Isaac Asimov Memorial Debate

2001 Asimov Debate: The Theory of Everything

Can the entire Universe be explained with a single, unifying theory? 

This is perhaps the most fundamental question in all of science, and it may also be the most controversial. Albert Einstein was one of the first people to envision a unified field theory that might describe the behavior of all matter and energy in the cosmos with a single stroke of the pen; however, a definitive solution has eluded physicists to this day. As we enter the twenty-first century, the leading candidate for a theory of everything appears to be string theory, which considers every particle in the Universe as a multi-dimensional entity—a string—that manifests itself in our Universe differently depending on how it twists and vibrates.

Panelists

• Brian Greene—Professor of physics and mathematics at Columbia University, string theorist, and author of The Elegant Universe.
• Lisa Randall—Professor of physics at MIT, theoretical particle physicist, and expert on the fundamental theory of matter.
• Sylvester James Gates—Professor of physics at the University of Maryland, string theorist, and author of Superspace, or 1001 Lessons In Supersymmetry.
• Lawrence Krauss—Professor of physics at Case Western Reserve University, theoretical physicist and author of numerous books on fundamental physics including Quintessence: The Mystery of the Missing Mass in the Universe.
• Sheldon Glashow—Professor emeritus of physics at Harvard University and professor of physics at Boston University, particle physicist, 1979 Nobel Laureate in Physics, and author of From Alchemy to Quarks: The Study of Science as a Liberal Art.

Host & Moderator

• Neil deGrasse Tyson—Astrophysicist and The Frederick P. Rose Director of the Hayden Planetarium.

2002 Asimov Debate: The Search For Life in the Universe

The second debate focused on the evidence for the possibility of life in the Universe. A diverse panel of outspoken scientists offered insight into the latest research in this field, including newest evidence from the Martian meteorite known as ALH84001, up-to-date information on sub-surface liquid water currently on Mars and Europa, Earth's thriving population of extremophiles (organisms that live in environments previously thought inhospitable), and the search for extrasolar planets.

Panelists

• Seth Shostak—Senior astronomer at the SETI Institute in California. Expert on the methods, tactics, and hardware needed to search for intelligent life in the Universe.
• Peter Ward—Geologist at University of Washington. Co-author of the controversial book Rare Earth, arguing for the extreme rarity of complex life in the Milky Way Galaxy from the standpoint of geology, astrophysics, chemistry, and biology.
• Chris McKay—Astrobiologist and planetary scientist at NASA Ames Research Center. Researcher on the evolution of the Solar System and the origin of life; involved in Mars mission planning and Antarctic field research.
• Frank J. Tipler—Physicist at Tulane University. Author of The Physics of Immortality and co-author of The Anthropic Cosmological Principle, as well as numerous papers on the rarity of extraterrestrial intelligence.
• Penelope Boston—Microbiologist at Complex Systems Research, Inc. Expert on the newly discovered branch of life known as extremophiles, which survive under conditions of temperature, acidity, and radiation that are lethal for humans and other forms of complex life.

Host & Moderator

• Neil deGrasse Tyson—Astrophysicist and The Frederick P. Rose Director of the Hayden Planetarium.

2003 Asimov Debate: The Big Bang

The Big Bang Theory remains the most successful idea ever presented for cosmic origins.

Legendary is its capacity to describe the observable Universe, from its first three minutes through the present day. Still, some aspects of this model remain puzzling. Dark matter and dark energy, for instance, test the limits of our cosmic understanding.

Now alternative theories of cosmic origins challenge the fundamental notions of the Big Bang. The latest ground-based and space-borne telescopes are observing the cosmic microwave background with unprecedented precision. Armed with this new generation of data, we may begin to favor one theory of the Universe over the others.

Panelists

• Alan Guth—Professor of Physics at MIT; pioneer of inflationary cosmologies, which proposes that the expansion of the Big Bang was propelled by a repulsive form of gravity, where the very early Universe experienced a rapid, exponential growth in size; author of The Inflationary Universe: The Quest for a New Theory of Cosmic Origins.
• James Peebles—Professor of Physics at Princeton University; proponent of the classical Big Bang cosmology and a keen observer of the subject's rich and diverse history; author of the graduate texts Principles of Physical Cosmology, and The Large Scale Structure of the Universe.
• Lee Smolin—Researcher at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics; author of Life of the Cosmosand, co-inventor of loop quantum gravity, the leading approach to the quantization of space and time, and inventor of cosmological natural selection, a testable hypothesis that may explain the values of the fundamental constants in nature.
• David Spergel—Professor of Astrophysics at Princeton University; he is the member of the science team for the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy (WMAP) satellite, which recently announced the latest and most precise measurements ever made of the cosmic microwave background radiation.
• Paul Steinhardt—Professor of Physics at Princeton University; a theorist and a pioneer of inflationary cosmologies, he recently introduced the new cyclic theory of cosmic origin which is an explanation for the origin of the Universe that exploits recent developments in string theory. This novel idea has received extensive attention as one of the few viable competing theories to the Big Bang.

