Thanks to the generous support of Isaac’s family, friends, and admirers, the American Museum of Natural History plans to hold the Isaac Asimov Memorial Panel Debates each year. This annual series of events will bring the world’s finest minds to the Museum to discuss vital questions at the leading edge of scientific discovery.

The topic for the first year was one of the most fundamental and challenging questions in all of science: "Can the entire Universe be explained with a single, unifying theory?" Right now, at the beginning of the twenty-first century, the leading candidate for a "Theory of Everything" appears to be "string theory," which considers every particle in the universe as a multidimensional entity, a "string," that manifests itself in our universe differently depending on how it twists and vibrates. Five of the world’s leading voices in this great scientific debate joined in the discussion on February 13, 2001:

Dr. Brian Greene, Profession of Physics and Mathematics at Columbia University, string theorist, and author of The Elegant Universe;

Dr. Lisa Randall, Professor of Physics at MIT, theoretical particle physicist, and expert on the fundamental theory of matter;

Dr. S. James Gates, Professor of Physics at the University of Maryland, string theorist, and author of Superspace, or 1001 Lessons in Supersymmetry;

Dr. Lawrence Krauss, Professor of Physics at Case Western Reserve University and author of numerous books on fundamental physics including Quintessence: The Mystery of the Missing Mass in the Universe;

Dr. Sheldon Glashow, Professor Emeritus of Physics at Harvard University and Professor of Physics at Boston University, particle physicist, 1979 Nobel Laureate in Physics, and author of From Alchemy to Quarks: The Study of Science as a Liberal Art.

If you wish to support this annual event, contributions to the Isaac Asimov Memorial Fund would be most welcome and greatly appreciated. Tax deductible contributions can be sent to the:

Isaac Asimov Memorial Fund,

Planned Giving Office

American Museum of Natural History

Central Park West at 79th Street

New York, NY 1024-5192

We will announce future dates for the debates and ticket information as soon as that information becomes available.