BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//The Society of Catholic Scientists - ECPv6.15.14//NONSGML v1.0//EN
CALSCALE:GREGORIAN
METHOD:PUBLISH
X-WR-CALNAME:The Society of Catholic Scientists
X-ORIGINAL-URL:https://catholicscientists.org
X-WR-CALDESC:Events for The Society of Catholic Scientists
REFRESH-INTERVAL;VALUE=DURATION:PT1H
X-Robots-Tag:noindex
X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT1H
BEGIN:VTIMEZONE
TZID:UTC
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:+0000
TZOFFSETTO:+0000
TZNAME:UTC
DTSTART:20160101T000000
END:STANDARD
END:VTIMEZONE
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20200605
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20200608
DTSTAMP:20260501T054337
CREATED:20220517T155345Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20220517T163708Z
UID:1725-1591315200-1591574399@catholicscientists.org
SUMMARY:2020 SCS Conference (postponed to 2021)
DESCRIPTION:The 2020 annual conference of the Society of Catholic Scientists was to be held to Providence College in Rhode Island on June 5-7\, 2020. Unfortunately\, due to the COVID-19 panemic\, it was cancelled. Therefore\, the fourth annual conference was the 2021 conference\, held in Washington\, DC\, from June 4\, 2021\, to June 6\, 2021.
URL:https://catholicscientists.org/event/2020-scs-conference-postponed-to-2021/
CATEGORIES:
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://catholicscientists.org/content/uploads/2022/03/Providence-College-Chapel.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20190607
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20190610
DTSTAMP:20260501T054337
CREATED:20220517T160025Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20220803T192753Z
UID:1733-1559865600-1560124799@catholicscientists.org
SUMMARY:2019 SCS Conference
DESCRIPTION:Details\n									Program\n									Speakers\n									Videos\n									In The Media\n									Details \nThe third annual conference of the Society of Catholic Scientists was held on June 7-9\, 2019 at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend\, IN\, USA.  \nConference Theme:   \nThe theme of the conference was “What does it mean to be human?”  This included such questions as What is “human nature”? When did it appear? Did Neanderthals and other archaic species of Homo have it? When does an individual human life begin? Can human nature be changed by genetic engineering? In what ways are humans unique on earth? Are we unique in the cosmos?  These questions were explored from the point of view of biology\, paleoanthropology\, philosophy\, theology\, and other disciplines.  \n2019 St. Albert Award: \nSee information on the awardee Maureen L. Condic \n									Program \nProgram of 2019 SCS Conference \nFriday\, June 7: \n7:30 PM  – 11:00 PM  Registration desk open (Morris Inn) \n8:00 PM  – 11:00 PM  Reception and Poster Session I  (Morris Inn) \nSaturday\, June 8: \n7:00 AM  Mass  (Welsh Family Hall Chapel) \n8:00  Breakfast  (McKenna Hall\, dining room) \n8:45 AM Welcoming remarks (McKenna Hall Auditorium) \n9:00  Keynote Lecture: “What Does ‘Made in the Image of God’ Mean?”  Marie I. George (St. John’s University) \n10:00 break. \n10:15 Invited Lecture: “Becoming and Being Human: evidence from the archaeological\, fossil and genetic records”  Steven J. Mithen  (University of Reading (UK)) \n11:15  break \n11:30  “The Science behind Ancestry Mapping: what can it tell us about our human nature?”  Benjamin Rybicki  (Henry Ford Cancer Institute) \n12:00  Lunch  (McKenna Hall\, dining room) \n1:15  Invited Lecture: “CRISPR and Genetic Engineering: the science and its implications”   Nicanor Austriaco\, O.P. (Providence College) \n2:15 break \n2:30 Invited Lecture: “Homo ex Machina and Imago Dei: the nightmare dreams”  Conor Cunnningham  (University of Nottingham (UK)) \n3:30 break \n3:45  “To Look to the Heavens: Galileo on the Potential of the Human MInd”  Lawrence Machia\, O.S.B\, and Daniel Vanden Berk (St. Vincent College) \n4:15 “Neurobiology of Emotions and the Evidence of Human Interconnectedness”   Sonsoles de Lacalle (Ohio University) \n4:45  break \n5:00  St. Albert Award Lecture: “Human Beings are Defined by Organization”  Maureen L. Condic (University of Utah) \n6:00 PM:  Cocktails (Smith Ballroom\, Morris Inn) \n6:30 PM:  Conference Banquet  (Smith Ballroom\, Morris Inn) \n8:00 PM:  Banquet Address:  “Discovering Eifelheim”  Michael F. Flynn  (Author of Eifelheim and winner of 2003 Robert A. Heinlein Medal)  (Smith Ballroom\, Morris Inn) \nSunday\, June 9: \n8:00 AM Conference Mass \n9:00 AM  Breakfast  (McKenna Hall\, dining room) \n10:00 “Created in the Image and Likeness of Man”  Megan Levis (University of Notre Dame) (McKenna Auditorium) \n10;30 “Will Tissue Engineering Change Human Nature?”  