Purdue Pugwash conference to focus on technological future
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The 2010 Purdue Student Pugwash Midwest Regional Conference on April 9 and 10 will examine the role of science and technology in society.
The conference, titled "Our Technological Future: Problems, Perils and Promises," will feature Howard Bloom, an author and visiting scholar at New York University, and Timothy Sands, Purdue's newly named provost and former director of the Birck Nanotechnology Center. Conference speakers will address concerns arising from technological progression.
Bloom's talk about the progression of technology through the ages and how it has shaped mankind will be at 6:30 p.m. in the Purdue Memorial Union South Ballroom. His latest book, "Global Brain: The Evolution of Mass Mind from the Big Bang to the 21st Century," will be available for purchase after his talk. Bloom also has authored "The Lucifer Principle: A Scientific Expedition into the Forces of History." He is a former music publicist who has worked with Michael Jackson, Kiss, Diana Ross, Simon & Garfunkel and others.
Sands will discuss nanotechnology and its implications for mankind at 3:30 p.m. April 10 in Stewart Center's Fowler Hall. His career in materials research and current research involves the development of novel nanocomposite materials for applications in solid-state lighting, direct conversion of heat to electrical power, and thermoelectric refrigeration.
Other conference events include:
* 9:15 p.m. April 9. Memorial Union's South Ballroom. "Predicting the Future." Peter Bishop, professor of strategic foresight, University of Houston.
* 10-11:15 a.m. April 10. Stewart Center's Fowler Hall. "Resource Depletion and Overpopulation." Godfrey Roberts, clinical professor of science, New York University.
* 11:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. April 10. Stewart Center, Room 310. "Energy Sustainability." Jay Gore, the Reilly University Professor of Engineering and director, Purdue Energy Center.
* 11:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. April 10. Stewart Center, Room 314. "Changing Finance and Entrepreneurship." Keith Moser, innovation manager, Exelon Nuclear.
* 11:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. April 10. Stewart Center, Room 322. "Cyber Conflict." Marc Rogers, professor of computer and information technology and director, Purdue Cyber Forensics Program.
* 2-3:15 p.m. April 10. "Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Robots." Professor Stephen Levinson, AI Group, Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
* 3:30-4:15 p.m. April 10. "The Large Hadron Collider: Particle Physics and Cosmology." Ian Shipsey, Purdue professor of physics, Large Hadron Collider researcher.
Registration is $25, which covers the cost of the Friday evening social at Purdue Rack and Roll, admission to all conference events, a T-shirt and meals. For more information or to register go online to http://www.conf.purdue.edu/pugwash
The event is based on the Pugwash Conference on World Affairs, which was founded in 1957 on the Russell-Einstein Manifesto, which called for scientists to remember their humanity as they pushed forward with new discoveries and technologies. Purdue Student Pugwash is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, interdisciplinary organization dedicated to the socially responsible application of science and technology.
Writer: Jim Bush, 765-494-2077, jsbush@purdue.edu
Source: Scott Biggs, director of conferences, Purdue Student Pugwash, sdbiggs@purdue.edu