ICR Research Advances with the NCSF | The Institute for Creation Research

ICR Research Advances with the NCSF

The research wing of ICR has an impressive slate of research projects underway. As announced in October, ICR has launched a new foundation, the National Creation Science Foundation (NCSF), which will consider research proposals and fund those deemed beneficial. Already several projects have been accepted and funded. Some of these projects were already in progress, while others are new and innovative.

For instance, Dr. Steve Austin has commenced a project in response to the upcoming 150th anniversary of Darwin's On the Origin of Species, published in 1859. Evolutionists plan to make the occasion a major propaganda coup. Darwin started his voyage on the Beagle as a nominal Christian and creationist. But he took on board Charles Lyell's recently published book Principles of Geology, which espoused long ages of uniform processes. In Argentina, Darwin applied Lyell's thinking to a river gorge and concluded that it had taken long ages to form. (It is now known that this canyon was formed quickly by major Ice Age flooding.) Darwin applied this misinterpretation to his observations on the Galapagos Islands, and evolutionary uniformitarianism is the result. Dr. Austin proposes to show where Darwin went wrong, rightly interpret the evidence, and produce a short video for ICR that can be used in the ongoing battle for truth.

Dr. Austin will also continue his oversight of the Flood Activated Sedimentation and Tectonics (FAST) research project, which is investigating geologic evidences of the great Flood of Noah's day, mostly in the American Southwest. In November, the FAST scientists met in Nevada to report on progress. Of particular interest was a rather new idea in geology, that many deposits are the result of dynamic underwater mud flows. Dr. Austin recently studied evidence of this in Alaska, where a very thick sequence of exposed strata was formed by the collision of the North American Plate with the Pacific Plate during the Flood. The southerly expression of the collision can be seen in Nevada, the site of several research projects under FAST.

In a related project, geologists Roger Sigler and Van Wingerdon have been studying a major mud slide, embedded with large blocks of rock that reach up to 30 km in length! This slide likely occurred at the onset of the Flood, when "all the fountains of the great deep" broke open (Genesis 7:11).

Both Dr. John Baumgardner and Dr. Clarence Berg are conducting funded projects involving computer simulations of "superfaults." Dr. Baumgardner is examining the famous fault system that rapidly formed the mountains in Wyoming, including the enigmatic Heart Mountain, while Dr. Berg is preparing a numerical simulation of sub-aqueous debris flows. All numerical studies are being conducted on ICR's super computer "Epiphany" under Dr. Baumgardner's supervision. Geologist Dr. Tim Clarey will be looking at catastrophic gravity slides in the same area.

In the November meeting, Dr. Arthur Chadwick reported his studies on an extensive dinosaur fossil site. He sees little evidence of uniformitarian processes or vast spans of time. Rather, all the depositional markers speak of rapid catastrophic processes. Likewise, Dr. John Whitmore and Ray Strom are continuing their multi-year study of the Coconino Sandstone, prominent in Grand Canyon. Long thought to be a fossilized sand dune desert deposit, its formation is better interpreted as giant underwater sand ripples, requiring huge volumes of water flowing at great speeds.

In addition to these ongoing studies, ICR research also encompasses Dr. Dan Criswell's GENE project on genomics and Dr. Larry Vardiman's study of paleoclimates, including storm patterns during and after the Great Flood.

There have been numerous inquiries into the NCSF, and we are coaching new scientists through the process and evaluating their proposals. All-in-all, this is the beginning of a new and productive day in ICR research.

* Dr. Morris is President and Director of Research.

Cite this article: Morris, J. 2009. ICR Research Advances with the NCSF. Acts & Facts. 38 (1): 8.

The Latest
CREATION PODCAST
Humanity's Demise at the Hands of Genetic Entropy | The Creation...
Welcome to the fourth episode in a series called “The Failures of Old Earth Creationism.” Many Christians attempt to fit old earth...

NEWS
''Inside-Out'' Fossil is Amazingly Preserved
It is widely known that vast numbers of fossils—vertebrate and invertebrate—have been discovered incredibly well-preserved.1,2...

NEWS
The Resurrection and the Origin of Life
At Easter time we focus on the cardinal Christian doctrine of the Resurrection. Without the Resurrection, Christianity is a sham. The truth that Jesus...

NEWS
Is an Ancient Extinct Tree-Dweller Our Relative?
Human evolution has always been hazy with seemingly as many attempted explanations for how we evolved from animals as there are paleoanthropologists. Evolutionists...

NEWS
The Return of the Dire Wolf?
There’s been much recent excitement about the birth of three dire wolf (Aenocyon dirus) puppies by a Dallas-based biotech company: Colossal Bioscience....

CREATION PODCAST
Cracks in the Layers: Lake Suigetsu and the Old Earth Illusion...
Welcome to the third episode in a series called “The Failures of Old Earth Creationism.” Many Christians attempt to fit old earth...

NEWS
Fish Fossil Vomit
A rather unsavory news story recently appeared regarding fossilized vomit. Although it’s hardly dinner table conversation, it nonetheless supports...

NEWS
Dino Footprints Down Under
Dinosaur trackways1 are once again making the news. Australia is the setting of a remarkable series of dinosaur tracks attributed to ornithischian...

NEWS
April 2025 ICR Wallpaper
"But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things...

NEWS
Human Evolution and the Inner Ear
The vain attempt by evolutionists to make an evolutionary connection between people and ape-like ancestors continues. This time, it is in regard to...