Christopher Raub  (Catholic University of America) \n11:00 “Evolution and the Eschatological Meaning of Human Nature”  Richard Austin Choate  (Cambridge University) \n11:30  Poster Session II  (McKenna Hall\, dining room) \n12:30  Lunch  (McKenna Hall\, dining room) \n1:30  Membership Meeting  (McKenna Hall\, dining room) \n2:30  Conference ends \n									Speakers \n(alphabetical by last name) \nNicanor Austriaco\, O.P.\, is Professor in the Department of Biology of Providence College. He received his Ph.D. in biology from MIT in 1996 and does research in experimental molecular biology\, especially programmed cell death in unicellular eukaryotes. He is a priest of the Order of Preachers (Dominicans) and holds a doctorate in theology from the Univ. of Fribourg in Switzerland. Among other distinctions he is an investigator in the NIH-Rhode Island Idea Network of Biomedical Research Excellence Program. He is the author of Biomedicine and Beatitude: An Introduction to Catholic Bioethics (CUA Press\, 2011) and co-author of Thomistic Evolution: a Catholic approach to understanding evolution in the light of faith (Cluny Media\, 2016). Prof. Austriaco is on the Board of SCS. \nRichard Austin Choate is a graduate student in theology at the Institute for Orthodox Christian Studies\, Cambridge\, working on his doctoral thesis “Theosemiotics\, Peirce\, Perichoresis\, and St. John of Damascus.” He is a Scholar Associate of SCS. \nMaureen Condic is an Associate Professor of Neurobiology at the University of Utah\, with an adjunct appointment in Pediatrics. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Chicago and her doctorate from the University of California\, Berkeley. Her research focuses on the role of stem cells in development and regeneration and has been recognized by both the Basil O’Connor and the McKnight awards. She is currently a member of Pontifical Academy for Life\, and in 2018\, was appointed by the President of the United States to the National Science Board. Dr. Condic has recently co-authored a book with her brother Samuel\, entitled Human Embryos\, Human Beings\, that explores the nature of the human embryo from a scientific and philosophical perspective. Her second book\, Untangling Twinning\, considers the biologic and philosophic issues raised by human twinning\, and is due to appear in the summer of 2019. Dr. Condic participates in both graduate and medical education\, having taught Human Embryology in the Medical School for 20 years. She has a strong commitment to public education\, and has presented over 250 seminars and interviews\, both nationally and internationally\, on science policy\, bioethics and her own research. Prof. Condic is a member of SCS. \nConor Cunningham is Associate Professor in Theology and Philosophy\, and Director of the Centre of Theology and Philosophy\, University of Nottingham. Prof. Cunningham has degrees in Law\, Philosophy\, and Theology. He did his PhD at the University of Cambridge. His prize-winning research has been translated into many languages including: French\, Polish\, Chinese\, Spanish\, Korean\, and Russian. He is the author of Genealogy of Nihilism: Philosophies of Nothing and the Difference of Theology (2002)\, He is also the author of the award-winning book Darwin’s Pious Idea: Why the Ultra Darwinists and Creationists Both Get it Wrong (2010).The third part of this trilogy is forthcoming: Soul and the Marriage of Discourse: The Return of Scientia. In addition\, Prof. Cunningham was the writer and presenter of the multi-award-winning BBC documentary “Did Darwin Kill God?” \nSonsoles de Lacalle is Associate Professor of Biomedical Sciences at Ohio University and Director of the Office of Advanced Studies in Ohio University’s Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine. She received both an MD and a PhD from the University of Navarre in Spain\, after which she did postdoctoral work at the University of Chicago. Her research is in the field of neuroscience\, focusing on the field of aging and dementia and the effects of estrogen on brain cells. Prof. de Lacalle is a member of SCS. \nMichael F. Flynn is an award-winning science fiction writer.  After receiving a masters degree in mathematics from Marquette University (in general topology)\, he had a long and successful career as a quality engineer and consultant on statistical methods. He is the author of more than 70 stories and articles and 15 novels and story collections.  He is best known for the novel Eifelheim and the recent Spiral Arms series.  He has been nominated seven times for science fiction’s Hugo Award and received the Robert A. Heinlein Award for his body of work and the Sturgeon Prize for the short story “House of Dreams.” In addition\, he has received the Seiun Award from Japan and the Prix Julie Verlanger from France\, both for translations of Eifelheim.  His most recent book is the collection Captive Dreams\, six interlocked stories dealing with issues of morality and technology.. His most recent short story “Nexus” is reprinted in the 35th annual The Year’s Best Science Fiction.  