Hampshire College

Salman Hameed, assistant professor of integrated science and humanities, holds a Ph.D. in astronomy from New Mexico State University at Las Cruces and a B.S. in physics and astronomy from the State University of New York at Stony Brook.

His primary research interest focuses on understanding the rise of creationism in the Islamic world and how Muslims view the relationship between science & religion.

He is currently the lead investigator of a three-year NSF-funded study on this topic, and heads the Center for the Study of Science in Muslim Societies (SSiMS) at Hampshire College.

His other research interests include analyzing reconciliation efforts over sacred objects and places of astronomical importance and new-religious movements (NRM). His astronomy research is focused on understanding star formation processes in spiral galaxies.

He teaches interdisciplinary courses on science & religion, including “History and Philosophy of Science & Religion” (with philosopher Dr. Laura Sizer), “Science in the Islamic World,” “Evolution, Islam, and Modernity,” "Aliens: Close Encounters of a Multidisciplinary Kind,” and co-organizes the Hampshire College Lecture Series on Science & Religion.

Salman also runs IRTIQA, a science & religion blog with an emphasis on scientific debates taking place in the Muslim world.

Affiliations
Center for the Study of Science in Muslim Societies (SSiMS)
Five College Astronomy Department
School of Cognitive Science
School of Natural Science

Recent Courses
CS-0308/NS-0308: Evolution, Islam and Modernity (Spring 2012)
CS-0177/NS-0177: Aliens: Close Encounters of a Multidisciplinary Kind (Spring 2012)
CS-0180/HACU-0180/NS-0180: Science in the Islamic World: From Almagest to the Islamic bomb (Fall 2011)
NS-0257/NS-0337: Astrobiology (Fall 2011)