Schedule of Events
Science, Public Policy, and The Planetary Community
Center for Inquiry’s 12th World Congress
Science, Public Policy, and the Planetary Community
Thursday April 9 through Sunday April 12 at Bethesda Hyatt, Bethesda, Maryland. Accessible by Metro.
Schedule of Events
Thursday, April 9
| 10 am – 3 pm | Tour of the Capitol and Visitors’ Center FREE host: Steve Lowe (Metro ticket required, $3.30) |
| 3 pm | FOC Meet and Greet |
| 4:30 pm | Registration Desk |
| 5 – 5:45 pm | Staff Meet and Greet Executive Room |
| 6 – 7 pm | Reception and Greeting Crystal Ballroom host: Toni Van Pelt |
| 7 – 10 pm | Panel: The Influence of Darwin Crystal Ballroom moderator: Derek Araujo Michael Ruse, professor and director of History and Philosophy of Science Program at Florida State University Barbara Forrest, philosophy professor at Southeastern Louisiana University David Contosta, professor of history at Chestnut Hill College; author of Rebel Giants: The Revolutionary Lives of Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin Edward Tabash, prominent civil rights lawyer, chairman of the First Amendment Task Force |
Friday, April 10
| 8 am | Registration |
| 8:30 – 9:20 am |
Patricia Scott Schroeder |
| 9:30 – 10:30 am | Keynote: Susan Jacoby moderator: Paul Kurtz |
| 10:30 – 11:30 am | Break/Poster Viewing |
| 11:30 am – 1:15 pm | Paul Kurtz luncheon address (separate ticket required) Special Presentation Crystal Ballroom National Capital Area Skeptics present the Phillip J. Klass Award to Paul Kurtz |
| 2:15 – 3 pm |
Philip Kitcher, the John Dewey Professor of Philosophy and James R. Barker Professor of Contemporary Civilization at Columbia University |
| 3:15 – 5:30 pm |
Science and Public Policy Dr. John C. Mather, senior astrophysicist in the Observational Cosmology Laboratory at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Drew Shindell, research scientist at NASA Ren Fujun, executive director of the Chinese Research Institute for the Popularization of Science (CRISP) |
| 5:45 – 6:30 pm | James Randi: Search for the Chimera Crystal Ballroom moderator: Joe Nickell |
| 6:30 – 7:30 pm |
Special Presentation: Humanism in India Innaiah Narisetti, chair of the Center for Inquiry/India and children’s rights advocate Dr. Santi Sri Pandit, director of CFI/Pune; professor of international studies at Pune University, India Dr. Sam Ilangovan, representative of Dravida Khazagam in Chennai, currently lives in the U.S. |
| 6:30 pm | Dinner (on your own) |
| 8:15 – 10:30 pm | Doc Scantlin and the Imperial Palms Orchestra Cash bar in the hotel ballroom |
Saturday, April 11
| 9 - 11 am |
Skepticism and Science Elizabeth Loftus, Distinguished Professor at the University of California, Irvine Joe Nickell, senior research fellow at CFI; and full-time professional investigator of historical, paranormal, and forensic mysteries, myths, and hoaxes Richard Wiseman, professor in the Public Understanding of Psychology at the University of Hertfordshire in the U.K. Armadeo Sarma, engineer and senior manager at NEC Laboratories, Europe |
| 11 am - 12:30 pm |
Panel: Planetary Ethics Stephen Law, philosopher and professor at Heythrop College at the University of London Tom Beauchamp, professor of philosophy and a senior research scholar at Georgetown University’s Kennedy Institute of Ethics Eleanor Smeal, president of the Feminist Majority Foundation |
| 12:30 - 1:45 pm | Lunch (on your own) |
| 2 - 5 pm |
Panel: Secularism and Islam Ibn Warraq, senior research fellow at the CFI specializing in Koranic criticism Pervez Hoodbhoy, faculty member at the department of Physics, Quaid-e-Azam University; author Tarek Fatah, secular Muslim, Canadian political activist, writer, and TV host Mona Abousenna, co-director of the Center for Inquiry/Egypt Mourad Wahba, professor emeritus of philosophy at the University of Ain Shams in Cairo, Egypt |
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Concurrent Sessions |
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| 5 - 6 pm |
Special Feature: Separation of Church and State Edward Tabash, prominent civil rights lawyer, chairman of the First Amendment Task Force |
| 5 - 6 pm |
Special Feature: The Future of Skepticism Kendrick Frazier, editor of the Skeptical Inquirer; fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Benjamin Radford, managing editor of the Skeptical Inquirer; author |
| 6:15 - 6:45 pm | Music by Richard Einhorn |
| 7 - 10 pm |
Panel: Awards Banquet Lawrence Krauss, Foundation Professor and director of the Origins Initiative at Arizona State University. James Randi, internationally known magician and escape artist who currently devotes his work to investigating and demystifying claims of the paranormal and pseudoscience Paul Kurtz, founder of the Center for Inquiry/Transnational, Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, and the Council for Secular Humanism; professor emeritus of philosophy at SUNY Buffalo. |
Sunday, April 12
| 9 - 11 am | Secularism Around the World Crystal Ballroom moderator: Norm Allen Jr. Valeri Kuvakin, CFI/Russia Mona Abousenna, CFI/Cairo Floris van den Berg, CFI/Low Countries Suresh Lalvani, CFI/London Amardeo Sarma, CFI/Germany Justin Trottier, CFI/Ontario Fidel Niang, CFI/Senegal |
| 11 am - 12:15 pm | Student Panel moderator: Debbie Goddard Crystal Ballroom Students: Derek Rodgers, Dalhousie Atheist Community Sarah Kaiser, Secular Alliance of Indiana University Jason Ball, University of Melbourne Secular Society Michael Amini, University of Washington Secular Student Union |
| 12:15 - 12:45 pm | Closing Remarks Paul Kurtz Toni Van Pelt |


