Ursula Goodenough

Ursula Goodenough
Goodenough, 1998
Born	March 16, 1943 (1943-03-16) (age 73) New York City, NY
Fields	Cell biology
Institutions	Washington University in Saint Louis, Harvard University
Alma mater	Ph.D. Harvard 1969, M.A Columbia University, B.A. Barnard College
Known for	Algal research, Religious Naturalism, Epic of Evolution

Ursula W. Goodenough (born March 16, 1943) is a Professor of Biology at Washington University in St. Louis where she engages in research on eukaryotic algae. She also authored the best-selling book Sacred Depths of Nature, and has presented the paradigm of Religious Naturalism and the Epic of Evolution numerous venues around the world including a Mind and Life dialogue with the Dalai Lama in 2002. She has also participated in television productions on PBS and The History Channel, as well as NPR radio broadcasting. Goodenough contributed to the NPR blog, 13.7: Cosmos & Culture, from 2009 to 2011. She currently serves as president of the Religious Naturalist Association.

Ursula Goodenough, daughter of Erwin Ramsdell Goodenough and Evelyn Goodenough Pitcher, earned a B.A. in zoology from Barnard College, an M.A. in zoology at Columbia University and her Ph.D. in Biology at Harvard University. She was an assistant and associate professor of biology at Harvard from 1971-1978 before moving to Washington University. She wrote three editions of a widely adopted textbook, Genetics. She served as president of The American Society for Cell Biology in 1984-85, and was elected to the Cellular and Developmental Biology section of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2009.

Goodenough joined the Institute on Religion in an Age of Science (IRAS) in 1989 and served continuously on its council and as its president for four years. She has presented papers and seminars on science and religion to numerous audiences, co-chaired six IRAS conferences on Star Island, and serves on the editorial board of Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science.