[AANC Contacts] SETIcon: A Convention on the Search for Life Elsewhere, Aug. 13 - 15 in Santa Clara, California

[Andrew Fraknoi]

Here is the latest information on a public event
this summer that may be of interest:

SETIcon
======
The Search for Life in the Universe in Science Fact and Science Fiction

August 13 - 15, 2010
Hyatt Regency Hotel, Santa Clara, California

Only $20 per day or $35 for a weekend pass.

Go to 
<http://www.seticon.com/>http://www.seticon.com 
for more information and tickets.

Space is limited!  Tickets are available on a first-come, first-served basis!
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SETIcon features:

·           Noted scientists explaining new developments in everyday language
·           Stars of science fiction TV series 
and movies, plus the advisors who help with the science
·           Panels to air controversial issues and compare perspectives
·           Special sessions where you can ask 
questions of your favorite guests in a smaller setting
·           A family room with hands-on activities (for kids 12 and older)
·         An inflatable star theater like the one 
the Obama family enjoyed during the recent White House star party

Some of the confirmed guests so far:

·           Apollo astronaut Rusty Schweickart, 
on saving the Earth from asteroid impacts
·           Frank Drake, the astronomer who 
undertook the first project to listen for alien radio messages
·           Jill Tarter, the SETI scientist on 
whom Jodie Foster’s character in Contact is based
·         Michael Brown, who discovered several 
large worlds beyond Pluto and whose work helped 
kick Pluto out of the planet club
·           Seth Shostak, SETI Scientist and the 
host of the “Are We Alone” radio program
·         Debra Fischer, one of the top planet 
hunters in the world, co-discoverer of the first 
system of planets around another star
·           Astronomer and California Professor 
of the Year Andrew Fraknoi on the "Top 10 Tourist Sights in the Solar System"
·           Tim Russ, Star Trek actor and amateur astronomer
·           Kevin Grazier, scientist on the 
Cassini Mission and science advisor for Battlestar Galactica
·           David Morrison of NASA on “Doomsday 
2012" and the new notion of "cosmophobia" -- fear of the skies
·           Astronomer Alex Filippenko, who 
helped discover the dark energy that is speeding up the universe
·           Award-winning science fiction writer Robert Sawyer
·           Gibor Basri, world-renowned expert on brown dwarfs (failed stars)
·           Margaret Race, one of the scientists 
working to protect Earth from alien microbes and 
other planets from Earth microbes
·           Best selling writer Mary Roach, 
author of the forthcoming "Packing for Mars: The 
Curious Science of Life in the Void"
·           Cosmologist Sean Carroll, author of 
"From Eternity to Here: The Quest for the Ultimate Theory of Time"
·           Jennifer Ouellette, Director of the 
Science & Entertainment Exchange, fostering 
creative collaborations between scientists and the entertainment industry

Make contact at SETIcon with other fans of 
science fact and science fiction in a comfortable 
setting. It will be a weekend when science and 
the imagination meet!  Enjoy a wide range of 
mind-expanding activities, an evening party, lots 
of time for discussion, plus a banquet where you 
can rub elbows with the speakers and other 
enthusiasts.  The banquet will honor Dr. Frank 
Drake on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of 
the first search for radio signals from 
extra-terrestrial civilizations.  See the web site for full information.

(Teachers who attend the entire weekend and 
participate in some of the educational programs 
will be able to receive credit through San Jose State University.)
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