100 Year Starship® 2015 Public Symposium
29 October – 1 November, 2015
Silicon Valley, California, USA
Santa Clara Marriott
Click here to go to the main 100YSS Public Symposium 2015 Website
Pushing radical leaps in knowledge, technology design and human systems, the fourth annual 100 Year Starship 2015 Public Symposium will be held in Silicon Valley — a world epicenter of high tech innovation and big thinking — October 29 - November 1, 2015.
- More than 1,800 planets outside of our solar system — exoplanets — have been confirmed by Kepler Telescope and other astronomical data.
- Between 8.8 and 40 billion Earth-sized planets are estimated to orbit stars within the so-called "habitable zone" in our galaxy, the Milky Way.
- Estimates are that 132-160 habitable worlds are in our stellar neighborhood — within 10 parsecs (33.6 light years) of our sun.
Both the process of definitively finding and the actual indisputable discovery of an exoplanet capable of supporting Earth-evolved or terran life — an Earth analog or Earth 2.0 so to speak — will be game changers. 100 Year Starship (100YSS) considers the process and the discovery itself integral parts of the phenomenon “Finding Earth 2.0.” Finding Earth 2.0 has profound implications for technology, knowledge and systems across the spectrum of human skills and capacities as well as experiences and perspectives on the future.
Atmosphere, geology and weather. Design and propulsion of probes. Definitions of life and intelligence. Telescopes and remote sensing. Data storage, compression, transmission and communication. Economics and investment. Education. Individual, national and global ambition. Ethics. Materials. Law. Politics. Religion. Resources.
The 100 Year Starship 2015 Public Symposium challenges participants to consider what specific capabilities and systems — scientific, technical and societal — will be needed over the next 5-25 years; not to merely suggest or catalog earth analogue candidate exoplanets, but to identify at least one definitive Earth 2.0—and to consider how such a discovery itself will impact our world and space exploration.
Symposium Highlights
State of the Universe features leading scientists and engineers in astronomy, astrophysics and space-related fields in dialogue of what’s new that the public should know.
Trending Now engages thought leaders in new areas of research and fields of development from the bioengineering lab to investment banking that are in the news and have the potential to positively — or negatively — impact our future.
Radical Leaps is an exhilarating session that explores game-changing engineering and systems that are possible within the next 10 to 15 years. Attendees are then able to choose a session to explore in even more depth immediately after the introductory presentations.
Oral talks, written papers, and posters presented during the Tech Tracks are central to 100YSS and the 100YSS Public Symposium. The Tech Tracks provide a forum for attendees from academia, business, and other institutions to explore in-depth concepts, ideas, and questions in the subject areas needed to achieve all the capabilities required for a human interstellar journey, as well as the application of such capacity to enhance life here on Earth. From energy to education, design, economics, medicine, astrophysics, IT, communication, and policy, the Tech Tracks are chaired by subject matter experts and the presentations are chosen for merit, novelty, applicability, and thoughtfulness. The papers presented are professionally edited and included in the Symposium Proceedings.
Click here to go to the Technical Tracks and call for papers page: http://techtracks100yss.org
Science Fiction Stories Night
Story-telling and fiction enables us to imagine technological advances and failures, and consider the pros and cons of different societal outcomes. 100YSS convenes noted authors and scientists to provide diverse and inclusive voices and an audience to discuss the critical importance of a compelling story well told.
Accelerating Creativity
Join leaders from Silicon Valley and 100YSS Public Symposium participants from around the world for a spectacular evening to consider how the arts and science push and pull one another.
100YSS Classes
All are welcome! The classes are comprised of highly curated information, taught by subject matter experts and are formatted to engage and enlighten all attendees. Topics include: Propulsion: Proven, Probable, or Preposterous?; Leaving the Nest, with a focus on Life Sciences; The Very, Very Big Picture on Space Sciences; Society and Culture; and International and Interstellar Best Practices in Education.
New: The Wall
A unique mini-workshop and networking opportunity to “throw your ideas against The Wall and see what sticks!”
100 Year Starship (100YSS) invites us to think even bigger: to create the advances in science and engineering, and the bold social, economic, and cultural commitments necessary to explore deep space beyond our solar system and improve life on Earth — today.