Derek Schuurman's personal story includes
working in industry for several years before
returning to academia. His interest in technology began in his early
teens playing with ham radios and his
first computer. He is also interested in the bigger picture of
ethics, perspectives, and issues related to technology using insights
from the philosophy of technology in conversation with the Reformed tradition.
He is author of the book Shaping a Digital World and co-author of A Christian Field Guide to Technology for Engineers
and Designers, both published by IVP Academic. He is also a
regular contributor to the Christian
Scholars Review blog and a columnist
for Christian Courier.
Prof. Schuurman is a fellow of the American Scientific Affiliation, a fellow of
the International
Society for Science and Religion (FISSR), an associate fellow of the
Kirby Liang Centre, and was made a senior member of the IEEE. He is a member of the ACM, CES, ACMS, and serves as a book review
editor for Perspectives
on Science and Christian Faith.
Research interests include robotics and
computer vision, embedded systems and IoT, philosophy of technology,
and faith and technology issues.
Education
Talks and
Interviews
Here is a selection of links to talks and
interviews which have been posted online.
Selected
Publications
Some publications are listed below, but a more extensive list of publications is also available.
Books
Ethan J. Brue, Derek C. Schuurman, Steven H.
VanderLeest, A
Christian Field Guide to Technology for Engineers and
Designers, IVP Academic, 2022. (companion
website)
Derek C. Schuurman, Shaping a Digital World: Faith, Culture and Computer
Technology, IVP Academic, 2013. (companion website)
R.S. Ramshaw and D.C. Schuurman, PSpice Simulation of Power-Electronics
Circuits, Springer, 1997. (companion
website)
Derek C.
Schuurman, Exploring
Computer Science with the Raspberry Pi, Creative Commons,
2023-2025.
Chapters in Books
- Derek C. Schuurman, “Response to Chapter 4: The Importance of
Humility and Humor: Countermeasures against Techno-foolishness”, in Habits
of the High Tech Heart: Living Virtuously in the Information
Age, updated and expanded edition, by Quentin J. Schultze,
Integratio Press, 2024, 137-141.
- Derek C. Schuurman, “AI
in Education: Villain, Savior, or Something Else?” in ACSI
Leading Insights Artificial Intelligence, edited by Lynn E.
Swaner, Association of Christian Schools International, 2024,
10-16.
- Derek C. Schuurman, “Seeking Wisdom in Engineering and Computer
Science” in Where Wisdom May be Found: The Eternal Purpose of
Christian Higher Education, edited by Edward P. Meadors,
Pickwick Publications, 2019, 214-226.
- Derek C. Schuurman, “Responsible Automation: Faith and Work in an
Age of Intelligent Machines” in The Wonder and Fear of Technology: Commissioned
Essays on Faith and Technology, edited by David H. Kim, Center
for Faith & Work, 2016, 42-56.
Selected Articles
- Derek C. Schuurman, “Lament for a Wife”, Christian Courier,
February 5, 2024 (available in PDF
format; republished in The
Big Picture magazine).
- Derek C. Schuurman, “A
Tribute to the Z80”, IEEE Computer Magazine, Volume 57,
Issue 9, September, 2024.
- Derek C. Schuurman, “Virtue and Artificial Intelligence”,
Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith, Volume 75, Number
3, December 2023, 155-161.
- Derek C. Schuurman, “ChatGPT and the Rise of AI”, Christian
Scholar's Review blog, January 20, 2023 (winner of a 2024
Word Award for a Topical Blog).
- “Technology
and the Reformed Tradition”, Christian Courier, February 2,
2025, p. 19.
- “Derek
Schuurman on Using Artificial Intelligence in Church”, Calvin
Institute for Christian Worship (CICW) interview, July 18, 2024.
- Derek C. Schuurman, “Technology and the Biblical Story”, Pro
Rege, Vol. 46, No. 1, September, 2017, 4-11 (available also in
Portuguese as Tecnologia e a história bíblica).
- Derek C. Schuurman, “Approaches to Christian Education: From Elusive Towards
a Larger and Deeper Approach”, Pro Rege, Vol. 44, No. 3,
March, 2016, 14-20.
- Derek C. Schuurman, “Kuyper and Technology, or How a Voice From the Past Can
Speak to our Digital Age”, Christian Scholar's Review,
Volume XLIX, Number 2, Winter 2020, 161-174.
- Derek C. Schuurman, “Artificial
Intelligence: Discerning a Christian Response”, Perspectives on
Science and Christian Faith, Volume 71, Number 2, June 2019,
75-82.
- Derek C. Schuurman, “Introducing Open Source and the Raspberry Pi to Schools
in Developing Nations”, Perspectives on Science and Christian
Faith, Volume 67, Number 1, March 2015, 50-53.
- Derek C. Schuurman, “Step-by-step
design and simulation of a simple CPU architecture”, SIGCSE '13
Proceeding of the 44th ACM technical symposium on Computer science
education, 2013.
- Derek C. Schuurman, “A
Letter to a Young Professor”, Christian Scholar's Review
blog, November 20, 2020.
- Bryan W. House, David W. Capson, Derek C. Schuurman, “Towards Real-Time Sorting of Recyclable Goods Using
Support Vector Machines”, Proceedings of the IEEE International
Symposium on Sustainable Systems and Technology (ISSST), May
2011.
- D.C. Schuurman and D.W. Capson, “Robust Direct Visual Servoing Using
Network-Synchronized Cameras”, IEEE Transactions on Robotics and
Automation, April 2004, Volume 20, Issue 2, 319- 334.
Patents
Open source software
projects
- ARCHIE Pi: an
offline web server that runs on the Raspberry
Pi to deliver educational content in remote locations where no
internet access is available.
- JTmap: a program
to display a map for digital ham radio contacts
- pi-home:
provides home lighting automation and sensor monitoring using a Raspberry Pi.
- index-o-matic:
helps to create an index for a PDF manuscript.
Collections of Articles and
Blogs
Interests
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