Program Details

October 11–16, 2026 · Paradise Point Resort & Spa, San Diego

New · Sunday workshops announced

Detailed Timetable

Plenary
Concurrent sessions
Workshops
Posters
Social / experiential
Break

Sunday, October 11 — Workshops & Opening Plenary

8:30 am
Morning Workshops (3–4 parallel)
12:00 pm
Lunch break
1:30 pm
Afternoon Workshops (3–4 parallel)
5:00 pm
Light reception & registration
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
Experiential: Binaural Beats, 1–1:45 PM, Garden Room — details
2:00 pm
PL-3: Neuroscience of Consciousness
Edward Boyden, Terry Sejnowski, Tracy Brandmeyer
Boyden: TBA
Sejnowski: TBA
Brandmeyer: TBA
4:10 pm
Break
5:00 pm
Concurrent Sessions 1 (8–10 parallel) →
7:00 pm
Break
7:30 pm
Reception
9:30 pm
Consciousness Happenings
TBA

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
Experiential: Binaural Beats, 1–1:45 PM, Garden Room — details
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
Consciousness Happenings
TBA

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
Experiential: Binaural Beats, 1–1:45 PM, Garden Room — details
2:00 pm
PL-9: Is the Brain Organized by Connectomics or Wavefields?
André Bastos, Eric Halgren, Edward Large
Bastos: Predictive Coding: A More Cognitive Process Than We Thought?
Halgren: A Possible Mechanism of Cortical Integration Supporting Mental Activity in Humans
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
Collective Consciousness Concert

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
Experiential: Binaural Beats, 1–1:45 PM, Garden Room — details
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
Luau Dinner
9:30 pm
Poetry Slam

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.