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Friday, July 17
 

1:00pm EDT

Designer Aliens
Friday July 17, 2026 1:00pm - 2:00pm EDT
A panel discussing the scientific basis for life in all its shapes and sizes and the critical features needed to make realistic alien life in sci-fi.

Moderator: Angela Giddings
Speakers
avatar for Angela Giddings

Angela Giddings

Film Guest
A.M. Giddings is a writer, scientist, cellist, independent filmmaker and aspiring swamp hag from North Carolina.  She has a PhD in Microbiology and has authored multiple scientific articles in virology, cell line design, and gene therapy.  She enjoys writing stories that live within... Read More →
avatar for Dennis M. Myers

Dennis M. Myers

Literary Guest
Born and raised in central Minnesota, Dennis M. Myers developed a serious reading habit early in life due to the influence of his grandmother. In late high school he read one particularly "awful" book and, with all that teenage hubris, decided that he could do better.After spending... Read More →
avatar for Dr. Philip A. Kramer

Dr. Philip A. Kramer

Science Guest
Dr. Philip A. Kramer is a biomedical researcher who studies aging, oxidative stress, and metabolism. In addition to his academic works, he is a hard science fiction author with two published novels (under the name P. A. Kramer), and several award-winning short stories. His blog (... Read More →
avatar for Jim Beall

Jim Beall

Science Guest
Jim Beall (BS-Math, MBA, PE) has been a nuclear engineer for 50 years, beginning as a nuclear engineering officer in the US Navy. Civilian experience includes design, construction, inspection, enforcement, and assessment with a nuclear utility, an architect engineering firm, and the... Read More →
Friday July 17, 2026 1:00pm - 2:00pm EDT
Piedmont Salons 1-2 (panels)

4:00pm EDT

Statistics: Truth or Lie
Friday July 17, 2026 4:00pm - 5:00pm EDT
A discussion of well-known "statistics" and their associated fallacies. The panelists may bring up a statistic to other panelists and see if they can spot the problems with it (along with some discussion about why it's misleading).

Moderator: Brandon Whitworth
Speakers
avatar for Gray Rinehart

Gray Rinehart

Literary Guest
Gray Rinehart is an award-winning author, an editor, a singer/songwriter, and a retired Air Force officer. He is the only person to have commanded a USAF satellite tracking station, written speeches for Presidential appointees, devised a poetic form, and had music on The Dr. Demento... Read More →
avatar for Fraser Sherman

Fraser Sherman

Literary Guest
Born in England, Fraser Sherman wound up spending most of his life in Northwest Florida. He’d be there still if he hadn’t fallen in love and moved to Durham NC to marry his dream woman. They’re still together, with two dogs and two cats added to the family.Fraser has published... Read More →
avatar for Dr. Robert Hampson

Dr. Robert Hampson

Literary Guest
Professor, Neuroscientist, and Unofficial Penguin WhispererWhen not advancing the frontiers of neuroscience or constructing elaborate multiversal portals in his office, Dr. Rob can be found lecturing to an elite audience of penguins in lab coats. An advocate of hands-on learning... Read More →
avatar for Brandon Whitworth

Brandon Whitworth

Science Guest
Brandon Whitworth is a professional engineer with over 20 years of experience on a variety of projects with many interests inside and outside engineering. His professional career has spanned many projects, including the Space Shuttle program (where he was awarded a Silver Snoopy... Read More →
Friday July 17, 2026 4:00pm - 5:00pm EDT
Piedmont Salons 1-2 (panels)

5:30pm EDT

AI Inflection Point
Friday July 17, 2026 5:30pm - 6:30pm EDT
AI inflection point: Are we at an "inflection point" in human history where AI will usher in rapid change (or has it already)? Will the AI bubble burst? Is there really a bubble? What might the future look like?

Moderator: Chris Oakley
Speakers
avatar for Joey Starnes

Joey Starnes

Fan Guest
Joey Starnes first claimed her inner geek in 2007 after visiting her first DragonCon.  In 2008, she moved to Charlotte, NC and started the Charlotte Geeks, home of the Guardians of the Geekery podcast, the Geekery Market, Two Woke Bonnets podcast and the Merry Mayhem. Her main geekdoms... Read More →
avatar for William C. Tracy

William C. Tracy

Literary Guest
William C. Tracy (he/him) writes and publishes queer science fiction and fantasy through his indie press Space Wizard Science Fantasy. His largest work is the Dissolutionverse: a space opera with music-based magic including nine books and a TTRPG. He’s also published Fruits of ... Read More →
avatar for Dennis M. Myers

Dennis M. Myers

Literary Guest
Born and raised in central Minnesota, Dennis M. Myers developed a serious reading habit early in life due to the influence of his grandmother. In late high school he read one particularly "awful" book and, with all that teenage hubris, decided that he could do better.After spending... Read More →
avatar for Chris Oakley

Chris Oakley

Fan Guest
Chris Oakley owned and operated Oakley’s Gently Used Books, a bricks & mortar used bookshop with a specialty in Sci Fi/Fantasy, for more than 20 years (1995-2016) in Charlottesville, VA. She has been a bookseller at Madicon, MarsCon, MystiCon, RavenCon, Libertycon DSC50, DSC60 and... Read More →
avatar for Brandon Whitworth

Brandon Whitworth

Science Guest
Brandon Whitworth is a professional engineer with over 20 years of experience on a variety of projects with many interests inside and outside engineering. His professional career has spanned many projects, including the Space Shuttle program (where he was awarded a Silver Snoopy... Read More →
Friday July 17, 2026 5:30pm - 6:30pm EDT
High Point Room (Panels)

8:00pm EDT

Jim Beall Presents "Fusion"
Friday July 17, 2026 8:00pm - 9:00pm EDT
Where it "began," how we got "here," a run-down of the types of fusion, and then a round-up of most of the current fusion research paths and their relative promises.
Speakers
avatar for Jim Beall

Jim Beall

Science Guest
Jim Beall (BS-Math, MBA, PE) has been a nuclear engineer for 50 years, beginning as a nuclear engineering officer in the US Navy. Civilian experience includes design, construction, inspection, enforcement, and assessment with a nuclear utility, an architect engineering firm, and the... Read More →
Friday July 17, 2026 8:00pm - 9:00pm EDT
Piedmont Salons 1-2 (panels)

9:30pm EDT

What's New in the Future of Science & Engineering
Friday July 17, 2026 9:30pm - 10:30pm EDT
Looking across fields from neuroscience to space exploration, how have science and engineering changed over time, and what exciting advances might we expect as the 21st century unfolds?

Moderator: Jason Graves
Speakers
avatar for Jason Graves

Jason Graves

Literary Guest
Jason is a writer of words, a doodler of drawings, and fixer of other peoples’ words and doodles. Many years ago, he founded Prospective Press. Before that, he slogged through University and earned a Master of Science degree in the Arcana of Genetics. Oh, and he was once punched—lightly—by... Read More →
avatar for Jennifer Whitworth

Jennifer Whitworth

Science Guest
Jennifer Whitworth is an engineer and writer from Huntsville AL. Currently working at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, she supports Artemis and Gateway Payload Integration working directly with the science teams to help them through the various processes to design, build, test... Read More →
avatar for Dr. Philip A. Kramer

Dr. Philip A. Kramer

Science Guest
Dr. Philip A. Kramer is a biomedical researcher who studies aging, oxidative stress, and metabolism. In addition to his academic works, he is a hard science fiction author with two published novels (under the name P. A. Kramer), and several award-winning short stories. His blog (... Read More →
Friday July 17, 2026 9:30pm - 10:30pm EDT
Piedmont Salon 3
 
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