ASU Origins Project Newsletter July 2013 From the Director News We have had quite the year at the Origins Project and I am pleased to be able to take time to reflect on the exciting science and culture events we have been able to bring to the public. Our 2012-2013 academic workshops served to highlight important relationships between science and culture and the impact this relationship has upon social progress. In October we co-sponsored the interdisciplinary workshop Lying: the Making of the World. As part of this discussion on the evolutionary drive of lying to others as well as self-deception, we held the public event, Great Debate Deception: A Night of Magic and Illumination. In February we brought the most influential scientist-scholars to Tempe for the workshop Dealing with Climate Change, addressing what may be the single most important global problem facing humanity in the coming century. The workshop and affiliated Great Debate Climate Change: Surviving the Future, served to inform the public of the very pressing need for global political action as well as carbon mitigation measures to stem the tide of climate change. Our public events for the year culminated with the Origins Stories Weekend, a nearly weeklong series of public events featuring the top names in science, science education, and science writing. The weekend began with an on-location taping of NPR’s Science Friday with Ira Flatow, featuring me, Brian Greene, and Ian McEwan. That evening, a sold-out screening of the new film, The Unbelievers, which includes footage of our previous events, was presented at Gammage, along with a panel from the film, including novelists Cormac McArthy and Ian McEwan, and actress Cameron Diaz. On Saturday, another sold out event at Gammage featured the Storytelling of Science, with science popularizers including Neil deGrasse Tyson, Bill Nye, Richard Dawkins, Neal Stephenson, Brian Greene, and Tracy Day. The weekend’s events were featured on NBC News, Science Friday and on local media and our Storytelling event is available online at the Origins Youtube site, as are our other Great Debate events. Norm Perrill Origins Scholarship Winners Announced We are pleased to announce the first Norm Perrill Origins Project Scholarship recipients. The graduate student winner was PhD Archaeology student Sarah Klassen whose research focuses on the origins of agriculture in Laos. The undergraduate winner, Alexi Choueiri, is a pre-med Honors student studying Economics and Biochemistry. Thank you to Prof. Emeritus Norm Perrill for his generosity. Applications for the 20142015 academic year will be accepted in Spring 2014. Please see origins.asu. edu/funding for more information. We have also begun a major re-organization of Origins, and recently completed a comprehensive Strategic Planning program that produced proposals which we hope will allow us to raise The Origins Project to higher levels of activity and recognition, both locally, and nationally. We plan to implement these recommendations over the coming year or two. As we plan our 2013-2014 season of public events and workshops, we are looking ever forward to bring to ASU cutting edge research workshops and public events. We plan to bring in the world’s top physicists to discuss the exciting possibility that our universe is not unique, as well as at least two other public programs currently being planned, which will be announced early in the fall, as well as a planned special gala event in the spring of 2014 to celebrate the 5 year anniversary of the Origins Project. The summer of 2014 will see me sailing with the Origins Project’s first co-sponsored expedition around the Galapagos Islands, an exclusive luxury cruise featuring world class discussions with me and noted anthropologist Bill Kimbel. I look forward to our continued exploration as we serve to expand science and reason-based knowledge both on-campus and throughout the world. -Lawrence Krauss http://origins.asu.edu originsproject@asu.edu ASUOriginsProject Krauss on Real Time with Bill Maher In February, Lawrence Krauss was a featured guest on HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher where he discussed science education, among other hot topics. You can watch clips from the episode at http://vimeo. com/60192946. Altman, McEwan, Wilczek: 20122013 Origins Visiting Professors This spring the Origins Project had the opportunity to bring in three top scientists and writers to serve as Origins Project Distinguished Visiting Professors. Nobel Laureate Frank Wilczek spoke on new direction sin physics, Nobel Laureate Sidney Altman addresses issues of RNA and disease, and Booker-winning author Ian McEwan participated in science and storytelling events. ASU students were fortunate to have the opportunity to hear each visiting professor speak on current research projects. 480/965.0053 asuOrigins TELLING THE STORY OF OUR WORLD Clockwise from top: Magician and panelist Joshua Jay performs as part of Great Debate Deception: A Night of Magic and Illumination, Wally Broecker, John Ashton, and Klaus Lackner prep backstage, Wally Broecker addresses the Great Debate Climate Change: Surviving the Future panel and audience at Gammage Auditorium. Great Debate Deception: A Night of Magic and Illumination October 2012 The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences held the academic workshop Lying; the Making of the World, co-sponsored by the Origins Project. As part of the workshop, The Origins Project held Great Debate Deception: A Night of Magic and Illumination at Gammage Auditorium. Joining magicians Joshua Jay and Jamy Ian Swiss were neuroscientists Stephen Macknik and Susana Martinez-Conde, as well as noted scholars Robert Trivers and Carol Tavris. The evening featured a lively discussion of the reason we lie to ourselves and others, optical illusions and magic. Climate Change Workshop February 2013 The Origins Project hosted an academic workshop, Dealing with Climate Change, which featured top climate scientists discussing new evidence for increasing carbon rates and goals to mediate