Arnold E. Sikkema, Ph.D.
Dr. Sikkema has been a physics professor at TWU since 2005. Prior to that, he taught physics at Dordt University in Iowa for eight years and was a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Florida’s Institute for Fundamental Theory. He has been the the Executive Director of the Canadian Scientific and Christian Affiliation since 2018, and prior to that served on its executive council since 2011, and is a Fellow of the American Scientific Affiliation of which he has been a member since 1996. He is also a board member of the Geneva Society for Reformational Worldview Studies at Trinity Western University.
- Ph.D. (University of British Columbia)
- B.Sc. (University of Waterloo)
Expertise
Science & Christianity, Philosophy of Physics, Theoretical Physics, Phase Transitions, Emergence, and Physics Education Research.
Awards & Honors
Areas of Research
- Reformational Philosophy of Biophysics
- Reductionism & Emergence
- Science & Christianity
- Quantum Physics & Christianity
Recent Publications
Representative publications & presentations
- "Religion and the Science Classroom", in Matthew Etherington, ed., Foundations of Education: A Christian Vision (Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2014).
- "Nuancing Emergentist Claims: Lessons from Physics", in Gerrit Glas & Jeroen de Ridder, eds., The Future of Creation Order: Vol. 1, Philosophical, Scientific, and Religious Perspectives on Order and Emergence (Cham, Switzerland: Springer, 2017), pp. 135-149. link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007%2F978-3-319-70881-2_7
- "Wisdom in Physics", in Edward Paul Meadors, ed., Where Wisdom May Be Found: The Eternal Purpose of Christian Higher Education (Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2019), pp. 202-213. wipfandstock.com/where-wisdom-may-be-found.html
- "Modern Physics and the Human Person", presented at the American Scientific Affiliation Annual Meeting, Point Loma University, San Diego, CA, 29 July-1 August 2022.
Affiliations & Memberships
- Fellow of the American Scientific Affiliation (elected 2012)
- Chair, TWU Senate (2020-25)