I am looking for someone to attend this conference and write up an article on it for Skeptic magazine. We will cover the $150 conference fee but cannot cover travel expenses. E-mail me at skepticmag@aol.com if you would like to attend and you can write it up for Skeptic.
WASHINGTON, Feb. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Cosmologists, philosophers, and religious scholars will gather in Washington, D.C., for a three-day exploration of the origin and nature of the cosmos and the religious implications of scientific discovery in the universe.
The AAAS conference, Cosmic Questions, will explore three of the most provocative questions in contemporary cosmology and astronomy: What came before the Big Bang? Is the universe designed? And are we alone in the cosmos?
Recent discoveries, including distant galaxies in the early stages of formation, evidence that neutrinos have mass and probable liquid water on moons of Jupiter and planets outside the solar system, have enhanced our understanding of the evolution of stellar and planetary systems and life in the universe. At the same time, these discoveries have raised questions that have modern-day religious significance.
WHAT: Cosmic Questions Conference
WHEN: Wednesday - Friday, April 14 - 16, 1999
WHERE: Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History Baird Auditorium 10th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW Washington, DC
Speakers will include:
Anindita Balslev, Ph.D., Professor, Center for Cultural Research, Aarhus University. Her research interests include cosmology and the concept of time in philosophy, science and theology. She is the author of Religion and Time and Cross Cultural Conversation.
Sandra Faber, Ph.D., University Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California-Santa Cruz. Her research focuses on the formation and evolution of galaxies and the evolution of structure in the universe.
John Haught, Ph.D., Professor of Theology, Georgetown University. His research is broadly on science and religion with particular focus on the relationship of theology to cosmology, ecology and evolutionary theory. He is the author of Science and Religion: From Conflict to Conversation.
John Leslie, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, University of Guelph. His writing and research have focused on metaphysics, philosophy of religion and philosophy of cosmology. He is the author of Physical Cosmology and Philosophy.
Jaraslav Pelikan, Ph.D., Emeritus Professor of the History of Religion, Yale University. He the author of numerous books including What Has Athens to Do With Jerusalem?: Timaeus and Genesis in Counterpoint.
John Polkinghorne, Ph.D., F.R.S., former President, Queens College, Cambridge, and Professor of Applied Physics, Cambridge University. He is an Anglican priest and author of several books on science and religion including The Faith of a Physicist.
Joel Primack, Ph.D., Professor of Physics, University of California-Santa Cruz. He is one of the developers of the theory of dark matter. He has also written on relationships between contemporary cosmology and the Jewish mystical tradition, Kaballah.
Robert John Russell, Ph.D., Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences (CTNS), Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley. He is the founding director of CTNS and co-editor of a series of volumes on Scientific Perspectives on Divine Action.
Jill Tarter, Ph.D., Senior Program Scientist and Director, Project Phoenix, The SETI Institute. She directs the world’s most sensitive and comprehensive search for extraterrestrial intelligence using the 1,000 foot radio telescope in Arecibo, Puerto Rico.
Steven Weinberg, Ph.D., Nobel Laureate and Jack S. Josey-Welch Foundation Chair in Science and Regental Professor of Physics, University of Texas-Austin. He shares the Nobel prize for the development of the electroweak unification theory. He is the author of The First Three Minutes and Dreams of a Final Theory.
Each day of the conference will offer two sessions that address cosmic questions; topics will include the history of scientific cosmology, the beginning of time, cosmic evolution and design, and intelligent life in the universe. The IMAX film "Cosmic Voyage" will also be shown. The conference is being organized by the AAAS Program of Dialogue Between Science and Religion with support from the John Templeton Foundation, the North American Montessori Teachers Association, and individual gifts. For more information, call 202-326-7044, fax 202-289-4950, or visit the Web site at http://www.aaas.org/spp/dspp/dbsr/events/cosmo/.