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 |
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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, Director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and 1997 Nobel Prize winner in Physics (Following the symposium, Steve Chu was appointed Secretary of Energy at the U.S. Department of Energy)
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, Department of Linguistics and Department of Biology, University of Maryland College Park, and Department of Psychology, New York University
Photo Highlights of the Symposium
| View the slideshow of the Science & Entertainment Exchange Symposium |
We wish to thank the following for their generous financial support, without whom the symposium would not have been possible:
| Robert and Anne James | Davis Masten | Christopher Ireland |
| Presidents' Circle Communication Initiative of the National Academies | Patrick Soon-Shiong |
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We appreciate the enthusiast participation and kind donations from:
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We are pleased to receive the endorsement of the following organizations in support of the mission of The Science & Entertainment Exchange:
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