---
title: "List of Christians in science and technology"
chunk: 6/17
source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Christians_in_science_and_technology"
category: "reference"
tags: "science, encyclopedia"
date_saved: "2026-05-05T04:31:01.455026+00:00"
instance: "kb-cron"
---

Robert Millikan (1868–1953): second son of Reverend Silas Franklin Millikan, he wrote about the reconciliation of science and religion in books like Evolution in Science and Religion. He won the 1923 Nobel Prize in Physics. Karl Landsteiner (1868–1943): Austrian biologist, physician, and immunologist. In 1930, he received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Landsteiner converted from Judaism to Roman Catholicism in 1890. Dmitri Egorov (1869–1931): Russian and Soviet mathematician known for his contributions to differential geometry and mathematical analysis. Defended the Church after the Russian Revolution, and was persecuted by the Soviet government for his Christian beliefs with arrest and imprisonment. Charles Stine (1882–1954): son of a minister who was VP of DuPont. In religion he wrote A Chemist and His Bible and as a chemist he won the Perkin Medal. E. T. Whittaker (1873–1956): converted to Catholicism in 1930 and member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. His 1946 Donnellan Lecture was entitled on Space and Spirit. Theories of the Universe and the Arguments for the Existence of God. He also received the Copley Medal and had written on Mathematical physics before conversion. Walter C. Alvarez (1884–1978): was an American medical doctor and a Congregationalist deacon. He authored several dozen books on medicine. Arthur Compton (1892–1962): won a Nobel Prize in Physics. He also was a deacon in the Baptist Church and wrote an article in Christianity Takes a Stand that supported the controversial idea of the United States maintaining the peace through a nuclear-armed air force. Victor Francis Hess (1883–1964): practicing Roman Catholic who won a Nobel Prize in Physics and discovered cosmic rays. In 1946 he wrote on the topic of the relationship between science and religion in his article "My Faith", in which he explained why he believed in God. Ronald Fisher (1890–1962): English statistician, evolutionary biologist and geneticist. He preached sermons and published articles in church magazines. Georges Lemaître (1894–1966): Roman Catholic priest who was first to propose the Big Bang theory. Kathleen Lonsdale (1903–1971): notable Irish crystallographer, the first woman tenured professor at University College London, first woman president of the International Union of Crystallography, and first woman president of the British Association for the Advancement of Science. She converted to Quakerism and was an active Christian pacifist. She was the first secretary of the Churches' Council of Healing and delivered a Swarthmore Lecture. Igor Sikorsky (1889–1972): Russian–American aviation pioneer in both helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. Sikorsky was a deeply religious Russian Orthodox Christian and authored two religious and philosophical books (The Message of the Lord's Prayer and The Invisible Encounter). Neil Kensington Adam (1891–1973): British chemist who wrote the article A CHRISTIAN SCIENTIST'S APPROACH TO THE STUDY OF NATURAL SCIENCE. David Lack (1910–1973): director of the Edward Grey Institute of Field Ornithology and in part known for his study of the genus Euplectes. He converted to Anglicanism at 38 and wrote Evolutionary Theory and Christian Belief in 1957. Hugh Stott Taylor (1910–1974): chemist who received Villanova University's "Mendel Medal" and was made a Knight Commander of the Papal Order of St. Gregory the Great. Charles Coulson (1910–1974): Methodist who wrote Science and Christian Belief in 1955. In 1970 he won the Davy Medal. George R. Price (1922–1975): American population geneticist who while a strong atheist converted to Christianity. He went on to write commentaries on the New Testament and dedicated portions of his life to helping the poor. Theodosius Dobzhansky (1900–1975): Russian Orthodox geneticist who criticized young Earth creationism in an essay, "Nothing in Biology Makes Sense Except in the Light of Evolution", and argued that science and faith did not conflict. Werner Heisenberg (1901–1976): German theoretical physicist and one of the key pioneers of quantum mechanics. Heisenberg was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for 1932 "for the creation of quantum mechanics". Michael Polanyi (1891–1976): born Jewish, but became a Christian. In 1926 he was appointed to a Chemistry chair in Berlin, but in 1933 when Hitler came to power he accepted a Chemistry chair (and then in 1948 a Social Sciences chair) at the University of Manchester. In 1946 he wrote Science, Faith, and Society ISBN 0-226-67290-5. Wernher von Braun (1912–1977): "one of the most important rocket developers and champions of space exploration during the period between the 1930s and the 1970s." He was a Lutheran who as a youth and young man had little interest in religion. But as an adult he developed a firm belief in the Lord and in the afterlife. He was pleased to have opportunities to speak to peers (and anybody else who would listen) about his faith and Biblical beliefs. Pascual Jordan (1902–1980): German theoretical and mathematical physicist who made significant contributions to quantum mechanics and quantum field theory. He contributed much to the mathematical form of matrix mechanics, and developed canonical anticommutation relations for fermions. Peter Stoner (1888–1980): co-founder of the American Scientific Affiliation who wrote Science Speaks. Gerty Cori (1896–1957): Czech-American biochemist who became the third woman—and first American woman—to win a Nobel Prize in science, and the first woman to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Gerty converted to Catholicism. Henry Eyring (1901–1981): American chemist known for developing the Eyring equation. Also a Latter-Day Saint whose interactions with LDS President Joseph Fielding Smith on science and faith are a part of LDS history. Kurt Gödel (1906–1978): German-Austrian logician, mathematician, and analytic philosopher. He described his religion as "baptized Lutheran (but not member of any religious congregation). My belief is theistic, not pantheistic, following Leibniz rather than Spinoza." He described himself as religious and read the Bible in bed every Sunday morning. Gödel characterized his own philosophy in the following way: "My philosophy is rationalistic, idealistic, optimistic, and theological." Gödel's interest in theology is noticeable in the Max Phil Notebooks. Mary Kenneth Keller (1914–1985): American nun who was the first woman to earn a PhD in computer science in the US. William G. Pollard (1911–1989): Anglican priest who wrote Physicist and Christian. In addition he worked on the Manhattan Project and for years served as the executive director of Oak Ridge Institute of Nuclear Studies. Frederick Rossini (1899–1990): American noted for his work in chemical thermodynamics. In science he received the Priestley Medal and the National Medal of Science. An example of the second medal is pictured. As a Catholic he received the Laetare Medal of the University of Notre Dame. He was dean of the College of Science at Notre Dame from 1960 to 1971, a position he may have taken partly due to his faith. Aldert van der Ziel (1910–1991): researched Flicker noise and has the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers named an award for him. He also was a conservative Lutheran who wrote The Natural Sciences and the Christian Message. Jérôme Lejeune (1926–1994): French pediatrician and geneticist known for research into chromosome abnormalities, particularly Down syndrome. He was the first president of the Pontifical Academy for Life and has been named a "Servant of God". Alonzo Church (1903–1995): American mathematician and logician who made major contributions to mathematical logic and the foundations of theoretical computer science. He was a lifelong member of the Presbyterian church.