On May 9th, 2009 the New York Academy of Sciences is hosting a day-long conference examining the discrepancies between the sciences and humanities. Topics of discussion include cultural history, science communication, political science, and education. More details can be found at the conference website here.

The agenda is as follows:

8:00 Sign in & Continental Breakfast
9:00 Welcome
OPENING REMARKS
Adrienne Burke, Executive Editor, Science & the City, The New York Academy of Sciences
INTRODUCTIONS & MEETING OVERVIEW
Chris Mooney & Sheril Kirshenbaum, Co-authors, Unscientific America: How Scientific Illiteracy Threatens Our Future
9:15 Morning Keynote
E.O. Wilson, Harvard University
Biologist and two-time Pulitzer Prize winner, and author of Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge, discusses his classic treatise on bringing the sciences and humanities together.
10:00 Coffee Break
10:30 Cultural History
The Two Cultures in Historical Perspective: From Aristotle to “Science Wars” and the “Third Culture”
In this session, noted scholars and writers examine the intellectual trends that have carried us to the present moment. Beginning with a survey of academic and disciplinary divides up to and through the scientific revolution of the 17th and 18th centuries, it includes an introduction to the historical milieu in which C.P. Snow wrote and spoke, and what motivated him to do so.
MODERATOR
D. Graham Burnett, Professor of History, Princeton University
PANELISTS
Ann Blair, Henry Charles Lea Professor of History, Harvard University
Lawrence Krauss, Foundation Professor in the School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University
Kenneth Miller, Professor of Biology, Brown University
Guy Ortolano, Assistant Professor of History, University of Virginia and author, The Two Cultures Controversy: Science, Literature and Cultural Politics in Postwar Britain
11:30 Science Communication 101
How to More Effectively Communicate Science Issues to the Public
The “two cultures” divide has often been understood as a rift between science and the humanities. But in truth, C.P. Snow’s interest was to bring an appreciation of science into politics, policymaking, and international affairs. Read today, Snow’s lecture points not to one rift—between science and the literary sphere—but rather to many. What role can the media play in amending these miscommunications?
MODERATOR
Corey Powell, Editor in Chief, Discover Magazine
PANELISTS
Paula S. Apsell, Executive Producer of NOVA, Director of WGBH Science Unit
Ira Flatow, Executive Producer & Host, NPR’s Science Friday
Andrew Revkin, Environment Reporter, The New York Times
Carl Zimmer, Author and Science Essayist
12:30 Lunch Break
12:45 Lunch & Luncheon Keynote
The Honorable John Edward Porter, chair of Research!America’s Board of Directors and a partner in Hogan & Hartson’s Washington, DC, law office. Previously, he served 21 years as a congressman from the 10th district in Illinois. In Congress he was chair of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education; vice-chair of the Subcommittee on Foreign Operations; and vice-chair of the Subcommittee on Military Construction.
2:00 Political Science
Restoring Science to Its Rightful Place in Politics
MODERATOR
Chris Mooney, Co-author, Unscientific America: How Scientific Illiteracy Threatens Our Future
PANELISTS
Darlene Cavalier, Founder, ScienceCheerleader.com
Matthew Chapman, Darwin descendent, film maker, author, founder Science Debate 2008
Francesca Grifo, Senior Scientist and Director, Scientific Integrity Program, Union of Concerned Scientists
Shawn Otto, Co-founder and CEO, Science Debate 2008
John Porter, Chair of Research!America’s board of directors and Partner in Hogan & Hartson’s Washington, DC, law office
3:00 Education & Citizenship
A Better Future through Science Citizenship
When it came to addressing the divide between the “two cultures,” C.P. Snow was unequivocal: The only ultimate solution, he said, lies in education. How does that lesson hold up today? This panel examines the scientific education of our next generation of citizens.
MODERATOR
Sheril Kirshenbaum, Co-author, Unscientific America: How Scientific Illiteracy Threatens Our Future
PANELISTS
Stacy Baker, Biology Teacher, Calverton School, Huntingtown, MD
Kevin Finneran, Editor-in-Chief, Issues in Science and Technology, the policy journal of the National Academy of Sciences
Adrienne Klein, Co-Director, Science & the Arts, The Graduate Center of The City University of New York
Stuart Pimm, Doris Duke Professor of Conservation Ecology, Duke University
4:00 Refreshment Break
4:30 Concluding Keynote
Dean Kamen, Founder, DEKA
Dean Kamen, famed for inventing the Segway, is an entrepreneur and inventor of numerous technologies designed to improve lives. He was awarded the National Medal of Technology by President Clinton, and he is the founder of FIRST, an organization dedicated to motivating the next generation to understand, use, and enjoy science and technology.
5:15 Closing Reception