Tim Smith

Visiting Scholar

Tim Smith received his PhD in biology and mathematics from the University of Washington in 1973. He has worked for several fishery research laboratories, where he specialized in assessing the current and historical statuses of various global marine fisheries, especially commercial whaling, and has published extensively in these areas. Following an encounter with God in 1998, Tim has focused on tracing his understanding of the relationship between science and faith and how that affected his student and professional life. He currently works with returning missionaries at Bethel Church in Redding, California.

Biography

Tim earned a BA in biology at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington, in 1969 and a PhD in biomathematics at the University of Washington, Seattle, in 1973. He has worked primarily for fishery laboratories of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries. He specialized in the assessment and history of various marine fisheries globally, especially commercial whaling, and has published extensively in these areas. He retired in 2005 as senior scientist from the Woods Hole Laboratory of NOAA Fisheries.

Following an encounter with God in 1998, Tim pursued understanding the relationship between science and faith and how the apparent conflicts between the two affected him as a student and as a professional. His resolution of those conflicts is described in his book The Boiler Room Boys, which he uses in teaching students at Bethel Church’s School of Supernatural Ministry. He also currently works in Bethel’s Long Term Missions Department, where he focuses on missionary finances and debriefing missionaries returning from the field.

Since retiring, he has continued research and writing projects on the ecological history of marine resources, especially whales. He chaired a team of experts on marine mammals as part of the United Nations World Ocean Assessment , and is now active in developing a multipartner website  (whalinghistory.org) that links museum collections with historical whaling data his team has collected from whalers’ logbooks over the past two decades.

Biography

Tim earned a BA in biology at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington, in 1969 and a PhD in biomathematics at the University of Washington, Seattle, in 1973. He has worked primarily for fishery laboratories of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries. He specialized in the assessment and history of various marine fisheries globally, especially commercial whaling, and has published extensively in these areas. He retired in 2005 as senior scientist from the Woods Hole Laboratory of NOAA Fisheries.

Following an encounter with God in 1998, Tim pursued understanding the relationship between science and faith and how the apparent conflicts between the two affected him as a student and as a professional. His resolution of those conflicts is described in his book The Boiler Room Boys, which he uses in teaching students at Bethel Church’s School of Supernatural Ministry. He also currently works in Bethel’s Long Term Missions Department, where he focuses on missionary finances and debriefing missionaries returning from the field.

Since retiring, he has continued research and writing projects on the ecological history of marine resources, especially whales. He chaired a team of experts on marine mammals as part of the United Nations World Ocean Assessment , and is now active in developing a multipartner website  (whalinghistory.org) that links museum collections with historical whaling data his team has collected from whalers’ logbooks over the past two decades.

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