Conference Program

 

 

 DAY 1: SATURDAY, 22 DECEMBER 2007

0830 - 1000

:

Registration 

1000 - 1100

:

Inaugural Session: Chief Guest: His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

1100 - 1130

:

Refreshments

 

1130 - 1300

:

SESSION I

Synthesis of Science and Spirituality: Exploring Ways for a Harmonious World

 

1130-1215

:

Besides Our Basic Humanity, Only the Perspectives of Science can Provide us Social and Personal Values 

 

Yash Pal (PADMA BHUSHAN)

(Former) Chairman, University Grants Commission; Secretary, Department of Science & Technology; Director, Space Applications Centre, Ahmedabad; Professor, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research.

 

1215-1300

:

Three prize winner of All India Students’ Essay Competition on the topic: India Should Focus on a Balanced Growth of Scientific Temper and Spiritual Wisdom

 

First Prize: Vivek Kaul, Georgia Institute of Technology, USA

Second Prize:: T.K. Nityashree, NIT Tiruchirapalli, TN, India

Third Prize: Chandrakanth Gadipelly, Wilson College, Mumbai University, India

 

1300- 1400

:

Lunch

 

1400 - 1500

:

SESSION II

Ultimate Reality: Scientific and Spiritual Paradigms

 

1400 - 1430

:

Why More of Science and Spirituality But Less of Religion for World Peace and Prosperity?

Jagdish N. Srivastava

CNS Research Professor Emeritus, Colorado State University, USA

 

1430-1500

:

Intelligent Design, Fine Tuning & Evolution Theory: A Synopsis of Competent Rational Theories

Prabhat K. Singh
Department of Civil Engineering
Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India

 

1500 – 1630

:

SESSION III

Machine, Mind and Consciousness

 

1500 - 1530

:

Three Consciousness(es), Mind and Information

A.K. Mukhopadhyay 

All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India

 

1530 - 1600

:

Some Recent Trends in Consciousness Studies: A View from the Vedanta

T. Malai

Bhaktivedanta Institute, Kolkata, India

 

1600 - 1630

:

Unfoldment of Collective (Cosmic) Consciousness in Indian Spiritual Traditions

Bhaswat S. Chakraborty  

Senior Vice President, Cadila Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Ahmedabad,  India

 

1630 - 1700

:

Refreshments

1700 - 1800

:

SESSION IV

Artificial Intelligence, Neuroscience and Beyond (part I)

 

1700-1730

 

Consciousness in Relation to Bioelectric Neural Circuitry

Ayush Goel

Oxford University Computing Laboratory, Oxford, England

 

1730-1800

 

Science, Psychic Phenomena, Cyclical Cosmology and Reincarnation

Paul Utukuru

Retired Professor of Medical Physics

Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Vanderbilt University

Nashville,TN and the Medical College of Virginia, Richmond, USA

 

1800 - 1900

:

SESSION V

Panel Discussion I:  Science, Ethics and Spirituality: A Need for a Balanced Approach

 

 

 

Kota Harinarayana (PADMASHREE)

Raja Ramanna Fellow, National Aerospace Labs, Bangalore & Former Vice Chancellor, Central University, Hyderabad, India

 

T. Hanuman Chowdary

Advisor, Satyam Computers, Hyderabad

Former IT Advisor, Govt. of A.P., Hyderabad

 

Ramamurthi Rallapalli  

General President of Indian Science Congress Association  2007-08 &

Former Vice Chancellor, Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati, India

 

A.D. Sahasrabudhe  

Director, College of Engineering, Pune, India

 

B. S. Murthy

Department  of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, IIT Madras, India

 

Jyoti Kumar

Department of Design, IIT Guwahati, India

 

1900 – 1915

:

Break

1915 - 2015

:

Cultural Programme: the famous drum show, marital arts and rasa-dance by Ranganikatan: A Manipuri Cultural Arts Troupe (http://www.ranganiketan.com/).  The troupe has performed more than 200 shows in different parts of the world.

