Conference Series Launch
Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024
Fondren Library, Kyle Morrow Room (third floor)
| VIdeo | Session/Description |
|---|---|
| Lecture “Imaginary Futures: Science, Fans and Fictions” Jim Endersby, professor of the history of science; associate dean for People, Culture and Inclusion in the School of Media, Arts and Humanities, University of Sussex (U.K.) In collaboration with Friends of Fondren at Fondren Library View Livestream |
Conference Program
Day No. 1: Friday, Feb. 9, 2024
Baker Institute for Public Policy
| VIdeo | Session/Description |
|---|---|
| Poetic invocation “Brave New Words” Savannah Cooper-Ramsey, poet Welcome remarks Luis Campos, conference chair Baker College Chair for the History of Science, Technology and Innovation; Faculty Scholar, Baker Institute for Public Policy, Rice University Reginald DesRoches, president, Rice University Jason Hafner, interim Scientia Institute director (2023–2024); professor of physics and astronomy and of chemistry, Rice University Novelistic intervention Invoking the Future: “Brave New Worlds: Past and Future” Michael Rogers, principal, Practical Futurist Jeffrey J. Kripal, J. Newton Rayzor Chair in Philosophy and Religious Thought, Rice University |
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| Panel 1: “Ever Since Asilomar: Past, Present and Future Implications” Moderator: Kirstin R.W. Matthews, fellow in science and technology policy, Baker Institute for Public Policy; lecturer, Department of BioSciences, Rice University “The Spirit of Asilomar” Luis Campos, Baker College Chair for the History of Science, Technology and Innovation, Rice University “The Human Drama of Asilomar: A Look Back — and Ahead” Michael Rogers, principal, Practical Futurist “One Meeting, Many Meanings” Matthew Cobb, professor of zoology, University of Manchester (U.K.) “Charting the Ethical Frontier: Navigating Teleology in a Technocratic World” Shannon Nangle, co-founder and CEO, Circe Q&A and conversation “Investing in Futures” Joseph Campana, William Shakespeare Professor of English; director, Center for Environmental Studies, Rice University |
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| The Civic Scientist Keynote Address “The Potential Impacts of Directing Evolution” Frances Arnold, Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 2018, Linus Pauling Professor of Chemical Engineering, Bioengineering and Biochemistry, California Institute of Technology Introduction: Joff Silberg, Stewart Memorial Professor of BioSciences; director of Systems, Synthetic and Physical Biology Program, Rice University |
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| Panel 2: “Synthetic Biology: Can It Change the World?” Moderator: Yousif Shamoo, Ralph and Dorothy Looney Professor of BioSciences, Rice University “World Needs in 2050 and How Synthetic Biology Could Help Caroline Ajo-Franklin, professor of biosciences; director of the Rice Synthetic Biology Institute; Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) Scholar, Rice University< “Synthetic Biology for Global Impact: Engineering Biology at Ginkgo” Patrick Boyle, head of Codebase, Ginkgo Bioworks, Inc. “Can It Change Global Governance?” Joy Zhang, professor of sociology; founding director, Centre for Global Science and Epistemic Justice, University of Kent (U.K.) “Hello, Is Dr. Frankenstein There?” Antonio Regalado, senior editor for biomedicine, MIT Technology Review Q&A Film clip: “Reinventing the Dodo” Steven van Eekelen/Netherlands |
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| Performance “The Choreography of CRISPR” Gabrielle Lamb, choreographer and artistic director, Pigeonwing Dance In conversation with Kirsten Ostherr, Gladys Louise Fox Professor, Department of English; director, Medical Humanities Research Institute; director, Medical Humanities Program, Rice University Closing Remarks Luis Campos |
Day No. 2: Saturday, Feb. 10, 2024
Baker Institute for Public Policy
| VIdeo | Session/Description |
|---|---|
| Welcome remarks and introduction Luis Campos, conference chair Baker College Chair for the History of Science, Technology and Innovation, Rice University Panel 3: “Data Surveillance: Who Counts and Who’s Counting?” Moderator: Michael Rogers, principal, Practical Futurist “Wastewater Surveillance in Houston, Texas: Navigating Science, Public Health and Ethics in the Era of Environmental Monitoring” Lauren Stadler, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering, Rice University “Refusing the Smart City in Times of Platforms and Pivots” Lilly Irani, associate professor of communication and science studies, University of California, San Diego “Transnational and ‘Incidental’ Communications From the War on Drugs to 702” Matthew Jones, Smith Family Professor of History, Princeton University Coffee break at 10:20 a.m. “Mnemonic Flickerings: The Disappearances and Reappearances of the Memory of Mexico’s Disappeared” Sergio Beltrán-García, adjunct professor and co-director of re/presentare, National Autonomous University of Mexico Q&A |
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| Panel 4: “How to Govern the Climate?”
Moderators: Cymene Howe, professor of anthropology; co-director, Program in Science and Technology Studies, Rice University Gökçe Günel, associate professor of anthropology; director of graduate studies, Rice University “Phasing Out Fossil Fuels: Who Draws the Road Map?” Holly Jean Buck, assistant professor of environment and sustainability, University at Buffalo “Investments and Inheritances of Plastic” Heather Davis, program director and assistant professor of culture and media, Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts, The New School “‘Just Transition’ Within Global Climate Policy: The Genealogy of an Idea” Naveeda Khan, associate professor and chair of anthropology, Johns Hopkins University “From Reduction To Regeneration: Beyond Carbon Fundamentalism In Climate Policy” Myles Lennon, Dean’s Assistant Professor of Environment and Society and Anthropology, Brown University Coffee break at 3:35 p.m. and "A Taste of the Anthropocene (AToTA) " by Jiabao Li, Cooper Galvin, The Balloon Collective “Reindeer, Rockets and Oligoptic-Satellitarian Environments in Northern Sweden” Chakad Ojani, postdoctoral researcher, Department of Cultural Anthropology and Ethnology, Uppsala University Q&A |
Photo Gallery
Feb. 9-10, 2024
View Photos on Flickr ( https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjBf4bz )