The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction calls him “a central modern creator of Hard SF.”  His novel Eifelheim is a theologically\, scientifically\, and historically sophisticated story about the encounter between a medieval Christian village and extraterrestrials.   \nMarie I. George is Professor of Philosophy at St. John’s University\, NY. She received her Ph.D. in philosophy from Laval University. She also holds Masters degrees in biology and in pastoral theology. An Aristotelian-Thomist\, her interests lie primarily in the areas of natural philosophy and philosophy of science. She has received several awards from the John Templeton foundation for her work in science and religion\, and in 2007 was co-recipient of a grant from the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences (CTNS) for an interdisciplinary project entitled “The Evolution of Sympathy and Morality.” Professor George has authored over 70 peer-reviewed articles and two books: Christianity and Extraterrestrials? A Catholic Perspective (2005) and Stewardship of Creation (2009)\, as well as editing The Essential Guide to Catholic Spiritual Classics (2017). She is a Thomistic Institute speaker and the assistant editor of the Long Island Botanical Society newsletter. Prof. George is a Scholar Associate of SCS. \nMegan Levis is a fourth year doctoral student in  Bioengineering at the University of Notre Dame in the field of tissue engineering. Her research focusses on the pathways involved in mechanical signaling during tissue growth\, development\, and healing after injury. Megan also designs microfluidic devices to mechanically and chemcally perturb multicellular systems. She is a graduate student member of SCS. \nLawrence Machia\, O.S.B.\, is priest of the Order of St. Benedict. He holds an MDiv and an MA in Theology from St. Vincent Seminary. His master’s thesis research was on Galileo’s Letter to Christina and its place in Catholic intellectual tradition. He is currently studying undergraduate physics at St. Vincent College in preparation for graduate studies in astronomy and astrophysics. Fr. Machia is a student member of SCS. \nSteven J. Mithen is Professor of Early Prehistory at the University of Reading in the UK. His research concerns human evolution and early prehistoric communities\, with a focus on the evolution of intelligence\, language and music\, and the emergence of farming communities. He has long-term archaeological field projects in Southern Jordan and Western Scotland. His books include The Prehistory of the Mind (1996)\, After The Ice: A Global Human History 20\,000-5000 BC (2003)\, The Singing Neanderthals (2005)\, Thirst: Water and Power in the Ancient World (2012)\, and WF16: Excavations at An Early Neolithic Settlement in Southern Jordan (2018). Prof. Mithen has served as Pro-Vice Chancellor and Deputy Vice Chancellor at the University of Reading. He was elected as a Fellow of the British Academy in 2003. \nChristopher Raub is Asst. Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the Catholic University of America. He received his PhD in 2009 from UC Irvine\, and did postdoctoral work at UC Davis and the University of Southern California. Dr. Raub’s research merges tissue engineering\, biomedical optics\, and microfluidics to study cell and matrix dynamics noninvasively and relate microscale features to macroscale tissue mechanics. Prof. Raub is a member of SCS. \nBenjamin Rybicki is Senior Research Scientist in the Department of Public Health Services at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. He received his PhD in Epidemiology from University of Michigan in 1996. His research focusses primarily on the epidemiology\, demographics\, and genetics of a variety of diseases\, including sarcoidosis\, Parkinson’s disease\, and prostate cancer. Dr. Rybicki is a member of SCS. \nDaniel Vanden Berk is Assoc. Professor of Physics at St. Vincent College. He received his PhD in Astronomy and Astrophysics in 1997 from the University of Chicago. His research focusses on gamma-ray bursts\, quasars and active galaxies\, sky surveys\, statistical analysis of large data sets\, the intergalactic medium\, and ultraviolet astronomy. Prof. Venden Berk is a member of SCS. \n									Videos \nVideos of 2019 conference talks \n									In The Media \nMedia Coverage of Conference: \naleteia story on SCS and 2019 conference  \nCatholic World Report \nPodcasts of Interviews with speakers: \nFr. Lawrence Machia\, O.S.B. and Daniel Vanden Berk\, Part I  (July 15\, 2019) \nFr. Lawrence Machia\, O.S.B. and Daniel Vanden Berk\, Part II  (July 22\, 2019) \nBejamin Rybicki  (August 12\, 2019) \nJonathan Lunine   (August 19\, 2019) \nKarin Öberg   (August 26\, 2019) \nMegan Levis\, Part I   (Sept 2\, 2019) \nMegan Levis\, Part II  (Sept 9\, 2019)
URL:https://catholicscientists.org/event/2019-scs-conference/
CATEGORIES:
