We cordially invite everyone – students, PhD candidates, researchers and lecturers of our Faculty of International and Political Studies and other JU’s units – to participate in the open lecture by Professor Jonathan Jiang from NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology (CalTech) on the subject: On Extraterrestial Life and Human’s Future in the Universe. A combined physical, social and political science discussion.
Among the billion trillion stars in our universe and more than 13 billion years since the beginning, none civilizations have reached the level of technology and growth that substantially colonized our solar system or systems nearby. Recent studies suggest that the probability of self-annihilation is the most influential parameter determining the quantity and age of galactic intelligent life. Consider the current pandemic still sweeping the world, the latest pessimistic climate change trend, and tensions between China and Taiwan at all time high, it's not surprising that many people have doubts about future of humans on Earth.
This seminar encompasses a combination of physical science, social science and political science reasoning to address the interdisciplinary nature of this puzzle. We will discuss the future detection and study of extraterrestrial life; how this will challenge our view of nature, including ourselves; what would extraterrestrials be like; what would be their science, politics and society? We will also discuss the ideas of safeguarding our species, and paths for our civilization to grow and survive in the future.
January 11, 2022, 15:00 CET on the MS Teams platform, and will be live streamed on YouTube.
During the meeting, everyone will have an opportunity to ask questions and comment the lecture.
Professor Jiang’s lecture is the first lecture in the series aiming at promotion of crossing and expanding the boundaries of political science as a discipline; promotion of interdisciplinary scientific cooperation; and promotion of the JU’s Faculty of International and Political Studies.
About the Speaker: Dr. Jonathan H. Jiang is a Principal Scientist of the Engineering and Science Directorate at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology. Dr. Jiang has over 220 publications in the field of Earth and Space sciences and Astrophysics. He has been twice awarded the NASA Exceptional Achievement Medals, for his leadership and innovation in scientific research using NASA satellite observations. Most recently, he received the Edward Stone Award and the NASA Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal for his outstanding scientific achievement and service to NASA missions.
More information about the Speaker is available on the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology website.
The event will be moderated by Dr Piotr Obacz from the Institute of Political Science and International Relations, Faculty of International and Political Studies of the Jagiellonian University.
Shall you have any questions, please contact Dr Obacz directly: piotr.obacz@uj.edu.pl.