One afternoon... Six of the most creative and brilliant minds in science...
And only 200 front row seats.

Hosted by Seth MacFarlane, this half-day, invitation-only symposium was a unique networking opportunity for influential thought-leaders from both science and entertainment. Participants gathered at the Creative Artists Agency Building in Los Angeles on Wednesday, November 19, 2008, for an interactive, engaging, and provocative dialogue. Check out the video below to see many of the highlights and connections made during the event.

Highlight reel of The Science & Entertainment Exchange Symposium

Who: Sponsored by Ralph J. Cicerone, Patrick Soon-Shiong, and Jerry and Janet Zucker, and hosted by Seth MacFarlane, the symposium featured more than a dozen prominent scientists who acted as narrators and guides for this groundbreaking event.

When: November 19, 2008

Where: 2000 Avenue of the Stars Los Angeles, CA 90067

What: The Science & Entertainment Exchange sponsored an invitation only half-day symposium at the Creative Artists Agency Building in Los Angeles on Wednesday, November 19, 2008. Hosted by Seth MacFarlane, the symposium not only served as the platform to formally announce The Exchange, it was also an extraordinary networking and learning opportunity for all attendees. We showcased past examples of successful science and entertainment collaborations while also exploring new themes and messages that could easily translate to entertainment media

Salon Sessions

Borrowing from a model of the 17th-century European gatherings that were hosted by individuals who hoped to encourage stimulating and ultimately educational conversation among small groups of friends and acquaintances, The Exchange sponsored six salon sessions at the symposium. Each session focused on a particular area of science and featured three scientists and a moderator from the entertainment community. Intimate and conversational, the salons provided an opportunity for entertainment professionals to join in spirited discussions with scientific leaders on the ways in which science can inform, inspire, and improve the creative process of making films and television.

The Changing Climate and Our Energy Future

Moderated by Valerie Plame Wilson
Steve Chu, U.S. Secretary of Energy, and 1997 Nobel Prize winner in Physics
Ralph J. Cicerone, President of the National Academy of Sciences
Susanne Moser, Research Associate at the University of California-Santa Cruz Institute for Marine Sciences

Astronomy and Exploring the Cosmos

Moderated by Chris Weitz
Neil deGrasse Tyson, Astrophysicist and Director, Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History
Heidi Hammel, Senior Research Scientist, Space Science Institute
Lisa Randall, Professor of Physics, Harvard University

The Frontiers of Genomics

Moderated by Lawrence Kasdan
J. Craig Venter, Founder of the J. Craig Venter Institute
Lawrence Goldstein, Professor, Cellular & Molecular Medicine, Cancer Genetics Program, UCSD and Howard Hughes Medical Investigator
Gene E. Robinson, Swanlund Chair, Department of Entomology, Neuroscience Program and Institute for Genomic Biology at the University of Illinois

Artificial Intelligence and Cutting-Edge Robotics

Moderated by Rick Carter
Rodney Brooks, Panasonic Professor of Robotics, MIT (on leave), Chairman and CTO of Heartland Robotics
Cynthia Breazeal, Director of the Personal Robots Group at the Media Lab, MIT
Robert Full, Director of the Poly-P.E.D.A.L. Laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley

Rare and Infectious Diseases

Moderated by Kimberly Peirce
Bonnie Bassler, Squibb Professor of Molecular Biology at Princeton University and Howard Hughes Medical Investigator
David Bolinsky, Founding Partner and Medical Director of XVIVO
John T. Brooks, Leader of the CDC’s Clinical Epidemiology Team at the Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention

The Mysteries of the Brain and Mind

Moderated by Jocelyn Moorhouse
V.S. Ramachandran, Director of the Center for Brain and Cognition at the University of California, San Diego
Eric Haseltine, President and Managing Partner at Haseltine Partners
David Poeppel, Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, New York University

Photo Highlights of the Symposium

View slideshow of The Science & Entertainment Exchange Symposium