of the technical protocols of the scientific method or an expression favoring a political agenda regarding the teaching of scientific subjects related to evolution.

Exterior links

• James Tour Research Group
• NanoKids
• "Better Killing Through Chemistry" - Scientific American, December 2001

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1. Few Biologists but Many Evangelicals Sign Anti-Evolution Petition, Kenneth Chang, New York Times, February 21, 2006.
2. Signatories of 'A Scientific Dissent From Darwinism'

• American chemists
• Signatories of "A Scientific Dissent From Darwinism"
• Nanotechnologists
• Chemist stubs