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://catholicscientists.org/content/uploads/2022/03/Main_Building_at_the_University_of_Notre_Dame.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180608
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180611
DTSTAMP:20260501T054337
CREATED:20220517T161430Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20220803T204756Z
UID:1747-1528416000-1528675199@catholicscientists.org
SUMMARY:2018 SCS Conference
DESCRIPTION:Details\n									Program\n									Videos\n									In The Media\n									Details \nOur second conference — “The Human Mind and Physicalism” — ran from June 8-10\, 2018\, in Washington\, DC\, at the Cathollic University of America. \nTopics: \nPhysicalism (also called scientific materialism) is the reductive claim that all of reality\, including the human mind\, is physical. The conference brought together scholars in many fields (philosophy\, physics\, neuroscience\, and computer science/mathematical logic) to examine this claim critically. There were also talks on other topics\, including the life of Bl. Nicolaus Steno. The St. Albert Award Lecture was given by Juan Martin Maldacena of the Institute for Advanced Study (Princeton) on the subject of “Black Holes and the Structure of Spacetime.” \n2018 St. Albert Award:   \nSee information on the awardee Juan Martin Maldacena \n									Program \n2018 SCS Conference \nFriday\, June 8: \n5:00–9:00 PM  Registration (Heritage Hall\, Father O’Connell Hall) \n8:00 PM  Reception and Poster Session I  (Heritage Hall\, Father O’Connell Hall) \nSaturday\, June 9: \n7:00 AM  Mass (St. Vincent de Paul Chapel) \n8:00 AM  Breakfast (Great Room\, Edward J. Pryzbyla University Center) \n8:45 AM  Benediction Cardinal Donald Wuerl\, Archbishop of Washington\, D.C.  & Welcoming Remarks Stephen M. Barr\, President of the Society of Catholic Scientists \n9:00 AM  Keynote Lecture “Arguments for the Immateriality of the Mind”\,  Edward Feser (Pasadena City College) \n10:00 AM  Break  \n10:15 AM  Lecture: “The Role of the Observer in Quantum Mechanics”\, Stephen M. Barr (University of Delaware} \n10:45 AM  Break  \n11:00 AM  Lecture: “Randomness in Quantum Phenomena”\, Valerio Scarani (National University of Singapore) \n12 Noon: Lunch  \n1:15 PM  Lecture: “Fifty Years Without Free Will”\, Aaron Schurger (French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM)) \n2:15 PM: Break  \n2:30 PM  Guest Lecture: “On the Question of Whether the Mind Can Be Mechanized”\, Peter Koellner (Harvard University) \n3:30 PM  Break  \n3:45 PM  Lecture: “Inside the Brain\, Inside the Earth: The Work of Bl. Nicolaus Steno”\,  Andrew A. Sicree (Pennsylvania State University) \n4:15 PM  Lecture: “Integral Ecology as a Restoration of Man’s Proper Role in Creation”\,   Kara D. Lamb (Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences) \n4:45 PM  Break  \n5:00 PM  St. Albert Award Lecture: “Superstring Theory”\, Juan Martín Maldacena (Institute for Advanced Study) \n6:00 PM   Cocktails (Heritage Hall\, Father O’Connell Hall) \n6:30 PM   Conference Banquet (Heritage Hall\, Father O’Connell Hall) \n8:00 PM   Organ Concert\,  Peter Latona\, D.M.A. Director of Music Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception \nSunday\, June 10:  \n8:00 AM Conference Mass (St. Vincent’s Chapel) \n9:00 AM  Breakfast  (Great Room\, Pryzbyla Center) \n9:45 AM Lecture:  “Poetic Naturalism Versus Non-Physical Reality”\, \,Michael B. Dennin (University of California\, Irvine) \n10:15 AM  Lecture: “The Freedom of the Physical World: Are You a Machine?” Craig S. Lent (University of Notre Dame) \n10:45 AM  Lecture: “Mind First: Why the Decoherence Program Entails Copenhagen Interpretation”\, Javier Sánchez-Cañizares (University of Navarra) \n11:15 AM  Poster Session II  \n12:15  PM  Lunch  \n1:00 PM. Membership Meeting  \n2:15 PM  Conference End \n									Videos \nVideos form our 2018 conference \n									In The Media \nMedia Coverage of Conference: \nEWTN story \nCatholic Scientists Find Camaraderie When Discussing Faith\, Research\, CRUX \nMajor Growth for Group Highlighting Faith-Science Harmony \, Catholic News Agency
URL:https://catholicscientists.org/event/2018-scs-conference/
CATEGORIES:
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://catholicscientists.org/content/uploads/2022/03/brain.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20170421
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20170424
DTSTAMP:20260501T054337
CREATED:20220517T162127Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20220803T190125Z
UID:1758-1492732800-1492991999@catholicscientists.org
SUMMARY:2017 SCS Conference: Origins
