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Speakers confirmed as of June 22, 2006
Dr. Lynn Margulis
Dr. Robert
W. Corell
Dr. Robert
Artigiani
Dr. Lloyd
Pinkham Marc
Spiegel
Dr. Scott Turner
Dr. J.
Baird Callicott
Dr. David
Schwartzman
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Last updated: 11/25/2006
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Distinguished University Professor in the Department of Geosciences,
University of Massachusetts-Amherst. One of two original
proponents of Gaia Theory, along with Dr. James Lovelock. Her theories on
microbiological evolution are internationally accepted as the new standard
in this field. Dr. Margulis is the author of Symbiotic Planet and many
other books and has co-written a number of books with her son, Dorion Sagan.
Senior
Fellow at the Atmospheric Policy Program of the American Meteorological
Society and Senior Research Fellow in the Belfer Center for Science and
International Affairs (Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University).
Dr. Corell is actively engaged in research on global change and the
interface between science and public policy. He currently serves as the
Chair of the steering committee for the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment, an
international assessment of the impacts of climate variability, change, and
ultraviolet radiation increases in the Arctic region. Dr. Corell is an
oceanographer and engineer, having received his Ph.D., M.S. and B.S. degrees
at the Case Institute of Technology and MIT and having held appointments at
the Woods Hole Institution of Oceanography and the Scripps Institution of
Oceanography. 
Professor of Geosciences, Penn State University. Received the
Shell U.K. Gaia Fellowship 1990. He is Associate Director of the Earth System
Evolution Program of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research and a
member of the American Geophysical Union and the Geochemical Society. Dr. Kump's research interests include the evolution of ocean and atmosphere
composition on geologic time scales, human impact on coastal environments
including coral reefs, and other Earth systems topics.
Professor,
History of Science at the U.S. Naval Academy. Dedicated to strengthening the
bond between natural science and the humanities, he is particularly
interested in exploring the possibilities that ethics may be grounded in a
scientific understanding of nature that emphasizes processes rather than
things, biology rather than physics, chance rather than determinism, and
symmetry breaks rather than continuities. For him, the Gaia Hypothesis
offers both a compelling image around which to build community and a
practical guide for organizing societies able to learn and adapt. 
Associate
Professor of Science and Technology in Society at Virginia Tech. She
received her Ph.D. in sociology from Boston University, and teaches in the
areas of life sciences, technology, and society, as well as environmental
science and ethics. Her research is on behavioral science and environmental
issues, especially on biodiversity conservation. Dr. Crist is author of
Images of Animals: Anthropomorphism and Animal Mind (Temple University
Press, 2000) and co-editor of Scientists Debate Gaia: The Next Century
(MIT Press, 2004).
Middle School Teacher, Union Gap, Washington. Former Gifted and Talented
teacher in science, reading, math, language and art, Anthropology Professor
in Alaska. Dr. Pinkham is an educator of Native Science and Philosophy,
ancient traditions and customs, and believes these teach the values of
indigenous, inherent knowledge, methods and practices. The central message
is: respect and care for the Earth Mother, and, in return, we will also be
protected. Dr. Pinkham promotes Native Science, a practice that covers
social, economic, natural and wildlife resources and the Universe. He
believes that ancient stories and legends handed down through the
generations engender values that form the base for a balance of all life.
Associate
Professor of Biology, Co-director of the Program in Earth and Environmental
Science, New York University. Dr. Volk is a systems thinker, a carbon
cycle researcher, and author of the books Metapatterns Across Space,
Time, and Mind; Gaia’s Body: Toward a Physiology of Earth;
and What is Death? A Scientist Looks at the Cycle of Life.
Dr.
Donald Aitken is currently Principal of Donald Aitken Associates,
and Affiliate Faculty Member at the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture.
He was founder and Chairman of the Department of Environmental Studies
at San Jose State University, where he was named "Professor of
the Year," and was a staff research physicist and astrophysicist
at Stanford University. He is internationally known as an expert on
renewable energy, basing his work on a clear understanding of Earth’s
living system. 
Professor
and Director, School of Biological Sciences, Section of Integrative
Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Tx. Dr. Richardson holds a
Ph.D. in crop and soil science, genetics, and experimental statistics.
