OryCon36: Full Schedule

1:00pm PST

Ask Dr. Genius: Ad-Lib Answers to Audience Questions

No, really, they're real scientists, honest. Bring your science questions, and if they don't have an answer they'll make something up, and it might even be sort of right.

Moderators

Manny Frishberg

Friday November 7, 2014 1:00pm - 2:00pm PST
Alaska 1534

SCIENCE-TECHNOLOGY

2:00pm PST

World Building Geophysics

Creating credible planets. Realistic geophysical architecture.

Moderators

G. David Nordley

Friday November 7, 2014 2:00pm - 3:00pm PST
Alaska 1534

SCIENCE-TECHNOLOGY

3:00pm PST

Copy Machines - Precursor to Replicator?

It's not Star Trek yet, but 3D printers are getting better and cheaper fast. Higher end machines can do complex multi material objects. What are the economic and social implications? Is SF taking note?

Moderators

Manny Frishberg

Panelists

Bob Brown

Kristin Landon

L. Pierce Ludke

Edward Stiner

Friday November 7, 2014 3:00pm - 4:00pm PST
Alaska 1534

SCIENCE-TECHNOLOGY

4:00pm PST

New Planetary Discoveries

What do we know about the planets we've discovered beyond our solar system? How do we really know what we know?

Moderators

G. David Nordley

Panelists

Dan Dubrick

Hugh S. Gregory

Melinda Hutson

Friday November 7, 2014 4:00pm - 5:00pm PST
Alaska 1534

SCIENCE-TECHNOLOGY

5:00pm PST

Backyard Astronomy

It's a dark night with lots of stars. Actually, some are galaxies, and some are planets, and nebulae--what can you see from your backyard, and what are good resources to learn about what you're seeing? Bonus--what might be visible from other worlds with different solar system conditions?

Moderators

Rick Lindsley

Panelists

Hugh S. Gregory

G. David Nordley

Roy Torley

Friday November 7, 2014 5:00pm - 6:00pm PST
Alaska 1534

SCIENCE-TECHNOLOGY

6:00pm PST

Can the USA Become a Nation of Makers Again?

What's stopping us? What's helping us? What do we need to do?

Panelists

Bob Brown

Sheila Simonson

Friday November 7, 2014 6:00pm - 7:00pm PST
Alaska 1534

SCIENCE-TECHNOLOGY

7:00pm PST

Hacking Biology

Will this be the next tech explosion? How good or bad could it be? What is actually happening now?

Moderators

Manny Frishberg

Panelists

Jessica F. Hebert

Jennifer Willis

Based mostly in Portland, OR, Jennifer Willis writes urban fantasy, sci-fi, sci-fi/romance, and paranormal mystery, all with humor and plenty of adventurous mayhem. She is a recovering journalist and has a byline in the British Fantasy Award-winning Women Destroy Science Fiction from... Read More →

Friday November 7, 2014 7:00pm - 8:00pm PST
Alaska 1534

SCIENCE-TECHNOLOGY

10:00am PST

Ghost in the Machine or Grandpa?

Is a personality upload a real person? Can they vote? What do they do for a living? Or for fun?

Moderators

William Hertling

writer, williamhertling.com

I'm a science fiction writer interested in artificial intelligence, the technological singularity, data ownership, and corporate power. I'm the author of Avogadro Corp, AI Apocalypse, The Last Firewall, The Turing Exception, and Kill Process.

Panelists

Jason V Brock

David W. Goldman

Mark Niemann-Ross

G. David Nordley

Saturday November 8, 2014 10:00am - 11:00am PST
Alaska 1534

SCIENCE-TECHNOLOGY

11:00am PST

Rosetta: A Comet's Tale

Dan Dubrick discusses the Rosetta probe, currently en route to Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, and outlines the goals and progress of the mission.

Panelists

Dan Dubrick

Saturday November 8, 2014 11:00am - 12:00pm PST
Hamilton 1124

SCIENCE-TECHNOLOGY

12:00pm PST

Do We All Really Need to Know Calculus?

Is it really necessary for everyone to graduate from high school knowing physics? How much math do we really use on a daily basis?

Moderators

Mark Niemann-Ross

Panelists

Melinda Hutson

Bob Kanefsky

Kristin Landon

Saturday November 8, 2014 12:00pm - 1:00pm PST
Alaska 1534

SCIENCE-TECHNOLOGY

4:00pm PST

300 Years from Now

What will Earth be like? Will we recognize it? Will we have left? Will we have survived?

Moderators

Manny Frishberg

Panelists

Hugh S. Gregory

William Hertling

writer, williamhertling.com

Kristin Landon

G. David Nordley

Saturday November 8, 2014 4:00pm - 5:00pm PST
Alaska 1534

SCIENCE-TECHNOLOGY

5:00pm PST

Can Technology Save the World?

China is becoming ... something. North Korea is just plain scary. Energy-starved nations wanting nuclear power vs. fears of a potential for nuclear war. How technology affects developing nations, how fast can they get it by what means, and what will it do to the world's future?

Moderators

5:00pm PST

Dawn: Probing the Asteroid Belt

Dan Dubrick discusses the progress of the Dawn probe sent to inspect the asteroid Vesta and earth's closest dwarf planet Ceres.

Panelists

Dan Dubrick

Saturday November 8, 2014 5:00pm - 6:00pm PST
Hamilton 1124

SCIENCE-TECHNOLOGY

10:00am PST

Science and Spirituality

Are science and spirituality mutually exclusive or intertwined?

Panelists

11:00am PST

Science, SF, and Religion

A discussion of the ultimate questions

Panelists

12:00pm PST

Understanding Evolution

Do you really know the origin of species and subsequent research?

Moderators

1:00pm PST

I Want to Get My Science On

Where does the lay person keep up with the latest developments?

Moderators

2:00pm PST

How Can We Become Energy Independent?

Natural gas powered cars? Cold fusion? Tapping the earth's core? Compost for energy?

Moderators

3:00pm PST

The Decentralized Office: A New Paradigm?

Is the decentralized office a new paradigm, a fluke, or just another option for some companies?

Moderators