DESCRIPTION:Details\n									Program\n									Welcome\n									Speakers\n									Videos\n									In the Media\n									Details \nOur first conference—“Origins”—ran April 21–23\, 2017 in Chicago at the Millennium Knickerbocker Hotel. \nTopics: \nThe conference brought together researchers on all aspects of origins\, from cosmos to consciousness.  Specific topics included current cosmological ideas on the beginning and fate of the universe\, fine-tuning and multiverse ideas\, habitable planets and astrobiology\, the origin of life\, the evolution of species\, and the origin of intelligence and consciousness. \n2017 St. Albert Award: \nSee information on the awardee Kenneth R. Miller \n									Program \n“Origins”  \nInaugural conference of the Society of Catholic Scientists \nFriday\, April 21:  \nArrival and registration \n8:00 PM  Reception and Poster Session I. \nSaturday\, April 22: \n7:00 Mass at St. James Chapel\, The Archbishop Quigley Center \n8:00  Breakfast  \n8:45 A Welcoming remarks (Stephen M. Barr\, President of the SCS) \n9:00  Keynote Lecture: “The Origin and Evolution of Universes”  Prof. John D. Barrow (University of  Cambridge) \n10:00 break. \n10:15  Invited lecture:  “The Origins and Prevalence of Habitable Worlds”  Prof. Karin I. Öberg (Harvard University) \n11:15 break \n11:30  “Medieval Ideas of the Multiverse”   Prof. J. Christopher Clemens (University of North Carolina) \n12:00  Lunch  \n1:15  “The Origin of Evolution: The Interplay of Order and Contingency”  Prof. Daniel Kuebler (Franciscan University of Steubenville)     \n1:45  “Process Information: A novel communication theory with applications to   evolutionary biology”  Dr. Erick Chastain (Rutgers University) \n2:15 break \n2:30 Invited lecture: “Why Only Us: the origin of human language”   Prof. Robert Berwick (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) \n3:30 break \n3:45  “Science in the Light of the Christian View of the Human Person”  Fr. Joachim   Ostermann\, O.F.M. \n4:15  “The Catholic Scientist in the Secular World:  What is the meaning of our vocation and how does it distinguish us?”  Dr. Marisa March  (University of Pennsylvania) \n4:45  break \n5:00  St. Albert Award Lecture: “To Find God in All Things: Grandeur in an Evolutionary View of Life”   Prof. Kenneth R. Miller (Brown University) \n6:00:  Reception/Dinner \n8:00: Banquet address   Br. Guy Consolmagno\, S.J. (Director\, Vatican Observatory) \nSunday\, April 23: \n8:00 AM    Conference Mass at St. James Chapel\, The Archbishop Quigley Center \n9:00  Breakfast  \n10:00  Invited Lecture: “Georges Lemaître’s Contributions to Cosmology”   Prof. Robert Scherrer (Vanderbilt University) \n10:30  “Are Probabilities Indispensable to Inferring Design?”  Prof. Robert C. Koons     (University of Texas at Austin) \n11:00  Poster Session II  \n12:00 Lunch  \n1:00  Membership meeting \n2:00  Closing remarks   \n2:15  Conference ends \n									Welcome \n2017 Inaugural Conference Welcoming Remarks\nAs President of the Society of Catholic Scientists\, I welcome you all to our first conference\, whose theme appropriately enough is “Origins.”  SCS itself had its origin only last summer with seven members. As of today [April 22\, 2017] we have about 330\, which far exceeded our expectations\, as has the attendance at this conference. \nI would like to say a few words about what the Society of Catholic Scientists aspires to be.    \nOne friend whom I invited to join SCS last summer\, was hesitant because\, as he put it\, “I am not a Catholic scientist; I am a scientist who is Catholic.” His point was that there is not a specifically Catholic way of doing science\, nor are there specifically Catholic scientific theories.  That is true; and yet\, faith is not unrelated to or alien to the scientific enterprise. As we heard last evening in Andrew Sicree’s excellent presentation about Bl. Nicolas Steno\, the founder of the science of geology\, and as we will hear tomorrow in Bob Scherrer’s talk about Georges Lemaître\, the father of the Big Bang theory\, religious believers have contributed mightily to the progress of science. But beyond that\, one can say that basic Jewish and Christian beliefs support both the possibility and the value of scientific research. Indeed\, it has been suggested by many that Jewish and Christian revelation helped prepare the ground for the emergence of modern science. It did so\, most fundamentally\, by sharply distinguishing between God and nature.  \nBiblical revelation taught that the sun\, moon\, oceans\, wind\, forests\, and other things of this world are neither gods\, nor the habitations of capricious deities\, but are\, rather\, the works of God.  This stripped the world of divinity and made it truly a natural world.  Though not itself divine\, the world nevertheless reflects its divine Author. As the Book of Wisdom said\, “from the greatness and beauty of created things comes a corresponding perception of their Creator.” \nIn particular\, as God is rational and wise — indeed God is Reason and Wisdom itself — one expects the universe to be governed by laws and principles intelligible to and discoverable by reason.  