In-Person Mini-Academy in Roanoke
An essential part of understanding the nature of consciousness is having a supportive community with whom we can share the journey, people with similar interests and unique perspectives. Towards this end, we are hosting an in-person gathering the weekend of August 16-17, 2025 in Roanoke, Virginia and invite you to be a part of it. Join us for two days of discussions, relaxation, food, and beautiful nature.
Why are we doing this? Many years ago, PEAR and ICRL ran several events called “Academies”. These lasted a week, and brought people together to coordinate different projects and collaborations. We want to start doing these again, but are looking to explore the nature of how to best structure them. Should they be centered on research? Should they focus on social interaction? Big? Small? Short? Long? There are a lot of variables. This event is part of that exploration, and one that we think will be a heck of a fun time.
What about cost? The only thing we are requesting is some money to cover the cost of food. Those who stay onsite will not be paying for lodging (although of course people staying at a nearby hotel will need to cover that), nor is there any kind of ‘activity fee’ or such. We expect the food cost to be around $75-$100 per person for the weekend, but that will depend on the total number of people and their dietary needs so we do not have a precise number just yet (yes, we really are just going to set that number at actual cost).
If this is right for you, send us an email to reserve your spot (and indicate whether you would like to stay onsite).
Jeffrey Dunne is Chairman of the Board of ICRL, and a Chief Scientist at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, where he undertakes research in data sciences and artificial intelligence. He has degrees in both engineering and physics, and a diverse history of intellectual pursuits in energetics, consciousness and cognition, philosophy, linguistics, acoustics, information management, data fusion, virtual and augmented reality, and communications. Jeff’s current research foci include syntropy and the nature of time, and his personal interests include acting and the writing of plays, books, and music. His first published book, 
degree from Hollis University and has accumulated a diverse work experience, spanning multiple disciplines: education, technology, business and law, predominately in support and administrative roles. She currently works for the College of New Jersey in its Office of Disability Support Services. Lynn Ann has been an administrative assistant to ICRL’s President since 2011, and has extensive familiarity with the organization’s structure and activities, along with a deep commitment to its mission.
Vasileios Basios is a physicist, conducting interdisciplinary research on the foundations of complexity science and nonlinear systems, self-organization and complex matter. During his formative years, he was tutored by Ilya Prigogine, at ULB where he received his PhD, and by Emilios Bouratinos on meditation and philosophy. He is currently interested in the complex interface between action and information. Other interests include the history of ideas in science and their role in the transformation of science beyond the prevailing naïve, materialistic, mechanistic-reductionist world-view. With others from PEAR, he initiated the Mind-Matter-Mapping Project and has since published several essays for ICRL. He is also a member of the Board of the Scientific and Medical Network and the Steering Team of the Galileo Commission. Vasileios is inspired by the prospect of introducing self-reflection into the practice and understanding of science, and the emergence of a Self-Reflexive Science of Consciousness.
Ian Cook is a Professor of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, where he directs the UCLA Depression Research and Clinic Program at the Semel Institute and was the inaugural holder of the Joanne and George Miller and Family Endowed Chair in Depression Research at the Brain Research Institute. He has been a part of the PEAR/ICRL family since 1980, when he was among the first undergraduate students to conduct research at the PEAR lab. He graduated from the Yale School of Medicine and pursued his residency training and research fellowship at UCLA. His research has focused on understanding the relationships among the mind, the brain, and the body, and in translating developments in technology into more effective treatments for disorders of mood and cognition.
Bob (Brahmatirtha) was born in Newark, New Jersey, in 1949, completed his B.S. in Chemistry at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1971, and received his M.S. in Geology from Rutgers University in 1975. After a twenty-year career serving as a geologist and vice-president of a large regional environmental company, he currently works as an environmental consultant to state governments. He has been a member of the Bhaktivedanta Institute since the inception in 1976, giving a presentation at their First International Conference on Life Comes from Life in 1977, and working on a multitude of projects with R.L. Thompson (Sadaputa) from 1995 through 2008. He is also a certified court mediator. He now serves as the Director of the Bhaktivedanta Institute for Higher Studies.
Carolyn is a writer and dancer, two avenues that support her central purpose as a healer. Through her numerous books she teaches that every moment brings unbidden opportunities from the universe, that every day of is filled with beauty and surprise. Ecstatic experience is the goal of her work, the personal to the cosmic.
The largest dataset collected at PEAR used Random Event Generators, or REGs. These devices were essentially electronic coin flippers that produced a series of 1’s and 0’s; operators were instructed to influence the machines to produce more 1’s than 0’s or vice versa.
