The Claremont School of Religion, The LDS Council on Mormon Studies and the Mormon Scholars Foundation are pleased to present:

Parallels and Convergences: Mormon Thought and Engineering Vision

A conference featuring
keynote speaker Terryl Givens and a panel of LDS engineers

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The conference seeks to expand the discussion of Latter-day Saint perspectives on the attributes of God and the potential of man by examining the possible resonance between Mormon and engineering thought.  In Mormon thought, God is the architect of the Creation and the engineer of our bodies and spirits. Man, on the other hand, is believed to be capable of growing to become like God. The conference’s governing question is: Where does engineering fit in the convergence of these two realms?

A panel of LDS engineers will discuss topics that include materialism, free will, models of spirit matter, quantified morality, spiritual underpinnings for a space program, the New God Argument, God as a perfect engineer, technical interpretation of Mormon physiology, transhumanism, Gaia and the paradisiacal Earth, and technical advancement leading into the millennium.

Keynote Lecture: (see video)
Friday, 6 March 2009 at 8pm

Conference:
Saturday, 7 March 2009 10am-5pm
Abstracts are available here.
Author biographies are available here.

10:00 Welcome – Richard Bushman (see video)

10:10 – 11:50

“God, The Perfect Engineer” (see video)
Allen W. Leigh, Electrical / Software Engineer & Adjunct Instructor, retired 

“Models of Spirit Matter” (see video)
Adam N. Davis, Assistant Professor of Physics, Wayne State College

“A Technical Interpretation of Mormon Physics and Physiology” (see video)
Lincoln Cannon (with Scott Howe), President, Mormon Transhumanist Association

“Materialism, Free Will, and Mormonism” (see video)
Adam N. Davis, Assistant Professor of Physics, Wayne State College

Questions and answers (see video)

11:50 – 1:00 Lunch

1:00 – 2:50

“Theological Implications of The New God Argument” (see video)
Joseph West (with Lincoln Cannon), Founding Member, Director and Secretary, Mormon Transhumanist Association

“Quantified Morality” (see video)
A. Scott Howe, PhD, Senior Systems Engineer, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

“Transfiguration: Parallels and Complements Between Mormonism and Transhumanism” (see video)
Carl Youngblood, Chief Software Architect, Surgeworks, Inc. 

“Gaia, Mormonism, and Paradisiacal Earth” (see video)
Roger D. Hansen, PhD, Technology Specialist, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation 

Questions and answers (see video)

2:50 – 3:10 Break

3:10 – 4:00

“Welcome to the 21stt Century: The Uncharted Future Ahead” (see video)
David H. Bailey, Chief Technologist, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory

“Spiritual Underpinnings for a Space Program” (see video)
William R. Pickett (with Scott Howe), Senior Hardware Engineer, Antenna Range Master, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

4:00 – 5:00 Panel Discussion (see video)

Lecture and Conference Location:
Albrecht Auditorium in Stauffer Hall, Claremont Graduate University, 925 North Dartmouth Avenue, Claremont

Queries:
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Note: scholarly papers were prepared by each of the authors for their topics. The papers will be published soon by Kofford Books (please check back here for updates).

The call for papers can be viewed here.

A map of Claremont Colleges is available here.

A poster is available here.

Sponsored by the Howard W. Hunter Chair of Mormon Studies and the Mormon Scholars Foundation.

Parallels and Convergences: Mormon Thought and Engineering Vision is being independently organized by the Howard W. Hunter Chair of Mormon Studies in the School of Religion at Claremont Graduate University, and does not have any official ties to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

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