Johannes Kepler\, a devout Lutheran\, announced his discovery of one of those laws with the words: “I thank Thee\, Lord God our Creator\, that Thou hast allowed me to see the beauty in Thy work of creation.” \nThis was the attitude of all the great founders of modern science\, including Copernicus\, Kepler\, Galileo\, Pascal\, Boyle\, Steno\, and Newton. It is the attitude of religious scientists today. It is the attitude of the Society of Catholic Scientists\, whose own motto means “Knowledge with devotion\, research with wonder.” \nAnd yet\, there is a proper distinction between theology and natural science\, just as there is a distinction between God and nature. Theology and science should not be put into a blender to produce some pseudo-mystical or pantheistic mush that has the characteristics neither of genuine science nor of sound theology.  Science should not pretend to be theology\, nor should theology pretend to be science. Each is grounded in a sense of wonder\, and a belief that the world makes sense\, but each has its own methods\, competence\, and sources. \nWhile God gave laws to nature\, he did not choose to reveal them to us supernaturally. The laws of nature are thus not only discoverable by reason\, but must in fact be discovered by reason. And since reason is the common possession of all human beings\, who are made in the image of God\, science is a human activity and not a specifically Catholic\, or Christian activity.  Moreover\, as reason is a common human possession\, we are prepared as Catholics to learn from anyone who has something to teach us\, whether it be the great pagan philosophers of antiquity\, Plato and Aristotle\, or those of our professional colleagues today who are atheists.  We will engage them on the field of reason and in the common pursuit of truth\, without ever\, of course\, sacrificing those truths to which we are committed as Catholics.  \nThere is\, as my friend noted\, no such thing as “Catholic Science.”  Nor is there  such a thing as a scientific Catholicism.  Science is the same for Catholic and non-Catholic. The Catholic faith is the same for scientist and nonscientist.  As members of SCS we are Catholics and we are scientists.  There is a distinction\, but there is also a profound harmony.  It is to that harmony we wish to give witness\, by our lives and work\, through our discussions and our fellowship.  \nI should point out that in addition to members of SCS\, who must be scientists\, SCS has what it calls Scholar Associates\, who are elected by the Board. These are distinguished Catholic theologians\, philosophers\, and historians of science\, who are interested in the relation of science and the Catholic faith and wish to be a part of our activities. About a dozen of them are present at this meeting. We hope that our Society will increase opportunities for interaction between Catholics scientists and Catholic scholars in other fields. We also would like to foster interaction between Catholic scholars and non-Catholic scholars.   \nLater today we shall give an award named after St. Albert the Great. St. Albert is the patron saint of scientists and of the natural sciences. But St. John Paul II has a claim to this as well. Never before had any pope written so much or so appreciatively on modern science and so penetratingly on the relation of science and faith and more generally on the relationship of faith and reason.  His writings on these subjects form\, as it were\, a Magna Carta for the Catholic Church’s relation to science.   \nIn 1988\, Pope John Paul II wrote a letter to the head of the Vatican Observatory\,  which contained these words: \n“those members of the Church who are either themselves active scientists\, or in some special cases both scientists and theologians\, could serve as a key resource. They can also provide a much-needed ministry to others struggling to integrate the worlds of science and religion in their own intellectual and spiritual lives. …” \nI see the founding of the Society of Catholic Scientists as an attempt to answer this call. May the intercession of St. John Paul II\, St. Albert the Great\, and Blessed Nicolas Steno help us to do so in a manner worthy of them.  \n									Speakers \nJohn D. Barrow FRS is Professor of Mathematical Sciences at Cambridge University and Director of the Millennium Mathematics Project\, a program to improve the appreciation of mathematics. His research is in cosmology and astrophysics. He has received many awards\, including the Templeton Prize\, the Royal Society’s Faraday Prize\, the Kelvin Medal\, the Zeeman Medal\, the Dirac Medal\, and the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society. He has written 520 scientific papers\, and 22 books. His play\, Infinities\, won the Premi Ubu for best play in the Italian theatre in 2002. He has given many lectures on the interfaces between cosmology and areas of philosophical and theological interest and also has the curious distinction of having delivered lectures on cosmology at the Venice Film Festival\, 10 Downing Street\, Windsor Castle and the Vatican Palace. \nKarin