The Isaac Asimov memorial debates.
The 2014 Isaac Asimov Memorial Debate: Selling Space.
Space exploration is entering a new era. Dozens of aerospace companies have emerged in recent years, all with the goal of commercializing space as never before. From serving NASA's cargo needs to sending tourists on space vacations to mining asteroids for profit, this next generation of entrepreneurs, and not NASA, may be the ones who transform space into our backyard, possibly creating the first-ever trillionaires.
Host and moderator Neil deGrasse Tyson, who is the Frederick P. Rose Director of the Hayden Planetarium, lead the 2014 Isaac Asimov Memorial Debate, Selling Space, with a panel of entrepreneurs and space historians on March .
Panelists Include:
Wanda M. Austin, President and CEO of The Aerospace Corporation. Austin served on President Obama's Review of Human Spaceflight Plans Committee in 2009, and in 2010 she was appointed to the Defense Science Board.
Michael Gold, Director of DC Operations and Business Growth, Bigelow Aerospace. Gold is also chairman of Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee, Federal Aviation Administration.
John Logsdon, Professor Emeritus, Space Policy & International Affairs, George Washington University. Logsdon in a space policy analyst and historian.
Elliot Pulham, Chief Executive Officer, Space Foundation. The Space Foundation advocates for commercial, military, and government space interests.
Tom Shelley, President, Space Adventures, Ltd. Space Adventures provides opportunities for private spaceflight and space tourism.
Robert Walker, Executive Chairman, Wexler & Walker Public Policy Associates. Walker served as chairman of the House Committee on Science and Technology from 1977 to 1997.
The late Dr. Isaac Asimov, one of the most prolific and influential authors of our time, was a dear friend and supporter of the American Museum of Natural History. In his memory, the Hayden Planetarium is honored to host the annual Isaac Asimov Memorial Debate—generously endowed by relatives, friends, and admirers of Isaac Asimov and his work—bringing the finest minds in the world to the Museum each year to debate pressing questions on the frontier of scientific discovery. Proceeds from ticket sales of the Isaac Asimov Memorial Debates benefit the scientific and educational programs of the Hayden Planetarium.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbmFeEIKBFI
2013 Isaac Asimov Memorial Debate: The Existence of Nothing
The concept of nothing is as old as zero itself. How do we grapple with the concept of nothing? From the best laboratory vacuums on Earth to the vacuum of space to what lies beyond, the idea of nothing continues to intrigue professionals and the public alike.
Join moderator and Hayden Planetarium Director Neil deGrasse Tyson as he leads a spirited discussion with a group of physicists, philosophers and journalists about the existence of nothing. The event, which was streamed live to the web, took place at the American Museum of Natural History on March 20, 2013.
PANELISTS:
J. Richard Gott, professor of astrophysical sciences, Princeton University, and author of Sizing Up the Universe: The Cosmos in Perspective
Jim Holt, science journalist and author of Why Does the World Exist? An Existential Detective Story
Lawrence Krauss, professor of physics, Arizona State University and author of A Universe from Nothing: Why There is Something Rather Than Nothing
Charles Seife, professor of journalism, New York University, and author of Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea
Eve Silverstein, professor of physics, Stanford University, and co-editor of Strings, Branes and Gravity
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OLz6uUuMp8&feature=youtu.be
2012 Isaac Asimov Memorial Debate: Faster Than the Speed of Light
Hosted by Hayden Planetarium Director Neil deGrasse Tyson, this year's debate pitted some of the experimentalists who claimed to have discovered faster-than-light neutrinos against their strongest critics, as well as other teams who are racing to test Albert Einstein's Theory of Relativity with unprecedented precision.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qlLW60wOjo
2011 Isaac Asimov Memorial Debate: The Theory of Everything .
Can the entire universe be explained with a single, unifying theory? This is perhaps the most fundamental question in all of science, and it may also be the most controversial.
Albert Einstein was among the first to envision a unified theory that could account for the behavior of all matter and energy in the cosmos, but a definitive solution has eluded physicists to this day. As the 21st century progresses, "string theory" remains the leading candidate to be the "theory of everything"—although some have come to question whether string theorists are on the right track. Still others doubt that a "theory of everything" exists at all—and consider the search for such a theory an outdated philosophy of our search for cosmic truths.
Join Director of the Hayden Planetarium Neil deGrasse Tyson as he hosts and moderates six of the world's leading voices in this great scientific debate.
Panelists:
Dr. Katherine Freese, professor of physics at the University of Michigan
Dr. Jim Gates, professor of physics at the University of Maryland-College Park
Dr. Janna Levin, professor of physics and astronomy at Barnard College
Dr. Marcello Gleiser, professor of physics and astronomy at Dartmouth College
Dr. Brian Greene, professor of physics and mathematics at Columbia University
Dr. Lee Smolin, theoretical physicist at Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics
The talk was recorded at the American Museum of Natural History on March 7, 2011.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYeN66CSQhg