Host & Moderator

• Neil deGrasse Tyson—Astrophysicist and The Frederick P. Rose Director of the Hayden Planetarium.

2004 Asimov Debate: The Dark Side

A debate about all that is dark and mysterious in the Universe, from super-massive black holes that lurk in the centers of galaxies to the dark matter that accounts for more than eighty percent of all the gravity in the Universe. In addition, there is dark energy which is currently forcing our expanding Universe to accelerate. What does all this mean for our understanding of the Universe?

Panelists

• Katie Freese—Professor of Physics, University of Michigan. Working on a wide range of topics in theoretical cosmology and particle physics, Dr. Freese has been working to identify the dark matter and dark energy of the Universe as well as explore the large scale structure of the Universe.
• Brian Greene—Professor of Physics & Mathematics, Columbia University. A researcher in superstring theory, Dr. Greene is also the best-selling author of The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory and The Fabric of the Cosmos: Space, Time, and the Texture of Reality.
• Robert Kirshner—Clowes Professor of Science, Harvard University. Dr. Kirshner is a co-discoverer of dark energy, the force behind the accelerated expansion of the Universe, and a researcher of supernovae, the large-scale distribution of galaxies, and the size and shape of the Universe.
• Michael S. Turner—Associate Director of Mathematical and Physical Sciences for the National Science Foundation; Bruce V. and Diana M. Rauner Distinguished Service Professor in the Departments of Astronomy & Astrophysics and Physics at the University of Chicago; senior scientist at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. Dr. Turner investigates cosmology as a probe to uncover the fundamental laws of physics.
• J. Anthony Tyson—Distinguished Member of the Technical Staff at Bell Labs, Lucent Technologies. Dr. Tyson's current research centers on experimental cosmology with regard to observational probes of dark matter and dark energy in the Universe. He has led the development of cameras and analysis techniques for ground-based imaging of the distant, younger Universe.

Host & Moderator

• Neil deGrasse Tyson—Astrophysicist and The Frederick P. Rose Director of the Hayden Planetarium.

2005 Asimov Debate: The Enigma of Alien Solar Systems

When the first planets were discovered around other stars nearly a decade ago, everyone expected these alien solar systems to resemble our own, with small, rocky planets close to their host star and larger, gaseous planets farther away. However, not one of these planetary systems holds these properties. Currently, these systems contain one or more Jupiter-sized planets orbiting as close to their host stars as Mercury orbits our Sun. These systems stump observers and theorists alike forcing us to look anew at our own Solar System and ask the question, Are we the enigma?

Panelists

• Fritz Benedict—University of Texas. Long-time observer and weigher of extrasolar planets using the Hubble Space Telescope.
• Paul Butler—Carnegie Institution of Washington. Co-discoverer of more than two-thirds of all known extrasolar planets.
• Peter Goldreich—California Institute of Technology. Theorist with expertise on the formation of planets, asteroids, and comets.
• Scott Tremaine—Princeton University. Expert on the gravitational interactions, orbital dynamics, and long-term stability of planetary systems.
• Margaret Turnbull—Carnegie Institution of Washington. Next-generation planet-hunter and world-expert on habitable zones around stars in which we hope to find planets capable of sustaining life.

Host & Moderator

• Neil deGrasse Tyson—Astrophysicist and The Frederick P. Rose Director of the Hayden Planetarium.

2006 Asimov Debate: Universe - One or Many?

A panel of cosmologists debated possibility that our Universe is just one of many comprising the multiverse. This notion invokes dimensions beyond our everyday experience and draws from the leading edge of our conception of the cosmos. The presence or absence of data in support of these ideas formed a central theme for the evening.

Panelists

• Michio Kaku—Henry Semat Professor in Theoretical Physics at City College—CUNY; host of Explorations in Science radio program on WBAI and national radio; author of Hyperspace, and Parallel Worlds
• Lawrence Krauss—Ambrose Swasey Professor of Physics and Astronomy and Director of the Center for Education and Research in Cosmology and Astrophysics at Case Western Reserve University; author of Hiding in the Mirror: The Mysterious Allure of Extra Dimensions, from Plato to String Theory and Beyond
• Lisa Randall—Professor of Physics at Harvard University; author of Warped Passages: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Universe's Hidden Dimensions
• Andrei Linde—Professor of Physics at Stanford University; theoretical cosmologist and one of the original architects of the multiverse concept
• Virginia Trimble—Professor of Physics at University of California-Irvine and Las Cumbres Observatory; acute observer of the history and philosophy of astronomy

Host & Moderator

• Neil deGrasse Tyson—Astrophysicist and The Frederick P. Rose Director of the Hayden Planetarium.