Öberg is the Thomas D. Cabot associate professor of astronomy at Harvard. Her research focuses on how chemistry affects star and planet formation and the likelihood of forming habitable planets. Recent highlights include observations of snowlines and organic molecules in Solar Nebula analogs where exoplanets are currently assembling. Dr. Öberg obtained a B.Sc. in chemistry at Caltech in 2005\, and a Ph.D. in astronomy at Leiden University in 2009. She received a Hubble Postdoctoral Fellowship in 2009\, and joined the Harvard faculty in 2013. At Harvard\, her research in astrochemistry has been recognized with a Sloan fellowship\, a Packard fellowship and the Newton Lacy Pierce Award. Dr. Öberg is a Director and co-founder of the Society of Catholic Scientists. \nChris Clemens is Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy and Senior Associate Dean for Natural Sciences at the University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill). He received his Ph.D. in astronomy from the University of Texas at Austin. Clemens studies white dwarf stars\, and his recent projects include seismology of oscillating white dwarf stars and the study of exoplanetary rubble that forms around white dwarfs when asteroids\, comets or planets are broken up by high gravity. He also builds spectrographs and their components for observatories around the world. He has authored over 100 research papers\, holds four patents and is PI of two major NSF grants. He is a faculty member of the Program in Medieval and Early Modern Studies and designed and taught the course “Medieval Foundations of Modern Cosmology.” He has received the Hettleman Prize for Artistic and Scholarly Achievement and the Faculty Award for Excellence in Doctoral Mentoring. He has also co-founded two startup companies\, MegaWatt Solar\, Inc.\, and Syzygy Optics\, LLC. \nDaniel Kuebler is Professor of Biology at Franciscan University of Steubenville and teaches courses in evolutionary biology\, cell biology\, and human physiology. His biological research involves two major projects\, 1) understanding the relationship between metabolism and seizure disorders and 2) examining the effects that various biologics have on human mesenchymal stem cells. In addition to his lab research\, he is the co-author of The Evolution Controversy: A Survey of Competing Theories (Baker Academic\, 2007)\, a book which critically examines the controversies over evolution. He has also published a variety of popular articles on science\, politics\, culture and religion. He received a Ph.D. in Molecular and Cell Biology from the University of California\, Berkeley and earned a Masters of Science in Cell and Molecular Biology as well as a Bachelors degree in English from the Catholic University of America. \nErick Chastain received his B. Sc. in Computer Science from Carnegie Mellon University in 2006\, his M.S. in Neurobiology and Behavior from University of Washington\, Seattle\, and his Ph.D. in Computer Science from Rutgers University in 2017. He is currently working as a postdoc for Nina Fefferman at University of Tennessee\, Knoxville. His current work focuses on the intersection between the theory of computer algorithms\, evolution\, and thomistic/scholastic philosophy of nature. \nRobert C. Berwick is Professor of Computational Linguistics and Computer Science and Engineering\, jointly with Brain and Cognitive Sciences\, at MIT.  He and his research group investigate computation and cognition\, including computational models of language acquisition\, language processing\, and language change\, within the context of machine learning\, modern grammatical theory\, and mathematical models of dynamical systems. A second line of inquiry is probing the biological and evolutionary underpinnings of human language\, including models of language change as well as its biologically-grounded evolutionary origins\, in particular\, in birdsong. Professor Berwick has been the recipient of a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Award as well as the MIT Edgerton Faculty Achievement Award\, MIT’s highest honor for junior faculty. He has also received an NSF Presidential Young Investigator Award. He helped found and run MIT’s Center for Biological and Computational Learning for more than 15 years. \nJoachim Ostermann\, OFM\, before entering religious life\, earned a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Munich in 1990 for his work on mitochondrial biogenesis. After postdoctoral work in Cell Biology at the Sloan Kettering Institute\, he became an Assistant Professor of Biochemistry at Vanderbilt University. In 2001\, he moved to Canada to work in research management positions in the biotechnology industry. In 2008\, he joined the Order of Friars Minor. He professed his solemn vows in 2013 and was ordained to the priesthood in 2014. Now his research interests are in philosophy of science and religion and the implication of the scientific worldview on the religious understanding of the human person. \nMarisa Cristina March is a cosmologist who specializes in research on dark energy. She received her doctorate from Imperial College London\, was a Research Fellow at the University of Sussex\, and is currently a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania. She is a member of the ground-based Dark Energy Survey where she works on supernova cosmology and observes at CTIO’s Blanco Telescope.  