Who are the speakers at the 2024 SOL Foundation Symposium?

This year's annual SOL Foundation Symposium will be held 22-23 November 2024, in San Francisco. Well-known speakers will be:

* Dr. Garry Nolan 

Dr. Nolan is the Rachford and Carlota A. Harris Professor in the Department of Pathology at Stanford University School of Medicine.

* Dr. Peter Skafish

Dr. Skafish is a sociocultural anthropologist, editor, and translator who has held faculty and research positions at UC Berkeley, the Collège de France, McGill University, and the Bauhaus University, Weimar.

* Jonathan Berte

Jonathan Berte is the founder, chairman of the board, and driving force behind Robovision, a leading AI solution provider on account of their deep learning platform, RVAI.

* Dr. Eric Davis, theoretical and applied physicist

* Rear Admiral (ret.) Dr. Tim Gallaudet, former administrator, National Ocean and Atmosphere Administration

* Ryan Graves, Executive Director, Americans for Safe Aerospace

* Leslie Kean, journalist and author

* Dr. Jacques Vallee, computer scientist and author of multiple books on UAP

* Dr. Beatriz Villarroel, astronomer.

Other speakers

Dr. Stephen Finley.

Chair of African and African American Studies, Louisiana State University. A search of his previous/current interests in UAP located:

In and Out of This World: Material and Extraterrestrial Bodies in the Nation of Islam on JSTOR

A book titled "In and Out of This World: Material and Extraterrestrial Bodies in the Nation of Islam." (2020. Duke University Press.) Plus, three presentations.

“African American UFO Traditions and the Nation of Islam.” Super Stories Symposia Series 3: Cosmology, Eschatology, and UFOs. (Invited Public Lecture). The Esalen Institute Center for Theory and Research, Big Sur, California. Dianna Pasulka and Jeffrey J. Kripal, Conveners. January 23, 2019.

“Cosmology and Eschatology in the Nation of Islam’s UFO.” Super Stories Symposia Series 3: Cosmology, Eschatology, and UFOs. The Esalen Institute Center for Theory and Research, Big Sur, California. Dianna Pasulka and Jeffrey J. Kripal, Conveners. January 22, 2019.

“Wheels, Wombs, & Women: Louis Farrakhan, UFOs, and the Religious Meaning of Black Women’s Embodiment in the Nation of Islam.” (Invited Lecture). Amherst College, Amherst, MA, December 3, 2018.

Yoshiharu Asakawa. 

Asakawa is a congressman of the House of Representatives of Japan, and a member of Japan's Innovation Party. In April 2023 he raised the issue of UAP in the House of Representatives. For an article featuring an interview with him, please click here. 

Kirk McConnell.

Is a retired professional staff member of the U.S. Congress. According to the website of SMI, where he is now a senior advisor: 

"...he brings 37 years of as a professional staff member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, the Senate Intelligence Committee, the House Intelligence Committee,..."

As many of these committees have been briefed on the topic of UAP by various individuals, it would be expected that McConnell would have participated in preparing for these briefings, making him knowledgeable on the topic. It will be interesting to see just what his presentation covers. 

McConnell also sits on the Advisory Board of the recently created UAP Disclosure Fund. 

Eric Schrock.

Schrock is a former Deputy Director, Technology Development and Integration, Lockheed Martin. For more on his career click here. As a former employee of one of the large aerospace companies, it will be interesting to see what he has to say on the topic of UAP. 

Rizwan Virk.

Is an entrepreneur, investor, futurist, a pioneer of the video game industry, and film producer. In an October 2019 article written by M. J. Banias, about UAP eXpeditions, it was revealed that Virk was one of two sources which had signed on to help with securing investment for the project. An April 2021 article by Virk, argued for a serious study of UAP. In a May 2022 article, Virk argued that the topic of UAP needs to be viewed as a scientific issue not a military one. In addition, he stated that adequate funds and resources need to be allocated to the topic. 

Dr. Alexander Wendt.

Is Mershon Professor of International Security and Professor of Political Science at The Ohio State University. Wendt's interest in the topic of UAP goes back to at least 2008 when he co-authored, with Raymond Duvall, a paper titled "Sovereignty and the UFO." In February 202 he gave a TED talk, titled "Wanted: A Science of UFOs." 

According to The Ohio State University's website, Wendt is:

"Taking a short break from quantum, Wendt is currently writing a book on UAP and human security in the light of the 2021 Pentagon report confirming that UAP, formerly UFOs, are real and a 'potential threat to national security.'"