2007 Asimov Debate: The Pioneer Anomaly

The Pioneer spacecraft, two identical unmanned planetary probes, were launched in the early 1970s on trajectories that would send them past the outer planets and onward with enough speed to leave the Solar System entirely—a first in space exploration. While attempting to account for all known forces that act on these craft, scientists analyzed the telemetry signals from the craft and found an inconsistency. The positions of the craft do not match the scientists' predictions. There seems to be an extra force at work, not included in the analysis, which has affected the motion of these craft across decades of monitoring their signals, from launch until their last contact.

The big questions are: What is this force? Is it an unforeseen glitch of spacecraft design? Is it a sign of the discovery of new physics or a new understanding of gravity? Or simply of something in our present knowledge of physics that has been overlooked?

Panelists

• John D. Anderson—Senior Research Scientist, Global Aerospace Corporation, formerly of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory; led the team in 1998 that discovered the Pioneer Anomaly
• Ed Belbruno—Visiting Research Collaborator in the Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University; President and Founder of Innovative Orbital Design, Inc.
• Gary M. Kinsella—Group Supervisor, Spacecraft Thermal Engineering and Flight Operations at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory; engineer who specializes in the thermal design development of spacecraft and science instruments
• Irwin Shapiro—Timken University Professor at Harvard and a Senior Scientist at the Smithsonian Institution; research has mainly involved tests of general relativity
• Slava G. Turyshev—Astrophysicist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory; specialist in gravitational physics and leader of the Pioneer Anomaly Team working to solve this great mystery

Host & Moderator

• Neil deGrasse Tyson—Astrophysicist and The Frederick P. Rose Director of the Hayden Planetarium.

2008 Asimov Debate: Mining the Sky

Planets, moons, asteroids, and comets contain natural resources such as water, minerals, and trace elements that may have survival value to visiting astronauts and economic value to life on Earth. How did we learn of these materials? How would one go about mining them? Who owns these resources, if anyone? And should they be mined at all?

Join moderator Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson, the Frederick P. Rose Director of the Hayden Planetarium, as we explore and debate the frontier of this subject with a panel of experts drawn from planetary science, aerospace engineering, environmental engineering, and space law.

Panelists

• John S. Lewis—Professor, Lunar and Planetary Lab, University of Arizona; expert in Cosmochemistry planetary atmospheres
• Cassie Conley—Acting Planetary Protection Officer, NASA Headquarters; expert in international guidelines to prevent biological contamination while exploring the solar system
• Murray W. Hitzman—Charles F. Fogarty Professor of Economic Geology, Colorado School of Mines; expert in deposit- and district-scale mapping of mineral deposit formation
• Henry R. Hertzfeld—Research Professor of Space Policy and International Affairs, Elliott School of International Affairs, The George Washington University; expert on legal and economic issues of space and high technology industries.
• Curtis Manning—Engineer at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, expert in the technology of converting space materials into usable hardware.

Host & Moderator

• Neil deGrasse Tyson—Astrophysicist and The Frederick P. Rose Director of the Hayden Planetarium.

2009 Asimov Debate: From Planets to Plutoids

When the International Astronomical Union's 2006 vote reclassified Pluto as a dwarf planet, controversy followed over this most beloved object in the solar system. Recent discoveries of icy Kuiper belt objects and hot Exoplanets have forced scientists to re-think previous classification schemes and their associated nomenclature.

Join Moderator Neil deGrasse Tyson, the Frederick P. Rose Director of the Hayden Planetarium, and his panel of experts as they discuss and debate the ideas that drive our understanding of the solar system.

Panelists

• Gibor Basri—Professor of Astronomy at University of Berkeley
• David Jewitt—Professor of Astronomy, Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii
• Jack Lissauer—Space Scientist, NASA Ames Research Center
• Sara Seager—Ellen Swallow Richards Associate Professor of Planetary Science and Associate Professor of Physics at MIT
• Alan Stern—Planetary Scientist and author
• Mark Sykes—Director, Planetary Science Institute

Host & Moderator

• Neil deGrasse Tyson—Astrophysicist and The Frederick P. Rose Director of the Hayden Planetarium.