 

2015 - 2115

:

Dinner

 

 

 

 DAY 2: SUNDAY,  23 DECEMBER 2007

0900 - 1030

:

Session VI

The Knowable  Nature of Scientific Truth

0900 - 0945

:

Roger Kornberg, Nobel Prize 2006 (Chemistry)

Department of Structural Biology

Stanford University, USA

 

0945 - 1030

:

Some Emerging Frontiers of NanoBiophysics and its impact on the Science and Spirituality Dialogue  

Anita Goel

Chairman and CEO, Nanobiosym

200 Boston Avenue, Suite 4700
Medford, MA 02155, USA

 

1030 – 1100

:

Refreshments

 

1100 - 1230

:

SESSION VII

Artificial Intelligence, Neuroscience and Beyond (part II)

 

1100 - 1130

:

Molecular Intelligence 

Abhishek Tiwari

Thomas M. Siebel Center for Computer Science

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA

1130 - 1200

:

Bio-feedback and Meditation

B. Prabhakar

LSI  Research, Bangalore, India

 

1200 - 1230

:

Mathematical Techniques for Study of EEG Data Recorded During Meditation

D. Narayana Dutt

Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore India

 

1230 – 1330

:

Lunch

 

1330 – 1430

:

SESSION VIII

Physics, Cosmology and  Beyond

 

1330 - 1400

:

Synthesis of Vedic and Modern Cosmology - A Big Challenge Ahead

Manoranjan Sinha

Department of Aerospace Engineering, IIT Kharagpur, India

 

1400 - 1430

:

Time: Explorations from Science, Philosophy and Spirituality

Ramgopal  Uppaluri

Department of  Chemical Engineering, IIT Guwahati, India

 

1430 – 1530

:

Session IX

Panel Discussion II: Role of Spirituality to Imbibe Values in Education

 

 

 

Damodar Acharya

Director, IIT Kharagpur, India

 

P. B. Sharma (moderator)

Vice Chancellor, Rajiv Gandhi Technological University, Bhopal, India

 

S. Sadagopan

Director, IIIT Bangalore, India

 

Hare Krishna Satapathy

Vice-Chancellor, Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidhyapeeth, Tirupati, India

 

A.D. Sawant

Pro-Vice Chancellor, Mumbai University, India

 

Jayanti Chavan  

President, Institute of Science & Religion, Navi Mumbai, India

 

1530 - 1630

:

SESSION X

Vedanta and Science – A Tribute to Dr. T. D. Singh

 

1530 - 1600

:

Exploration for the Ultimate Reality through Spirituality

Subhag Swami

International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), India

1600 - 1630

:

Mathematization of Nature

Sudipto  Ghosh

Dept. of Metallurgical & Materials Engineering, IIT Kharagpur, India

 

1630 – 1730

:

SESSION XI

Poster Session (along with light refreshments)

 

1730 - 1830

:

SESSION XII

Need for the Synthesis of Science and Spirituality – an Interactive Session

 

 

 

 

Roger Kornberg, NOBEL LAUREATE 2006 (Chemistry)

Department of Structural Biology

Stanford University, USA

 

Yash Pal (PADMA BHUSHAN)

(Former) Chairman, University Grants Commission; Secretary, Department of Science & Technology; Director, Space Applications Centre, Ahmedabad; Professor, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research.

 

Vijay Kumar Saraswat (PADMASHREE)

Chief Controller R&D (MSS) &

Program Director AD for development of Air Defense Systems

DRDO, Government of India

 

Anita Goel (moderator)

Chairman and CEO, Nanobiosym

200 Boston Avenue, Suite 4700
Medford, MA 02155, USA

 

Subhash  C. Mishra

Dean of Academic Affairs & 

Professor  of Mechanical Engineering

IIT Guwahati, India

 

1830 – 1900

:

Valedictory Function

 

1900 - 1915

:

Break

1915 - 2045

 :

Cultural Programme:

 

·         On glories of the LORD SHRI VENKATESHWARA and local traditional culture of Andhra Pradesh (45 minutes)

 

·         The famous drum show, marital arts and rasa-dance by Ranganikatan: A Manipuri Cultural Arts Troupe (http://www.ranganiketan.com/).  The troupe has performed more than 200 shows in different parts of the world. (30 minutes)

 

2045 - 2145

: 

Dinner

 

SPEAKERS’ GALLERY: Interaction with Participants

 

Questions to speakers by participants will be entertained on 23 December 2007 during the one-hour (1830 – 1930) poster session in which all speakers, including Nobel Laureate, Prof. Roger Kornberg and Prof. Yash Pal,  will be available in the SPEAKER’S GALLERY.  There will be NO questions immediately following the lectures by speakers. With this, participants with their questions ready in advance can interact with the speakers in a better way than they would do in 5-10 minutes question-answer sessions following the lectures.

(updated 13 December 2007)