Dr. March has worked on galaxy lensing for European Space Agency’s future Euclid space mission. She also holds a Bachelors degree in Catholic Theology from Heythrop College London. \nKenneth R. Miller is Professor of Biology at Brown University.  He is life sciences advisor to The News Hour on PBS and coauthor of the nation’s leading high school biology textbook. In addition to his research work in cell biology\, he has written extensively on evolution\, and in 2005 he served as lead witness in the Kitzmiller v. Dover trial on evolution and intelligent design.  He is the author of two popular books: Finding Darwin’s God: A Scientist’s Search for Common Ground between God and Evolution\, and\, Only a Theory: Evolution and the Battle for America’s Soul. His honors include the Public Understanding of Science Award from AAAS\, the Stephen Jay Gould Prize from the Society for the Study of Evolution\, the Gregor Mendel Medal from Villanova University\, and the Laetare Medal from Notre Dame University.  In 2015 he received the Presidential Citation of the National Science Teachers Association. \nBrother Guy Consolmagno\, SJ\, is Director of the Vatican Observatory and President of the Vatican Observatory Foundation. A native of Detroit\, Michigan\, he earned undergraduate and masters’ degrees from MIT\, and a Ph.D. in Planetary Science from the University of Arizona. He was researcher at Harvard and MIT\, served in the US Peace Corps (Kenya)\, and taught university physics\, before entering the Jesuits in 1989. At the Vatican Observatory since 1993\, his research explores connections between meteorites\, asteroids\, and the evolution of small solar system bodies\, measuring meteorite physical properties in Castel Gandolfo and observing distant asteroids with the Vatican’s telescope in Arizona. Along with more than 200 scientific publications\, he is the author of six popular books including Turn Left at Orion (with Dan Davis)\, and Would You Baptize an Extraterrestial? (with Paul Mueller). \nRobert Scherrer is Professor and Chair of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Vanderbilt University.  He received his PhD in physics from the University of Chicago. His research area is cosmology\, encompassing work on dark energy\, dark matter\, big bang nucleosynthesis\, and the large-scale structure of the universe.  He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society (2001)\, and among other awards is the recipient of the Klopsteg Memorial Award of the American Association of Physics Teachers (2011) and The Ohio State University Alumni Award for Distinguished Teaching (1999). He is the author of Quantum Mechanics: An Accessible Introduction (Addison-Wesley\, 2006). He has also published several popular science articles and science fiction short stories. Prof. Scherrer is a Director and co-founder of the Society of Catholic Scientists. \nRobert C. Koons is Professor in the Philosophy Department of the University of Texas at Austin. He is a metaphysician with interests in the philosophy of religion and science and has written on the cosmological argument\, the relation between reason and faith\, neo-Aristotelian accounts of modern science\, and topics in logic and probability. Trained at Oxford and UCLA\, he has authored fifty articles. His book Paradoxes of Belief and Strategic Rationality (Cambridge\, 1992) received the Aarlt Prize from the Council of Graduate Schools in 1994. He is the author of Realism Regained (OUP\, 2000) and the co-editor (with George Bealer) of The Waning of Materialism (OUP\, 2010)\, and very recently co-authored The Atlas of Reality: A Comprehensive Guide to Metaphysics (with Tim Pickavance). He came into full communion with the Catholic Church 10 years ago from a Lutheran background. He is a Scholar Associate of the Society of Catholic Scientists. \n									Videos \nWatch Videos of talks from this conference \n									In the Media \nMedia Coverage of Conference: \nFaith And Science Come Together At Conference For Society Of Catholic Scientists\, Forbes \nCatholic Scientists Converge in Chicago to Ask Big Questions\, Catholic News Agency \nCatholic Scientists Discuss Faith’s Role in Work\, Our Sunday Visitor
URL:https://catholicscientists.org/event/2017-scs-conference-origins/
CATEGORIES:
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://catholicscientists.org/content/uploads/2017/01/Screen-Shot-2017-07-04-at-10.47.32-AM.png
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR