New Vision 400
Father Ferdinand Verbiest (1623-88) dressed as a Chinese astrologer (woodblock print) by Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1798-1861).
New Vision 400: Engaging Big Questions in Astronomy
and Cosmology Four Hundred Years after the Invention of the Telescope
The John
Templeton Foundation is sponsoring a three-day international conference
“New Vision 400: Engaging Big Questions in Astronomy and Cosmology Four
Hundred Years after the Invention of the Telescope” and associated programs
in Beijing in October 2008. The New Vision 400 Conference will be presided
over by Professor Donald York, University of Chicago, as the program principal
investigator. Professor Jiansheng Chen, chairman of astronomy at Beijing
University, is the co-principal investigator and Sui-Jian Xue, of the Beijing
Astronomical Observatory of China, is chairing the Local Organizing Committee.
The occasion to be celebrated is the invention of the telescope 400 years
ago, by Hans Lippershey in 1608 in the Netherlands. The main activities
are a public event featuring discussion of the role of creativity and technology
in astronomical discovery; three days of scientific meetings, and a Young
Scholars Competition (papers from Chinese scholars judged by international
experts, the best being selected for public presentation, in a competition
for cash prizes).
The discussions will focus on the history of the telescope, the present
and future developments of astronomy, the role of technological innovations,
the advancement of science and the Big Questions that have emerged from
research and discoveries made with the telescope: the origin, creativity,
and purposefulness of the universe; the place of humans in the universe;
the implications of the discovery of planets around other stars; and the
role telescopes may play in searching for life elsewhere in the universe.
It is hoped that high-level research partnerships will develop as a result
of this conference, benefiting astronomers from East and West.
The meetings will be co-sponsored by Beijing University, the Chinese Academy
of Sciences, The Chinese Astronomical Society, National Astronomical Observations
in China and the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic
of China.
The John
Templeton Foundation is sponsoring a three-day international conference
“New Vision 400: Engaging Big Questions in Astronomy and Cosmology Four
Hundred Years after the Invention of the Telescope” and associated programs
in Beijing in October 2008. The New Vision 400 Conference will be presided
over by Professor Donald York, University of Chicago, as the program principal
investigator. Professor Jiansheng Chen, chairman of astronomy at Beijing
University, is the co-principal investigator and Sui-Jian Xue, of the Beijing
Astronomical Observatory of China, is chairing the Local Organizing Committee.The occasion to be celebrated is the invention of the telescope 400 years
ago, by Hans Lippershey in 1608 in the Netherlands. The main activities
are a public event featuring discussion of the role of creativity and technology
in astronomical discovery; three days of scientific meetings, and a Young
Scholars Competition (papers from Chinese scholars judged by international
experts, the best being selected for public presentation, in a competition
for cash prizes).The discussions will focus on the history of the telescope, the present
and future developments of astronomy, the role of technological innovations,
the advancement of science and the Big Questions that have emerged from
research and discoveries made with the telescope: the origin, creativity,
and purposefulness of the universe; the place of humans in the universe;
the implications of the discovery of planets around other stars; and the
role telescopes may play in searching for life elsewhere in the universe.
It is hoped that high-level research partnerships will develop as a result
of this conference, benefiting astronomers from East and West.The meetings will be co-sponsored by Beijing University, the Chinese Academy
of Sciences, The Chinese Astronomical Society, National Astronomical Observations
in China and the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic
of China.