it. Co-organized by Lawrence Krauss and Wally Broecker, the grandfather of climate science, the outcome of the workshop was a public opinion paper signed by many of the participants urging research investment in carbon sequestration programs. The workshop was cosponsored by the Walton Sustainability Solutions Initiative and the School of Earth and Space Exploration. Great Debate Climate Change: Surviving the Future February 2013 As part of the Dealing with Climate Change Workshop, The Origins Project hosted the public event Great Debate Climate Change: Surviving the Future at Gammage Auditorium. The evening featured Wally Broecker, Jim Hansen, John Ashton, Sander Van Der Leeuw, Klaus Lackner, and Susan Solomon, and moderator Lawrence Krauss. Highlights from the evening included a conversation about how best to mitigate humancaused climate change; a global governmental focus on the reduction of carbon emission or a focus on the use of carbon sequestration devices such as the novel artificial ‘leaf ’ developed by Lackner. A highlight of the evening was the call to action from Broecker who urged the audience to become politically active citizens and think of the long-term consequences of allowing current carbon emission rates to continue to the detriment of future generations and species of plant and animal life. Origins Stories Weekend: The Storytelling of Science March 2013 The Origins Project hosted a series of exciting events this March, focused on the stories of science and how we communicate this passion for knowledge. The premiere event, The Storytelling of Science, featured top scientists and communicators Lawrence Krauss, Brian Greene, Tracy Day, Ira Flatow, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Bill Nye, Richard Dawkins, and Neal Stephenson in a passionate and, at times, raucous event performed at Gammage for a sold-out audience. You can view this event on our YouTube page. Clockwise from top: On stage antics featuring the Storytelling of Science panel, packed audience at The Unbelievers Screening, Origins Stories Weekend Event list, Science Friday with Ian McEwan, Brian Greene, Lawrence Krauss, and Ira Flatow. Origins Stories: Science Friday March 2013 NPR’s Science Friday joined us at ASU Downtown for a live broadcast of the radio show. Hosted by Ira Flatow, the show featured Origins visiting professor Ian McEwan, physicist Brian Greene, as well as a host of top ASU scientists including our director, Lawrence Krauss. Origins Stories: Public Reading with Origins Stories: The Unbelievers Test Ian McEwan March 2013 Screening and Panel Discussion Booker Prize author Ian McEwan gave March 2013 The Origins Project was excited to hold a public reading to ASU and the local community as the culminating event of a test-screening and discussion of the the Origins Stories Weekend. Reading new documentary, The Unbelievers, starring Lawrence Krauss and Richard from his novel Sweet Tooth and other works, he spoke to a packed house on Dawkins as well as a host of intelscience writing. lectuals, artists, and actors. The film, pre-screened to a packed audience at Gammage, was followed by a panel discussion featuring Krauss, Dawkins, filmmakers Gus and Luke Holwerda, noted writers Ian McEwan and Cormac McCarthy, and actress Cameron Diaz. The Unbelievers officially premiered the Hot Docs International Film Festival in Toronto the following month and received very positive feedback. To find out more about the film visit http://unbelieversmovie.com TELLING THE STORY OF SCIENCE Exciting Upcoming Events February 1, 2014 5th Anniversary Great Debate Series: Parallel Realities, Is There One Universe? February 1-2, 2014 Private Academic Workshop: One Universe April 5, 2014 5th Anniversary Great Debate Series: Consciousness, Synthetic Biology, and The Future of Technology June 2014 Galapagos: Darwin’s Enchanted Islands Luxury Cruise Support the Origins Project Your gift supports expanding the human universe one element at a time by broadening scientific literacy through curricular initiatives, focused intellectual workshops, public events, and discussions. Donations can be made on our website at http://origins.asu.edu Did You Know? • Gift Levels $118 Origins Project Supporter • One dollar donated for each known element • Origins Symposium 9-DVD Collection • $500 Origins Project Friend • All of the Origins Project Supporter benefits plus • Exclusive advanced notification of upcoming shows and ticket information $1000 Origins Project Society • All of the Origins Project Supporter benefits plus • Two VIP tickets to one Origins premier event $2500 Origins Project Circle • All of the Origins Project Society benefits plus • Four tickets to members only lunch or reception hosted by key scientific personalities The Origins Project has a dedicated YouTube channel where you can watch our Great Debates and Chat @ Origins Project virtual events. Check us out at http://www.youtube.com/user/asuorigins The Origins Project has a new Flickr site where you can view photos from previous events http://www.flickr.com/photos/originsproject Origins Project Welcomes New Member You may have seen a new face at our Origins Stories Events this spring. We are happy to welcome Nicole Perrone as the new Origins Project Office Assistant. Nicole is an undergraduate student in the School of Human Evolution and Social Change majoring in Physical Anthropology. She has been a longtime Origins Project volunteer and we are happy to have her working with us on a more permanent basis. Welcome Nicole! The ASU Origins Project is an exciting transdisciplinary initiative that fosters new research and dialogue, partners to transform university and K-12 education, and advocates for science education and public engagement of science-related issues. For more information on supporting or partnering with the ASU Origins Project, please visit us on the web at http://origins.asu.edu Coming Spring 2014 The Origins Project at Arizona State University 5th Anniversary Gala Event Series A Celebration of Science and Culture Science. Creativity. Life