User talk:Wrp103/Jeff Lindsay

=Jeff Lindsay=

Jeff Lindsay (Ph.D., Chemical Engineering, Brigham Young University) is a chemical engineer and patent agent who is employed as a Corporate Patent Strategist and a Senior Research Fellow for the Kimberly-Clark Corporation in Neenah, Wisconsin. He lives in Appleton, Wisconsin with his wife and sons.

Lindsay is also an amateur Latter-day Saint apologist with an interest in magic, cultures and their languages, and photography.

Biography
Lindsay developed an interest in magic around the age of 11. He continues to enjoy magic, but strictly on an amateur basis. He still performs for small groups, with no high-tech effects.

Lindsay spent two years as a young man serving a full-time mission for the LDS Church in the Zurich, Switzerland Mission. (Many young Mormons interrupt their schooling or careers to serve a mission, which they typically pay for themselves, usually with the help of their family.) After returning from his mission, he continued studies at BYU and married Kendra Larson. The family has remained active within the Mormon Church. They have four boys, the oldest of whom served a mission in Argentina, after which he was married.

Lindsay received a B.Sc. from Brigham Young University in 1983, graduating summa cum laude. He received his Ph.D. in chemical engineering in 1986, also from BYU.

After earning his doctorate, Lindsay became an instructor at The Institute of Paper Science and Technology in 1987. He joined the Kimberly-Clark Corporation in May 1994 as a research fellow, eventually becoming a Corporate Patent Strategist and Senior Research Fellow in Dec. 2001. He was certified by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in August 1997 as a patent agent.

Dr. Lindsay has a wide range of interests, including magic, photography, various cultures and their languages, general science, social issues, and religion. Many of these interests often appear within the pages of his website.

Website and writings
Lindsay's website, the Cracked Planet, is home to many of his articles. According to comments on the website, it started out as a soapbox, and has evolved into its current state of regular essays and blog entries. The site content ranges from simple to complex topics, and from factual topics to satire. It has won multiple awards for various pages, including USA Today Hot Site and StudyWeb Academic Excellence Award (see Awards and recognitions).

Linday's website is divided into a number of categories:
 * Humor
 * Science and Research
 * Magic
 * LDS Religion and Philosophy
 * Controversy and Opinion
 * International, Multicultural, Hmong
 * Education
 * Photography and Miscellaneous

Lindsay's religious work has been published in various mormon and non-mormon journals, by apologetics forums, and by the LDS Church. In addition to some general FAQ pages on his website, he has written extensively on anti-mormon issues, as well as an article on the field of comparative DNA in regards to the Book of Mormon. This latter article is also available for download by the official website of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS). He has been written about by other mormon-studies publications as affecting Mormon internet culture.

Lindsay has been regularly published in his profession and has at least 50 papers dealing with his field. He currently holds at least 65 US patents, and has recieved multiple awards for his publications. For a complete list of his publications and patents, see his resume on his website.

Much of Lindsay's writings include considerable humor. Satirical and humorous pages on the website include:
 * National Lawn Care Now!, enlisted by President Bush's Homeyard Security program.
 * Off the Top, Inc. a movement to outsource upper management positions instead of low-level workers to produce better savings.
 * Politically Correct Physics proposed curriculum for a science program the religious right can support

Lindsay's website has been referenced by books and other websites for a variety of reasons, including:

Book references:
 * Google books page for One Nation Under Gods: A History of the Mormon Church by Richard Abanes, containing a reference to Lindsay's website.
 * Google books page for Space, Science, & Other Things by Sandra Bojtos Hart, containing a reference to Lindsay's website.

Web references:
 * Buffalo, NY web site List of fun sites (magic)
 * Lawn care site referencing Lindsay's Lawn Care Now! page
 * Personal web site recommending Lindsay's site as an amusing place
 * Forest Products page of AIChE.org (American Institute of Chemical Engineers) website (Lindsay is the site webmaster)
 * Hmong Student Association at Minnesota State University containing a reference to Lindsay's site
 * Israeli Medicine webiste with a list of links, including one to Lindsay's site
 * Geometry.net page of links for Religion / Mormon topics
 * mistergeek.com BSOB Geek of the week winners for 2004
 * Book of Mormon Foundation list of research links
 * Don Quixote Society website about the Lincoln County School District consideration of Lindsay's Block Scheduling Plan

In addition to the above list, a number of personal sites and blogs contain references to Lindsay's website.

It is a common misconception that Jeff Lindsay has also written a novel. There is a series of books written by a Jeff Lindsay involving a character named Dexter. However, it is clearly not Dr. Lindsay, since the author biography states he has three daughters instead of four sons.

Awards and recognitions
See Jeff Lindsay resume for complete list

Professional
 * Graduated summa cum laude with B.Sc. from Brigham Young University in 1983.
 * Outstanding Alumnus f the Brigham Young University Chemical Engineering Department, 2004
 * Chairman, TAPPI Fluid Mechanics Committee, 1991-93
 * Director, AIChE Forest Products Division, 1989 to 1995.
 * Best Paper Award for 1993, Tappi Journal.
 * Best Paper of the 1992 TAPPI Engineering Conference.
 * Co-winner of the 1988 George Olmsted Award competition from the American Paper Institute (now AF&PA) for best technical paper.
 * National Science Foundation Graduate Fellow, 1983-86.
 * Valedictorian of the College of Engineering, BYU, Aug. 1983.
 * Passed the 1996 U.S. Patent and Trademark Office exam for registration of patent attorneys and agents.
 * Holds at least 65 US patents, as of June 2004.

Web site
 * April 2001 – National Lawn Care Now! page listed as a "Cool Site" on the home page of National Review Online
 * April 10, 2001 – JeffLindsay.com was awarded the 2001-2002 Golden Globe Award from the International Association of Webmasters and Designers
 * Jan. 31, 2000 Brittanica.com stated: "our editors have selected your site as one of the best on the Internet when reviewed for quality, accuracy of content, presentation and usability."

Critics
Lindsay's writings on the Mormonism are often criticized by those who are not members. Criticisms range from dismissive generalizations to specific point-by-point discussions of his articles. Most of these sites are blogs, where the content varies over time. Some sample search results can be found in the list below:


 * Google search results for "Jeff Lindsay" on exmormon.org
 * Book of Mormon Research Page on 2think.org
 * Google search results for "Jeff Lindsay" on lds-mormon.com