TENTATIVE PROGRAM AND SCHEDULE OF THE 2021 CONFERENCE
The venue will be the Washington DC Hilton Hotel (1919 Connecticut Avenue NW)
FRIDAY, June 4, 2021:
7:30 PM - 11:00 PM Registration desk open 8:00 PM – 11:00 PM Opening Reception
SATURDAY, June 5, 2021:
7:00 AM MASS 7:45- 8:45 AM BREAKFAST
8:45 AM Welcoming Remarks 9:00 AM Keynote Lecture: “Extraterrestrial Life and Catholic Theology", Christopher T. Baglow (Univ. of Notre Dame) 10:00 AM break 10:30 AM Invited Lecture: “The Scientific Search for Life beyond Earth: from Mars to the Galaxy”, Jonathan I. Lunine (Cornell Univ.) 11:30 AM Invited Lecture: “The Likelihood of Extraterrestrial Life”, Karin I. Öberg (Harvard Univ.)
12:00 PM LUNCH
1:15 PM Invited Lecture: “The Evolution of Humans is Inevitable; so where are the extraterrestrials?”, Simon Conway Morris, FRS (Univ. of Cambridge) 2:15 PM break 2:30 PM Lecture: “Forming the Molecular Building-blocks of Life on Icy Cosmic Dust.”, Christopher Shingledecker (Benedictine College) 3:00 PM Lecture: “The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence: an Overview”, Timothy Dolch (Hillsdale College) 3:30 break 4:00 PM Lecture: “Earthquakes, their Consequences, and the Jesuit Pioneers of Seismology”, Natasha Toghramadjian (Harvard Univ.) 4:30 PM St. Albert Award Lecture: "Scientific Innovation and Franciscan Spirituality in the Middle Ages", Lawrence M. Principe (Johns Hopkins Univ.)
5:30 PM: Cocktails 6:30 PM: CONFERENCE BANQUET 8:00 PM: Banquet Address: "A Universe of Awe, Challenge and Possibility", Jennifer J. Wiseman (AAAS)
8:30 PM to 10:00 PM SOCIALIZING and POSTER SESSION
SUNDAY, June 6, 2021:
8:00 AM CONFERENCE MASS 9:00 AM BREAKFAST
10:00 AM Lecture: “Is Artificial Intelligence Compatible with Evolution?”, Fr. Javier Sanchez-Cañizares (Univ. de Navarra) 10:30 break 10:45 AM Lecture:: “Artifact, Actuality, and Apparent Persons: On Humane Living with Near-Future Social AI”, Jordan Wales (Hillsdale College) 11:15 AM break 11:30 Lecture: “Deep Learning, Purpose, and Entropy”, Timothy Anderson (Catholic University of America) 12:00 Lecture:: “Understanding Evolution with St. Thomas Aquinas”, Sister Stephen Patrick Joly, O.P., Ph.D. (Lansing Catholic High School) 12:30 PM LUNCH
1:30 PM SCS Membership Meeting
3:30 PM Conference ends