The 2025 SCS CONFERENCE  (SCS2025)

THEME:

The conference theme is “Critical Issues at the Interface of Science and Faith.”  This encompasses a wide range of topics. 

VENUE AND TIMES:   

The conference will be held on June 6-8, 2025, on the campus of the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC.  Talks will all be held in the Great Room of the Pryzbyla Center.  The Friday and Saturday evening dinners will be held in Heritage Hall.  See this MAP OF THE CUA CAMPUS.  

Information on dorms and hotel rooms will be posted here when it becomes available.

On Friday evening, June 7, there will be an informal buffet dinner at 6:30 PM, followed by the Opening Reception starting at 8:00 PM.  The lectures will be given on Saturday morning and afternoon and on Sunday morning.  There will be two poster sessions, one on Friday evening and one on Saturday evening after the conference banquet.  After lunch on Sunday Sunday there will be the annual “member meeting” of SCS.

INVITED & CONTRIBUTED TALKS:

This year there will be six invited talks and six contributed talks.  Invited talks are 40 minutes plus 10 minutes Q&A. Contributed talks are 25 minutes plus 5 minutes Q&A.

The invited speakers so far confirmed are:   Prof.  Anselm Ramelow, O.P (Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology, Berkeley) will speak on “Free Will, Aquinas, and the Brain.”  Prof. Kenneth Kemp (University of St. Thomas) will speak on “The Philosophy and Theology of Human Origins.”  Prof. Daniel Kuebler (Franciscan University) will speak on “The Science of Human Origins.”  (Exact titles of their talks to be announced.)

CONFERENCE PROGRAM & SCHEDULE: 

To be posted here in December.

SUBMITTING ABSTRACTS FOR CONTRIBUTED TALKS:

The deadline for submitting abstracts for talks is March 31.  Which abstracts have been selected as talks will be announced in early April. Abstracts should be submitted to the Conference Program Committee c/o smpbarr@gmail.com   They should be in Word and no longer than 300 words.  (Format: name, institution, position, title of talk, and abstract.)  Please indicate if you are submitting them only for a talk, or also for a poster if it is not selected as a contributed talk.

POSTER SESSIONS & SUBMITTING ABSTRACTS FOR POSTERS:

There will be two Poster Sessions at the conference.  One on Friday evening and one on Saturday evening.  We encourage SCS members and associates to submit abstracts for posters. The deadline is May 31. Poster presentations can be on any subject.  There will be a section for more technical posters on the presenter’s own research, and sections for posters on the conference theme or other topics of broader interest.  Abstracts should be no longer than 300 words and should be sent as a Word document to smpbarr@gmail.com

TRAVEL AND LODGING:  Information to be posted later.  

REGISTRATION FEE & REGISTRATION FORM:

Registration will open on February 1 and a link to the registration page will be sent on that day (and periodically therefore) by email to all SCS members, associates and others eligible to attend.   (If you receive the link, do not share it with anyone else, as otherwise people not eligible to attend may register, which will create myriad problems for the organizers).  The undiscounted registration fee is $290. For students (grad or undergrad) it will be half of that amount, and for members of religious orders the fee will be waived altogether (though registration is still required).  The registration fee will cover all one’s meals at the conference as well as dorm rooms at the conference venue for the two nights of the conference. If you opt not to stay in a dorm room, the registration fee will be $100 less, i.e. $190 for Regular Members and Associates, $45 for students.

More information will be posted here as it becomes available.  If you have questions, email smpbarr@gmail.com