Astrobiology is the scientific study of biological processes on the Earth and beyond. It connects research in physics, chemistry, biology, astronomy and planetary science. After centuries of speculation, we will soon have the capability of detecting ancient life or pre-biotic chemistry in the solar system, microbial life on extra-solar planets by its alteration of global atmospheric chemistry, and technological civilizations throughout the galaxy. Success in any of these areas would profoundly affect social discourse at all levels, reawakening religious questions in a new context. This series pursues these implications by bringing together voices from the relevant areas to form a new kind of interdisciplinary networking community that will encourage dialogue, research, and publication from the participants. Astrobiology has a firm scientific footing and it makes an excellent platform for gathering scientists, humanists, philosophers and theologians in an exploration of the role of humans in the universe.

We would like to announce the following speakers for Spring 2008:

Tuesday January 29, 2008
Jonathan Lunine - Planetary Scientist at the University of Arizona
"Titan, Organic Evolution, and the Implications of Weird Life for the Sacred"
Saturn's giant moon Titan gas a surface shaped by geologic processes much like Earth's, but with different materials and under different conditions. If like exists there it will be VERY different from our own at a fundamental level. What would this discovery imply about the specialness - or not - of our existence?

Tuesday February 5, 2008
Lisa Kaltenegger - Astronomer at Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge
"Characterizing Pale Blue Dots in the Sky"
An exploration of what makes a habitable planet, using Earth as the example. A decade of observations has placed us on the edge of detecting Earth clones; the lecture will consider the signs of potential habitability of rocky terrestrial planets.

Tuesday February 12, 2008
Gregory Benford - Author, Astrophysicist at UC Irvine
"Seeking Ozymandias: Building and Searching for Beacons"
What kind of beacons would be built by advanced civilizations in space? The lecture presents the physical limitations and potential motivations of distant beacon builders, which will inform any search for such beacons.

Tuesday February 19, 2008
Roger Angel - Astronomer at The University of Arizona
"Climate Change, Solar Energy and Geoengineering"
Solar energy from the world's deserts could largely replace coal as an energy source for electricity, mitigating current climate change. The lecture will also consider geoengineering solutions that may, nevertheless, be needed to avoid a climate catastrophe.

Templeton Fellow Jennifer Michael Hecht - Poet, Author, Historian

Thu March 6: "Cosmic Cosmopolitanism"
If we hear from life beyond Earth, the message will probably have been sent a long time ago, so cosmic cosmopolitanism will be tempered by being temporally staggered. This lecture will consider how cultures through history have responded when confronted with a message in a bottle.

Tues March 11: "The Speed of Life and Hoarders of Magnitude"
The laws of physics dictate the sizes of organisms but there could be intelligent life that is much larger or smaller than we are. This lecture will consider our prejudices on issues of speed and scale and seek to isolate some generative questions.

Thu March 13: "Smarter Than Us"
If visitors from outer space arrive here, they’re likely to be smarter or more technologically sophisticated than us. They may also have more well-developed morality. This lecture will speculate about the complex and probably surprising reactions that will unite us to aliens.

Tuesday March 25, 2008
Lynda Williams - Physicist, Chanteuse
"Starship Earth: Future Evolution"
Join the Physics Chanteuse, Lynda Williams, in a live multimedia-musical-theater one-woman-show blending science, song and personal narrative into a provocative exploration of past and future evolution of life aboard Starship Earth and beyond. Recommended for mature audiences.

Tuesday April 8, 2008
Alan Weisman - Journalist, Author
"The World, With or Without Us"
Drawing on his interviews around the world with scientists, religious leaders, and many others for his 2007 book, The World Without Us, author Alan Weisman speculates on the future of life on Earth, human and otherwise.

Tuesday April 15, 2008
Martinez Hewlett - Biochemist, Philosopher at The University of Arizona
"What Does It Mean to be Human? Biological, Philosophical, and Theological Issues"
As we embark on the great adventure of searching for life beyond our biosphere, it is important to consider what it means to be a human. The lecture examines this anthropological question from a biological perspective, followed by a discussion of philosophical and theological issues raised.

Tuesday April 22, 2008
Tom Boyd - Philosophy, Religion at the University of Oklahoma
"Preparing the Planet for Interstellar Visitations: A Sense of the Sacred and the Possibility of a Global Ethic"
Or planet may not be prepared at to receive visitors from the abyss of space. This lecture proposes that a sense of the sacred is necessary to prepare for such visitations. Furthermore, this sense grounds the possibility for a Global Ethic that will provide hospitality to all aliens, near and far.

Tuesday April 29, 2008
Ursula Goodenough - Biologist at Washington University
"Biology and the Sacred: Implications of Life on Earth"
An exploration of what we know about the origins and evolution of Earthly life, with an emphasis on the emergence of purpose and meaning.

Tuesday May 6, 2008
Nick Woolf - Astronomer at The University of Arizona
"All Hitched Together"
This lecture presents a systems approach to looking at the universe, a framework that connects non-living things, life, and social activities, explaining change and what determines survival. Rather than being a chance feature of the universe, the framework has humanity working towards a new kind of co-operation.