STARS eNewsletter    Volume 1, Issue 1

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Welcome to STARS's first eNewsletter. Thank you for your interest in our program. The purpose of the enews is to keep you informed with events and happenings of the STARS program. A new letter will be available periodically with updated information on conferences, grants, and the latest news brought to you by the STARS team.

• The STARS web site was recently updated with a completely new look. Please visit the site and send any comments and / or suggestions you might have to ctns-stars@ctns.org.

• STARS is hosting a series of conferences in January 2007. Please click here for more information.

• Conference Applications are now available online. Remember the application due date is June 15th, 2006.

• Incentives Offered for Early Conference Registration. Register early! The first 300 applicants will receive a free one-year subscription to Science and Theology News, a monthly, international newspaper reporting the latest research findings, funding opportunities and discussions on the relationship among religion, science and health. In addition, the first 50 applicants will receive a free book by internationally recognized astrophysicist and author, STARS advisor and lecturer, and the most recent Templeton prize winner John Barrow.

•STARS has an online event listing through AAAS. You can view event listings online here .

•STARS also has an online event listing through Nature Events. You can view event listings online here .

• After visiting several potential conference venues, STARS is pleased to announce that we have selected the Iberostar Paraiso Maya, near Cancun, on the beautiful Mexican riviera for our January 2007 Conferences. To view venue location and information click here.

• Grant Applications will be available online April 15th, 2006.

• This issue's Featured Conference Speaker is none other than STARS's very own Principal Investigator, Robert John Russell.

Robert J. Russell is Founder and Director of CTNS and Professor of Theology and Science in Residence at the Graduate Theological Union. He is a leading researcher and spokesperson for the growing international body of theologians and scientists committed to a positive dialogue and creative mutual interaction between these fields. For more information click here.

Bob Russell will be speaking at all three of the STARS conferences. Click here to view conference information.

STARS will convene a series of three interdisciplinary conferences in the Mexican Riviera, on the Yucatan Peninsula in January 2007. The conferences will showcase an aspect of how current scientific discoveries and theories relate to our understanding of ultimate reality. Each conference will be led by an eminent scientific figure in the field, and will allow ample time for lectures as well as formal and informal discussions. Conference attendance is by application only. STARS conferences are designed to assist scholars in formulating their planning & research grant proposals.

All on the ground costs will be covered by CTNS, including lodging, meals, and local transportation. Airfare assistance is available for qualified applicants, and may be requested during the application process (See online application for more details). If selected to attend a STARS Conference, conference participants will be expected to pay the conference registration fee when notified of acceptance.

Conference registration fees are:
  • $125 for CTNS members
  (for CTNS membership details, please go to: http://www.ctns.org/membership.html)
  • $175 for non-members

View conference topics & speakers here

Conference criteria and application available here

Research grants will be awarded to inter-disciplinary teams consisting of at least one scientist and one philosopher and/or theologian. Teams may also be larger than this minimum size. The first grant opportunity consists of a planning grant of $20,000. Twenty grants at this level will be awarded, and are to assist teams in the formation of their full research proposal for the $100K grants and/or to provide modest support for research by the teams even if this does not lead to a full research proposal. Next, five grants of $100,000 each will be awarded on a highly competitive basis. Although to win a $100,000 grant a research team need not have received a $20,000 planning grant, it is presumed that the reception of a $20,000 grant will better equip a research team to successfully compete for one of the five $100,000 grants. Finally, two research grant renewals of $200,000 will be awarded on a highly competitive basis from among the five winners of the $100,000 grants.

View Grant Information here

The goal of STARS is to sponsor research by small teams of scientists and humanities scholars on the ways science, in light of philosophical and religious reflection, points towards the nature, character and meaning of ultimate reality. Priority will be given to young scientists with outstanding potential who are relatively new to interdisciplinary research. Admission to preparatory conferences and the awarding of STARS research grants will be on a highly competitive basis.

Meet the STARS advisors and staff. Click here

For contact info please visit us on the web at www.ctnsstars.org/contactus

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Appreciation is expressed to the John Templeton Foundation for support of this program.