Science, Technology and the Future Conference in Melbourne

Who doesn’t love a good public lecture? How about a weekend jam-packed with thought-provoking, awe-inspiring talks about what the future might hold?

ASC-Victoria has teamed up with Humanity+ and the Rationalist Society to bring you the two day Science, Technology and the Future conference — a celebration of what the future might hold and what paths we need to follow to get there.

Date: 30 Nov to 1 Dec
VenueKaleide Theatre, RMIT University.
Tickets: $125 full/$75 conc.

Speakers include:
Professor Peter Doherty – Nobel Laureate and Immunologist
Professor Marcus Hutter – Artificial Intelligence researcher from ANU
Professor Lloyd Hollenberg – Quantum Computing and imaging; 2013 Eureka prize winner
David Pearce – British utilitarian philosopher
Dr Scott Watkins – Materials Scientist and flexible electronics specialist from CSIRO

For more information and to register http://2013.scifuture.org/

ASC-Victoria is hosting two special events in conjunction with the conference:

Futurist Friday — FREE for ASC members
If you can’t make it to the conference, or if you’d like to meet some of the presenters and other conference attendees, come along to the Science, Technology and Future pre-conference mixer on Friday the 29th November.

Grab a drink and a snack and get to know the people attending the conference, catch up with your colleagues or just enjoy a science-inspired Friday night with your friends!

Date and Time: Friday 29th of Nov – 5.30 pm onwards
Cost: ASC Members Free, others $7
Food: Finger food provided; drinks at bar prices.
Venue: Graduate House, 220 Leicester Street, Carlton Vic 3053

Panel Discussion: Communicating (and understanding) future technologies in medicine

ASC-Victoria is bringing together a panel of biomed researchers at the conference to look at how to responsibly communicate discoveries in medicine.

As technology changes the world, how do we keep the public on side? How do we communicate the potential of transformative technologies without making promises which can’t be kept? And, as members of the public, how do we check the facts?

Join three scientists for a panel discussion on communicating the potential and pitfalls of future technologies:

  • Associate Professor Megan Munsie (Stem Cells Australia) the role in managing our expectations of stem cell technologies. How much of what we know is fact?
  • Dr Melanie Thomson (biomedical researcher from Deakin Univeristy), and prolific tweeter on the frontiers in microbiology. Does Twitter help or hinder the communication of science? 
  • Dr Martin Delatycki, Director of the Bruce Lefroy Centre of Genetic Health Research on what you get when you pay $99 for your genome? What is the future of personalised medicine and direct to consumer genetic testing?

The discussion will be deftly navigated by Dr Shane Huntington from 3RRR’s Einstein-A-Go-Go science radio show. If you’ve signed up for the conference, this is a must-see session.

Date: Saturday 30th Nov, 3:30 pm
Venue: Kaleide Theatre, RMIT University.

This session is being hosted by the Australian Science Communicators as a part of the Science, Technology and the Future Conference, 30 Nov to 1 Dec @RMIT University. There is a cost to participate in the conference.

For more information and to register http://2013.scifuture.org/

See you all there!

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