Fall 2021 Regional Conference

The inaugural Regional Conference of the SCS NM Chapter will take place on Saturday, September 11, 2021, at the historic Fuller Lodge in downtown Los Alamos, NM.

Program

Click here for full program (as of Sep. 8, 2021)

We plan to have a full day of invited and contributed talks, a mix of longer and shorter talks by external and local NM Chapter speakers, on topics chosen from various fields of science, philosophy, theology, and/or their intersection, of general interest to a Catholic scientist audience.

Confirmed external speakers include Prof. Stephen Barr (U. Delaware, Physics), President of the SCS, and Prof. Michael Dennin (UC Irvine, Physics, Dean of Undergraduate Studies & Vice-Provost).

A Gold Mass followed by a public talk by Prof. Barr is also planned for Friday, September 10, 2021, in the evening, at Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish, Los Alamos, details here.

Talks will be recorded and posted online, but not live-streamed.

Talk submission

Local members of the SCS NM Chapter and other interested participants may submit abstracts for talks to be considered by the Chapter Board for inclusion in the Conference program.  The deadline for talk abstracts is was Friday, July 16, 2021. (Abstract submission is now closed.)

Registration

Attendance will be limited to about 50 people (subject to change based on any public health restrictions). Registration link is here. The early registration deadline was Friday, August 20, 2021. Late registration will be accepted until Tuesday, September 7, 2021 at 5pm MDT.

Late registration fees are $30 for registered SCS NM Chapter members, $50 for non-members, and $15 for students. Payment instructions (PayPal or check/cash) are given on the registration form.  

After you complete the registration form, you may complete your PayPal payment here (click button or click/scan QR code):

This conference is primarily funded by SCS through a generous grant from the John Templeton Foundation. This generous support allows the above registration fee to be kept very low.

Meals

Breakfast, lunch, and coffee/snacks will be provided, as well as dinner at the Friday public lecture. An optional dinner banquet on Saturday evening is being organized for a small additional fee of $10 for registered participants and $20 for each of their non-registered guests. The dinner fee will be collected at the time of or shortly before the conference.

Covid-19

This event will follow applicable County and State regulations on gatherings of this sort due to evolving conditions relating to public health and transmissible diseases. As of early August 2021, there are no restrictions on holding our meeting, but Los Alamos County has required all persons to wear masks indoors in County facilities -- which includes Fuller Lodge -- regardless of vaccination status. We will keep you updated as these conditions evolve. Please monitor NM DOH for statewide policies and information concerning Covid-19.

Travel

If you traveling to the conference from outside the local area, flights on many commericial airlines are available to ABQ, Albuquerque International Sunport, about a 2 hr drive from Los Alamos. (We recommend you rent a car at the airport.) Flights to SAF, Santa Fe Regional Airport, are available  on American  (through DFW or PHX) and United (through DEN), about a 1 hr drive to Los Alamos.

Lodging options in Los Alamos include Holiday Inn Express, the North Road Inn B&B, Comfort Inn, and Hampton Inn in White Rock. A bit further out, the Hilton at Buffalo Thunder in Pojoaque is also a popular option.

While you are here, we encourage you to take in the magnificent sites and vistas of the Los Alamos area and northern NM, including Bandelier National Monument, Valles Caldera National Preserve, the Santuario de Chimayo, and historic downtown Santa Fe, including the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi, the Loretto Chapel, and San Miguel Chapel.