Hosted by the Carnegie Institute of Washington in Washington D.C. from the 9th to the 11th of November 2015, this conference aims to explore ways to build a deeper understanding of the nature of biology, by focusing on modelling the origins of life on a sufficiently abstract level. The conference will cover a diverse range of topics bearing on the problem of solving life’s origins, starting from prebiotic conditions on Earth and possibly on other planets and moving up through the hierarchy of structure in biology all the way to social complexity. The focus is therefore on studying the origin of life as part of a larger concern with the origins of organization, including major transitions in the living state and structure formation in complex systems science.
Each day of the conference is organized around a different integrative theme, kicked off by an invited keynote presentation. Themes include: information in the living world, the origin of organization, the self in the world, re-conceptualizing the nature of the living state, and an integrated view of the origin and organization of the biosphere. Keynotes include: Chris Adami (Michigan State U.), Lee Cronin (U. Glasgow), Sara Imari Walker (Arizona State U.), Eric Smith (ELSI/Sante Fe Institute) and Douglas Erwin (Smithsonian Institution).
More information, a preliminary program and registration details can be found on the conference website.
