The Immortality Project Conference

January 8, 2014

What can science tell us about increasing human longevity, or the nature and impact of near-death experiences? A June 20–21 conference at the University of California, Riverside, presented by The Immortality Project, may provide some answers.

The conference will be the first of two such events at UCR and will highlight the findings of 10 research teams who were collectively awarded $2.4 million in the science component of a $5 million grant awarded by the John Templeton Foundation in 2012. You can read about the science grants here: ucrtoday.ucr.edu/15075.

A second conference, planned in June 2015, will highlight the work of theologians and philosophers funded by the project.

The Immortality Project

Phenomena related to near-death experiences, immortality in virtual reality, and genes that prevent a species of freshwater hydra from aging are among the first research proposals funded by The Immortality Project at the University of California, Riverside.

Grants totaling $2.4 million will be awarded to 10 research teams from the United States and Europe in the scientific component of The Immortality Project, said John Martin Fischer, distinguished professor of philosophy at UC Riverside. The recipients were selected from among 75 proposals, which were reviewed by a panel of seven judges drawn from the disciplines of neuroscience, biological science, philosophy, and psychology.

The Immortality Project was established at UC Riverside in 2012 with a $5 million, three-year grant from the John Templeton Foundation to undertake a rigorous examination of a wide range of issues related to immortality. Fischer is the project’s principal investigator.

More information