He sees the Gaia Theory as an integrative framework for all disciplines.
He and his wife have worked with a variety of governmental, NGO and
private land managers, including the Bureau of Land Management, U.S.
Forest Service, Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission, and
Holistic Resource Management of Texas. 
A
member of the 
High
school biology teacher, Yorktown High School, Arlington, VA. Mr. Zito
has worked as a genetic toxicologist and has been teaching science
in Arlington County, Virginia for last 18 years, using the Gaia Theory
to teach biology and environmental science. Steering committee member
Division
Director, Pinellas County (Florida) Environmental Lands Division.
Long-time advocate of Gaia Theory as best understanding of ecology
currently available; uses Gaian science in forest research. An ecologist,
educator, and explorer, Dr. Rinker is also a forest canopy scientist,
working in the treetops around the world.
An
actor with a wide range of experience in local theater, Mr. Sandel
has performed one-act plays on Da Vinci, and is fascinated by the
parallels between Da Vinci’s views and the Gaia Theory. He will present
a conversation on the Gaia Theory between Da Vinci and Einstein. 
Marc Spiegel has performed both his original stories and his one-man
play, Einstein Alive! in schools, libraries, festivals, museums and
theaters. In Einstein Alive!, Marc brings Einstein to life taking
his audience on an interactive journey through the adventures in his
mind using song and audience participation. As a storyteller, Marc
was a featured performer in the White House "Millennium on the
Mall" celebration. Further information can be found at www.einsteinshow.com,
or www.marcspiegel.com.
Farmer
in Shenandoah Valley who has developed nationally-known sustainable
farming methods. Mr. Salatin combines animals, plants, people, and
landscapes in what he calls “a symbiotic dance” to achieve environmental,
economic, and emotional synergy. Mr. Salatin’s ability to communicate
complements his creativity and business sense, enabling him to write
and speak all over the United States about the models he has developed
and made profitable. 
Associate
Professor of English at Tidewater Community College, and founder of
GAIA International (Global Awareness Interdisciplinary Alliance),
a student organization whose mission is to sponsor projects, events,
and publications that promote interdisciplinary ecological understanding,
and responsibility. Dr. Ellis is a scholar of English Renaissance
Literature, and has traveled widely, teaching in Greece, China, and
England and presenting papers on Gaia Theory at domestic and international
scholarly conferences.
Associate
Professor of Biology, SUNY College of Environmental Science & Forestry. Dr.
Turner is a physiologist with broad interests in the interface between
function, structure and evolution. His work on environmental regulation in
nests of African termites offers a fascinating glimpse of “Gaia in
microcosm”, a circumscribed system which exhibits “emergent homeostasis.”
His book, The Extended Organism: The Physiology of Animal-Built
Structures, offers a robust defense of Gaia theory. Through his new
book, The Tinkerer’s Accomplice: How Design Emerges from Life Itself,
he counters the prevailing idea that systems like Gaia are incompatible with
Darwinism.
Professor
of philosophy and religion studies in the Institute for Applied Sciences at
the University of North Texas. Dr. Callicott is the author or editor
of many books and articles on environmental ethics and served as both
President and Vice-president of the International Society for Environmental
Ethics. Dr. Callicott has long studied the life and writings of Aldo
Leopold, one of the most influential early figures in ecology, and believes
that Leopold anticipated the Gaia Theory in his early writings.
Professor,
Department of Biology, Howard University, Washington, D.C. Dr.
Schwartzman is author of Life, Temperature, and the Earth: The
Self-Organizing Biosphere, a book focused on the Gaia research program.
Main interests include the long-term carbon cycle as a context for
biogenesis and biota/biosphere evolution including encephalization. David's
second favorite life forms are lichens.
President of the Heinz Center for Science,
Economics and the Environment. Dr. Lovejoy is a conservation biologist
(Ph.D., biology, Yale University) who coined the term “biological
diversity.” He has worked for the World Wildlife Fund, Smithsonian
Institution, World Bank, United Nations, and other organizations to
promote conservation. The author of numerous books and articles, Dr. Lovejoy
also founded the public television series Nature.
