UPDATED: Thu, Jul 11, 06:46PM Many of the technological achievements in recent decades were ideas prophetically described in science fiction literature long before they became a reality. From voice recognition commands to smart watches, our world is beginning to look like the sci-fi shows that have long intrigued us. What do some of America's smartest people think will be next? American Mensa, the high IQ society, hosts a panel of writers, academics, and sci-fi fans in a discussion on what the future may hold. Moderated by LaRae Bakerink, chair of American Mensa, with panelists Doug Ecks, Esq. (attorney, writer, and Mensa member), Nevin Millan (writer, actor, and Mensa member), Dr. John Putman (professor and Star Trek expert), Dr. Jenny Rankin (professor, writer, and Mensa member), and Ian Randal Strock (writer, publisher, and Mensa member).
Thursday July 18, 2019 12:30pm - 1:30pm PDT
Room 24ABC
UPDATED: Tue, Jul 09, 12:13AM To boldly go where no one has gone before . . . but science may have. If you believe that elsewhere in our galaxy, familiar worlds from Star Trek and sci-fi exist, this is the panel for you. Panelists Dr. Morgan Cable (NASA planetary scientist), Tiffany Kataria (NASA exoplanet scientist), Erika Lippoldt (writer and producer for Star Trek: Discovery and Trek spinoff series with Michelle Yeoh), Phil Plait (SYFY's The Bad Astronomer and Bill Nye Saves the World), and Andre Bormanis (science consultant for Star Trek, The Orville, and Cosmos) discuss the real science behind sci-fi's most beloved universes.
Thursday July 18, 2019 5:45pm - 6:45pm PDT
Room 6DE
UPDATED: Wed, Jul 10, 05:54PM Everybody knows that one of the best ways to accelerate your superhero career path is to get yourself involved in the right kind of "lab accident"-ideally one that gives you superhuman strength and abilities but doesn't maim you too badly. After all, accidents do happen. Join the Fleet Science Center and Robin Gunn, PhD (Senior Scientist and Project Manager at Structure Based Design), Sierra Simpson (PhD Candidate in Molecular Neuroscience at the Scripps Research Institute), Michelle Nolasco, Phd (Technical Communications at Agena Bioscience), Allison Fowler (EH & S Manager at Inova Diagnostics), Alexander Battey (PhD Candidate in Plasma Physics at Columbia University), Todd Maxwell (Radiation Safety Officer at Scripps Research Institute) and Dina Zangwill (Research Assistant at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies) as we discuss the strange dynamics of lab accidents. How often do they happen in real life? What are the potential effects? What are the wildest, scariest, or most serendipitous accidents these panelists have been involved with?
Thursday July 18, 2019 7:00pm - 8:00pm PDT
Room 6DE
UPDATED: Fri, Jul 19, 12:03AM Do recent shows like The Hot Zone and Chernobyl peak your interest in what calamities the human race may face in the future? Have you ever wondered how reality relates to what we see in the entertainment space? Join an illustrious group of scientific experts and advisors to discuss some of the real challenges facing mankind and how to separate fiction from fact. Featuring Dr. Elaine Seasly, NASA deputy planetary protection officer; FBI Special Agent John Gill, FBI San Diego weapons of mass destruction coordinator; Dr. Jessica Petrillo, State Department senior health security officer; Dr. Gregory Bernard, Homeland Security innovation officer and former Domestic Nuclear Detection Office assistant director; and Dr.Joe Masiero, group supervisor of Near-Earth Object survey projects at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the panel will discuss such existential risks as asteroids, emerging biological technologies, nuclear terrorism, and threats from space and beyond, and engage the audience in their questions about where the real risks to our planet and society may lie and how this often translates into popular fiction.
UPDATED: Mon, Jul 08, 07:49PM Decades before the emergence of Nick Fury, Black Widow, and Agent 37 of Spyral, spies and espionage had been pervasive in comics and graphic novels. Central to these tales revolving around espionage, advanced technology, and gadgetry have been pivotal elements. In this panel, moderator Steve Broback (co-founder, Dent the Future) will engage with experts, detectives, and former spies like Jonna Mendez (former chief of disguise for the CIA), Josh Ray (global cyber defense lead for Accenture Security), Barbara Rae-Venter (genetic genealogist), and Jason Hanson (former CIA officer and a security specialist) to discuss spy technologies of the past, present, and future.
UPDATED: Mon, Jul 08, 08:20PM Shane Campbell-Staton, ph.D. (assistant professor of Biology at UCLA) moderates a conversation between scientists and one “superhuman” athlete that will delve into how the technology of the modern world is changing how humans evolve. Panelists Mandy-Rae Krack (world champion free-diver and record-holder), Poppy Crum, ph.D. (chief scientist at Dolby Laboratories), Brian Brown, ph.D. (professor at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai),Nathan H. Lents, ph.D. (professor of Biology, John Jay College), and Peter Ward, ph.D. (professor, University of Washington Department of Biology) will discuss how modern science is making people more (and also less) “super.”
Saturday July 20, 2019 4:30pm - 5:30pm PDT
Room 24ABC
UPDATED: Wed, Jul 10, 05:46PM Movies make time travel look easy. All it takes is a flux capacitor or some Stark Industries ingenuity and you should be able to safely zip back a few decades, right? The Fleet Science Center brings together Christopher Markus (writer and co-producer, Avengers: Endgame), Elizabeth Simmons PhD (physicist and Executive Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs at UC San Diego), Eric Michelsen PhD (physicist and Lecturer at UC San Diego), Kim Griest PhD (physicist and Professor Emeritus at UC San Diego) and Clifford Johnson PhD (Professor of Physics at USC) to talk about how time travel and the quantum realm could be more accurately portrayed in fiction, and how close we really are to making it a reality. The big question is: What would you do with your time machine?
Saturday July 20, 2019 6:00pm - 7:00pm PDT
Room 25ABC