Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo

Dr. Gary Habermas is the author or co-author of over 30 books and 100 articles and reviews in journals and magazines. In the last 12 years he has given over 1500 lectures in about 100 universities, seminaries, and colleges. He holds a PhD in History and Philosophy of Religion from Michigan State University as well as an MA in Philosophical Theology from the University of Detroit. He currently acts as Distinguished Research Professor and Chair in the Department of Philosophy and Theology at Liberty University, where he has taught for the past 26 years. His main areas of research include the philosophical study of miracles, near-death experiences, the historical Jesus, and the historicity of the resurrection of Jesus.

Michael Job has a Law Degree and a Masters in Business Administration.  He is an international speaker and has lectured at university campuses in Sydney, Brisbane, Auckland, Singapore, Paris, Lyon, Rhennes, Toulouse, Singapore, Moscow, Kiev, Caracas, Fiji, and Brazil. He has been on over fifty radio shows and television shows worldwide. He is a resident of San Luis Obispo, California.

Brian Kay received his Bachelor's Degree from Cal Poly SLO, a Master of Divinity from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and his Ph.D. in Historical Theology from University of Bristol in the United Kingdom. He is currently an adjunct professor of Historical Theology at Fullerton Theological Seminary and is the pastor of Trinity Presbyterian Church in SLO. He has recently published the book Trinitarian Spirituality:  John Owen and the Doctrine of God in Western Devotion.

Jed C. Macosko is an assistant professor of biophysics at Wake Forest University. He graduated from MIT with the Merck award for outstanding scholarship and earned a Ph.D. in biophysical chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley in 1999 for his work on the molecular machinery of influenza, HIV, and nerve cells. From 2000 to 2002 his research on molecular machines continued as an NIH postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Carlos J. Bustamante and as an adjunct assistant professor working with David J. Keller at the University of New Mexico in 2003 and 2004. Since August of 2004, the Macosko Lab at Wake Forest has focused on the transport machinery in cells and on new methods of drug discovery.  Dr. Macosko has taught in the intersection of chemistry, biology, and physics at a number of universities and has consulted for two biotech startups.  Recently, he won a seed grant to launch his own science education startup with the help of six Wake Forest freshmen.  In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with his physician wife, Cecilie, and sharing his passion for science with young people, especially with his four children (ages 4, 3, 1, and 0).

Ryan Miller is a 2001 Cal Poly journalism graduate. He is a California Arts Scholar and has been an arts writer, critic, and editor for local newspapers. His previous Veritas talks have explored faith, film, Jesus, and mythology.

Jamey Pappas serves as the director for Campus Crusade for Christ at Cal Poly and Cuesta College. He holds an undergraduate degree in Biology from the University of Arizona and an M.A. in Philosophy of Religion and Ethics from Biola University. Jamey has two kids, Grace and Jason, and has been married to his wife Gretchen for 18 years. He enjoys surfing, mountain biking, camping with wife and kids, and fixing up his 1962 Rambler surf wagon.

Alvin Plantinga is a John A. O'Brien Professor of Philosophy at the University of Notre Dame. He graduated from Calvin College in 1954 and went on to earn a Ph.D. from Yale in 1958. Alvin Plantinga has taught philosophy at Notre Dame for twenty-five years; prior to that he taught it at Calvin College for nineteen years. At Notre Dame, he gives seminars in Philosophy of Religion, Metaphysics, Epistemology, and Religion and Science. Among his books are God and Other Minds (1967), The Nature of Necessity (1974), God, Freedom and Evil (1974), Does God Have a Nature? (1980), Warrant: the Current Debate (1993), Warrant and Proper Function (1993) and Warranted Christian Belief (2000). He spends too much time flying around the US and other countries, but too little time rock climbing.

Aaron Porter has been a pastor at First Baptist Church for 9 years. Before that, he was the Executive Director of the San Luis Obispo chapter of Child Evangelism Fellowship.  He is currently finishing a book on Biblical marriage.