Biology is a fascinating and diverse field which has witnessed a great many ground breaking discoveries over the years. From biotechnology to cloud computing, almost everything today is somehow affected and reshaped by scientific and technological advances.
This course is designed for non-biology majors to get to know more about some of the most influential scientists and their profound contributions to science by opening the lecture with 100 greatest discoveries in the history of biology, followed by introducing 13 biologists who have shaped the world of our ancestors, our world today and whose discoveries will continue to shape the world for many years. These scientists include both theoreticians/experimentalists who changed the way we understand our place in the world, guide the thinking of the evolutionary theory, have invented the penicillin, made tremendous contributions to our understanding of the role of chromosomes and genes in inheritance, develop the system of naming organisms, pioneer of biodiversity science, and in general made crucial advances in medicine, genetics, evolution, and biodiversity. In referring to the scientists on this list as “influential,” this lecture attempts to gauge their influence on science as such. In other words, the scientists listed here are influential because of the groundbreaking scientific work they have done and its impact on the world.