Robert Root-Bernstein received his AB in Biochemistry and a Ph.D. in History of Science from Princeton University. He did post-doctoral work at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, where he was awarded one of the first MacArthur Fellowships. A Professor in the Physiology Department at Michigan State University since 1987, Bob studies the evolution of physiological control systems and autoimmune diseases, as well as science-arts interactions. In his spare time, Bob makes various forms of visual art, practices photography, and builds models. He has participated in several group shows.
Michele Root-Bernstein received her B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1975 and a Ph.D. in History from Princeton University in 1981. She has taught history, writing and creativity studies from grade school to college. She is a “Kennedy Center Teaching Artist” and an Adjunct Faculty member at Michigan State University. Currently, she is near completion of a book on the invention of imaginary worlds in childhood and the relationship of complex play to creative giftedness. Michele also writes haiku for journals across the U.S. and Canada. A selection of her poems appears in A New Resonance 6, Emerging Voices in English-Language Haiku (Red Moon Press, 2009).
Together, Bob and Michele are co-authors of Sparks of Genius, The 13 Thinking Tools of the World’s Most Creative People (Houghton Mifflin, 1999) and numerous articles on imaginative thinking, polymathy and trans-disciplinary education.
