The IEET is very pleased to welcome three new fellows, Peter Bebergal, Randall Mayes and Natasha Vita-More.
Peter Bebergal received his Masters of Theological Studies from Harvard Divinity School in 1996. Since that time he has written widely on religion, science fiction, and the intersection of science and faith. He also regularly reviews science fiction and fantasy for various publications. Some of the current themes that find their way into his work include the science of psychedelic research and consciousness, the negative influence of biblical literalism on the religious imagination, the value of the irrational in human life, and the importance of narrative as a way of understanding our place in the universe. He is working on a book on the history of psychedelics and mysticism in America. Peter is the coauthor with Scott Korb of The Faith Between Us. He lives with his wife and son in Cambridge, Mass. where he collects comics books and attempts to build little robots.
Randall Mayes is a science writer and policy analyst with a focus on athletics and performance enhancement. He is author of The Cybernetics of Kenyan Running, which examined the role of cultural, historical, environmental, and physiological factors contributing to Kenyan running success. He is now working a book on athletic performance enhancement. He holds a Masters in Environmental Management from Duke University where he worked on cybernetic approaches to solving environmental problems and developing policy solutions, and policy analysis of government failures in science policy. He has managed athletes and worked in the private sector. His areas of interest include evolution, evodevo, environmental policy, athletic enhancement, Kenyan runner physiology, genomics, synthetic biology/ biological engineering, bio-nanotechnology, epigenetics, systems biology, biological anthropology/ evolutionary anthropology, Smart Homes, DNA patenting, government failures in science policy, risk assessment of biotechnology, and transhumanism.
Natasha Vita-More is a media designer and futurist, and a prominent proponent of ethical means for achieving human enhancement. She has spoken world-wide on futurism and art for two decades. She is currently a Ph.D. Candidate at the Faculty of Technology, University of Plymouth where she is working on the radical transformations of human life that may come from the convergence of nanotechnology, biotechnology, information technology and cognitive science (NBIC). Her work has been featured in Wired, LAWeekly, The New York Times, U.S. News & World Report, Net Business, Teleopolis, and Village Voice, and in more than a dozen documentaries. She is an advisor for non-profit organizations including Center for Responsible Nanotechnology, Alcor Life Extension Foundation, Nanotechnology, Adaptive A.I., and Lifeboat Foundation.