Neuroscience & Cognition

53 speakers

The Helix Center's most represented discipline features Nobel laureate Eric Kandel and the most-cited neuroscientist in history, Karl Friston. Roundtables probe consciousness, memory, perception, fear, and the mind-body problem, drawing on computational neuroscience, neuropsychoanalysis, and cognitive science.

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Physics & Cosmology

24 speakers

From particle physics to the search for extraterrestrial life, Helix Center roundtables tackle the biggest questions in the universe. MacArthur Fellow Sara Seager hunts for exoplanets, Paul Steinhardt challenges inflationary cosmology, and discussions range from the completeness of physics to the nature of mathematical reality.

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Mathematics & Computer Science

24 speakers

Roundtables explore mathematics as both tool and subject: the beauty and unity of mathematics, its permanence and impermanence, the mechanization of proof, and what mathematical structures reveal about mind and brain. Barry Mazur and colleagues bring pure mathematics into conversation with neuroscience and philosophy.

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Other/Interdisciplinary

17 speakers

Some scholars and practitioners resist disciplinary classification entirely. Librarians, activists, diplomats, and independent thinkers bring perspectives that bridge multiple fields, embodying the Helix Center's founding conviction that the most important questions require genuinely interdisciplinary investigation.

Carol Mandel
Carol Mandel
Dean Emerita of NYU Libraries; Distinguished Presidential Fellow at the Council on Library and Information Resources
2011 Hugh C. Atkinson Memorial Award from the American Library Association; former President of the...
Other/Interdisciplinary
Simon Deng
Simon Deng
Human Rights Activist
Led the 'Sudan Freedom Walk,' a nearly 300-mile journey from New York City to Washington, D.C. to...
Other/Interdisciplinary
Tim McHenry
Tim McHenry
Deputy Executive Director and Chief Programmatic Officer
Created the Brainwave series featuring figures like Questlove, Steven Pinker, and David Eagleman;...
Other/Interdisciplinary
Tarah Rhoda
Tarah Rhoda
Bio Artist and Bio Lab Manager, School of Visual Arts
Other/Interdisciplin
Other/Interdisciplinary
Richard Howarth
Richard Howarth
Professor of Environmental Studies; Co-Chair, PhD Program in Ecology, Evolution, Environment and Society
Editor-in-Chief of Ecological Economics since 2008; over 15,800 citations on Google Scholar; PhD...
Other/Interdisciplinary
Neşe Devenot
Neşe Devenot
Senior Lecturer, University Writing Program
Founded the Psychedemia Interdisciplinary Psychedelics Conference; European Romantic Review Article...
Other/Interdisciplinary
Mark Rosin
Mark Rosin
Director of Guerilla Science; Assistant Professor of Math & Science
Other/Interdisciplin
Other/Interdisciplinary
Lisa DeBenedittis
Lisa DeBenedittis
Assistant Professor of Design Research; Former Vice Provost of The New School and Associate Dean at Parsons
PhD, Licensed Psychoanalyst (LP); International Association of Analytical Psychology (IAAP) member;...
Other/Interdisciplinary
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Technology & Engineering

14 speakers

Engineers and technologists bring design thinking and empirical rigor. Rosalind Picard pioneers affective computing, Adrian Bejan applies constructal theory to design in nature, and roundtables on AI ethics, embodied AI, and synthetic consciousness examine technology's implications for human identity.

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Artificial Intelligence & Humanities

1 speakers

An emerging field at the intersection of AI and humanistic inquiry, examining how machine learning and natural language processing transform literary analysis, philosophical investigation, and our understanding of creativity and cognition.