Program — The Science of Consciousness 2026

Confirmed Plenary Speakers

Leading researchers from neuroscience, physics, philosophy, and beyond.

Edward Boyden

MIT & HHMI

Robin Carhart-Harris

UCSF Neurology

Susan Schneider

Florida Atlantic University

Stuart Hameroff

University of Arizona

Terry Sejnowski

Salk Institute for Biological Studies

Helané Wahbeh

Institute of Noetic Sciences

Roger Penrose

University of Oxford

Remote

Eric Halgren

UC San Diego

New

Diane Hennacy Powell

Independent (Psychiatrist & Author)

New

Michael Levin

Tufts University

Remote

Garry Nolan

Stanford University

New

Beatriz Villarroel

Nordic Institute for Theoretical Physics

Hartmut Neven

Google Quantum AI

Jack Tuszyński

Politecnico di Torino

New

Alysson Muotri

UC San Diego

Fadel Zeidan

UC San Diego

New

Nirosha Murugan

Wilfrid Laurier University

Kenneth Kosik

UC Santa Barbara

Dean Radin

Institute of Noetic Sciences

Roumiana Tsenkova

Kobe University

André M. Bastos

Vanderbilt University

Jonathan Schooler

UC Santa Barbara

Jennifer Prendki

Founder & CEO, Dyssonance AI

Steen Rasmussen

Univ. of Southern Denmark & Santa Fe Institute

Hemal Patel

UC San Diego

New

Tracy Brandmeyer

Cognigenics and BrainMind

Edward Large

University of Connecticut

Travis Craddock

University of Waterloo

New

Sarika Katiyar

Indian Council of Medical Research

Anirban Bandyopadhyay

National Institute for Materials Science, Tsukuba, Japan

Farhan Lakhany

San José State University

New

Mike Wiest

Wellesley College

Lea Gassab

University of Waterloo

Week at a Glance

	SundayOct 11	MondayOct 12	TuesdayOct 13	WednesdayOct 14	ThursdayOct 15	FridayOct 16
7:30 am		Experiential — TBA see confirmed list	Experiential — TBA see confirmed list	Experiential — TBA see confirmed list	Experiential — TBA see confirmed list	Experiential — TBA see confirmed list
8:30 am	Morning Workshops see details	PL-1: Quantum Biophotonics Tuszynski, Gassab, Tsenkova	PL-4: Psychedelics & Consciousness Carhart-Harris, Zeidan, Craddock	PL-7: Non-Local Consciousness & Psi Hennacy, Wahbeh, Radin	PL-10: Life or Consciousness First? Rasmussen, Hameroff, Lakhany	PL-13: Anesthesia & Consciousness Katiyar, Patel, Wiest
10:40
11:10 am	Morning Workshops (cont.) see details	PL-2: UAP, Anomalies, and Consciousness Nolan, Villarroel	PL-5: Biology of Consciousness Levin, Murugan	PL-8: Cerebral Organoids Muotri, Kosik	PL-11: The Spectrum of Conscious States Schooler, TBA	PL-14: Is AI Conscious? Penrose, Hameroff, Schneider
12:30						Closing (ends 1PM)
2:00 pm	Afternoon Workshops see details	PL-3: Neuroscience of Consciousness Boyden, Halgren, Brandmeyer	PL-6: Quantum AI & Consciousness Neven, Schneider, Bandyopadhyay	PL-9: Connectomics or Wavefields? Bastos, Sejnowski, Large	PL-12: Consciousness and AI Prendki, TBA
4:10
5:00 pm	Light Reception	Concurrent 1 Submit an abstract	Concurrent 2 Submit an abstract	Concurrent 3 Submit an abstract	Concurrent 4 Submit an abstract
7:00 pm	Opening
7:30 pm	Featured Workshop To be announced (TBA)	Reception	Poster Session 1	Poster Session 2	Luau Dinner
9:30 pm		Consciousness Happenings TBA	Consciousness Happenings TBA	Collective Consciousness Concert	Poetry Slam

Detailed Timetable

Plenary

Concurrent sessions

Workshops

Posters

Social / experiential

Break

Sunday, October 11 — Workshops & Opening Plenary

8:30 am

Morning Workshops (3–4 parallel)

see details

12:00 pm

Lunch break

1:30 pm

Afternoon Workshops (3–4 parallel)

see details

5:00 pm

7:00 pm

Opening

7:30 pm

Featured Workshop
To be announced (TBA)

Speaker TBA

Monday, October 12

8:30 am

PL-1: Quantum Biophotonics in Living Systems

Jack Tuszynski, Lea Gassab, Roumiana Tsenkova

Tuszyński: An overview of the experimental tests of the Orch OR theory: UV and visible light absorption and re-emission of photons by tubulin and microtubules

Gassab: Quantum Biophotonics of Microtubules: Light, Energy, and Neural Function

Tsenkova: TBA

10:40 am

Break (30 min)

11:10 am

PL-2: UAP, Anomalies, and Consciousness

Garry Nolan, Beatriz Villarroel

Nolan: TBA

Villarroel: Mysterious Light Flashes in Historical Astronomical Observations

12:30 pm

Lunch

2:00 pm

PL-3: Neuroscience of Consciousness

Edward Boyden, Eric Halgren, Tracy Brandmeyer

Boyden: TBA

Halgren: A Possible Mechanism of Cortical Integration Supporting Mental Activity in Humans

Brandmeyer: TBA

4:10 pm

Break

5:00 pm

Concurrent Sessions 1 (8–10 parallel) →

7:00 pm

Break

7:30 pm

9:30 pm

Tuesday, October 13

8:30 am

PL-4: Psychedelics and Consciousness

Robin Carhart-Harris, Fadel Zeidan, Travis Craddock

Carhart-Harris: How Psychedelics Work: Illuminating the Hidden Mind

Zeidan: Beyond the Trip: A Neurobiological Framework for Integrating Mindfulness and Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy

Craddock: Quantum Spin Dynamics in the Cytoskeleton: Implications for the Quantum Brain

10:40 am

Break (30 min)

11:10 am

PL-5: Biology of Consciousness

Michael Levin (Remote), Nirosha Murugan

Levin: Diverse intelligence in unconventional embodiments: origins and implications

Murugan: Superstitious conditioning shapes the illusory experience of free will under causal determinism

12:30 pm

Lunch

2:00 pm

PL-6: Quantum AI and Consciousness

Hartmut Neven, Susan Schneider, Anirban Bandyopadhyay

Neven: TBA

Schneider: Which AIs Might be Conscious, and Why it Matters

Bandyopadhyay: Toward Brain-Like Consciousness in Self-Evolving Organic Gel-Based Quantum Hardware

4:10 pm

Break

5:00 pm

Concurrent Sessions 2 (8–10 parallel) →

7:00 pm

Break

7:30 pm

Poster Session 1

Catalina Ballroom K

9:30 pm

Wednesday, October 14

8:30 am

PL-7: Non-Local Consciousness and “Psi”

Diane Hennacy Powell, Helané Wahbeh, Dean Radin

Powell: Unfiltered Consciousness: Insights from Individuals with Altered Access

Wahbeh: If Consciousness Were Non-Local: A Convergence Argument from Psi Research

Radin: Fringe Physics: Experimental Tests of the Consciousness–Collapse Hypothesis

10:40 am

Break (30 min)

11:10 am

PL-8: Cerebral Organoids and Consciousness

Alysson Muotri, Kenneth Kosik

Muotri: Human brain organoids as a platform to investigate the emergence of consciousness

Kosik: Effects of Natural Xenon on Human Brain Organoids and Cultured Neurons

12:30 pm

Lunch

2:00 pm

PL-9: Is the Brain Organized by Connectomics or Wavefields?

André Bastos, Terry Sejnowski, Edward Large

Bastos: Predictive Coding: A More Cognitive Process Than We Thought?

Sejnowski: TBA

Large: Musical Neurodynamics – Resonance, Stability, and the Embodied Mind

4:10 pm

Break

5:00 pm

Concurrent Sessions 3 (8–10 parallel) →

7:00 pm

Break

7:30 pm

Poster Session 2

Catalina Ballroom K

9:30 pm

Thursday, October 15

8:30 am

PL-10: Origins of Life and Consciousness — Which Came First?

Steen Rasmussen, Stuart Hameroff, Farhan Lakhany

Rasmussen: TBA

Hameroff: TBA

Lakhany: Evaluating the Quantum Pleasure Principle

10:40 am

Break (30 min)

11:10 am

PL-11: The Spectrum of Conscious States

Schooler, TBA

Schooler: TBA

12:30 pm

Lunch

2:00 pm

PL-12: Consciousness and AI

Jennifer Prendki, TBA

Prendki: TBA

4:10 pm

Break

5:00 pm

Concurrent Sessions 4 (8–10 parallel) →

7:00 pm

Break

7:30 pm

9:30 pm

Friday, October 16

9:00 am

PL-13: Anesthesia and Consciousness

Sarika Katiyar, Hemal Patel, Mike Wiest

Katiyar: Brain Megahertz Signatures of Anaesthetic-Induced Loss of Consciousness in the Surgical Operating Room

Patel: The Caveolar Consciousness Hypothesis: How Lipids, Mitochondria, and the Cytoskeleton Shape Anesthesia

Wiest: Orchestrated objective reduction is quantum active inference

11:10 am

Break (30 min)

11:40 am

PL-14: Is AI Conscious? (Panel)

Roger Penrose (Remote), Stuart Hameroff, Susan Schneider

Penrose: TBA

Hameroff: TBA

Schneider: Which AIs Might be Conscious, and Why it Matters

12:30 pm

Conference Close: The Future of Consciousness

1:00 pm

End of conference

Program is preliminary and subject to change.

Confirmed Plenary Speakers

Plenary Session Topics

Week at a Glance

Detailed Timetable

Sunday, October 11 — Workshops & Opening Plenary

Monday, October 12

Tuesday, October 13

Wednesday, October 14

Thursday, October 15

Friday, October 16