OryCon 44: Full Schedule

Welcome to the not-quite-ready-for-prime-time schedule for OryCon 44! Seriously - we’re still hard at work on the schedule, but we want to give you an idea of what wonders await you in just a few more weeks. Please check back frequently for changes and additions, and see you in October!

2:00pm PDT

Elfquest 45th Years of Pointed Ears

Friday October 18, 2024 2:00pm - 2:50pm PDT

Mt St Helens

Elfquest is one of the longest running independent comics that has also been published by 3 of the top comic publishers. We\'ll howl and share our love of Elfquest and where it may go in the future.

Moderators

Wolfcat

Panelists

Jennie Breeden

Friday October 18, 2024 2:00pm - 2:50pm PDT
Mt St Helens

COMICS

4:00pm PDT

AND THEN I WAS HOOKED...

Friday October 18, 2024 4:00pm - 4:50pm PDT

Mt St Helens

When did you get interested in space? What event or mission did it? Share and hear stories about the love of space!

Moderators

Marla

Panelists

Robert B McMonigal

Howard Davidson

Emily Suvada

Jennifer Willis

Friday October 18, 2024 4:00pm - 4:50pm PDT
Mt St Helens

SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGY

5:00pm PDT

Commercial Space

Friday October 18, 2024 5:00pm - 5:50pm PDT

Mt St Helens

Is the future of space exploration going to be contracted by NASA to for-profit companies? Should it be? Where is the right balance?

Moderators

Marla

Panelists

Bart Kemper

Dan Dubrick

Hugh S. Gregory

Friday October 18, 2024 5:00pm - 5:50pm PDT
Mt St Helens

SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGY

6:00pm PDT

Exotic Volcanoes of the World

Friday October 18, 2024 6:00pm - 6:50pm PDT

Mt St Helens

Imagine a volcano that erupts lava that glows hot pink in the night. Imagine a lava flow two inches wide that you can straddle. See a lava lake that boils like a pot of water set on high heat. Dr. Torley takes you on a few trips around the world to visit volcanoes that are distinctively different from those that we know. And no, you will not get scorched in the process!

Moderators

Roy Torley

Friday October 18, 2024 6:00pm - 6:50pm PDT
Mt St Helens

EVENTS (SOLO)

10:00am PDT

3D Printing a phase or paradigm shift

Saturday October 19, 2024 10:00am - 10:50am PDT

Mt St Helens

Where are we heading? What are novel industrial applications for 3D printing? While all the things you have become downloadable files you print at home? Any tips from those already printing to those interested?

Moderators

Manny Frishberg

Panelists

L. Pierce Ludke

Matthew 'Fish' Dockrey

Mark Chapman

Saturday October 19, 2024 10:00am - 10:50am PDT
Mt St Helens

SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGY

11:00am PDT

Food of the Future

Saturday October 19, 2024 11:00am - 11:50am PDT

Mt St Helens

If all our food is made from soy or algae someday, will it have to be bland? If we create machines that can magic up anything, will they only be used to recreate existing foods? Why does no one ever have food intolerances or allergies in sf?

Moderators

J.S. Fields

Panelists

Erica L. Satifka

Sean Robinson

Saturday October 19, 2024 11:00am - 11:50am PDT
Mt St Helens

SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGY

1:00pm PDT

Future of Fusion?

Saturday October 19, 2024 1:00pm - 1:50pm PDT

Mt St Helens

What are the bearers, and hopes for developing utility scale fusion in the next decade? Century? More? How close are we?

Moderators

Manny Frishberg

Panelists

Howard Davidson

Dan Dubrick

Sean Robinson

Mark Chapman

Saturday October 19, 2024 1:00pm - 1:50pm PDT
Mt St Helens

SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGY

2:00pm PDT

Mars 1 - Getting there

Saturday October 19, 2024 2:00pm - 2:50pm PDT

Mt St Helens

What is our best hope for a human mission to Mars? Are there any governments or private entities planning a mission with intent to execute in ten years or less? Is it a waste of time? What cultural change is required to support it as a real possibility?

Moderators

Karen L. Black

Panelists

Howard Davidson

Hugh S. Gregory

Dan Dubrick

Saturday October 19, 2024 2:00pm - 2:50pm PDT
Mt St Helens

SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGY

3:00pm PDT

Mars 2 - Mars Base

Saturday October 19, 2024 3:00pm - 3:50pm PDT

Mt St Helens

We made it to Mars! What now? What are the challenges of long term occupation of Mars? Do we currently have the technology to sustain a base? What are the base inhabitants in for?

Panelists

Manny Frishberg

Hugh S. Gregory

Dan Dubrick

Kristi Charish

Saturday October 19, 2024 3:00pm - 3:50pm PDT
Mt St Helens

SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGY

4:00pm PDT

Mars 3 - Mars Colony

Saturday October 19, 2024 4:00pm - 4:50pm PDT

Mt St Helens

How much is there to learn before this is possible? Do we have the technology? What are the tech barriers? If there was a will to do it, and an entity to finance it, how long would it take?

Moderators

Manny Frishberg

Panelists

Karen L. Black

Dan Dubrick

Hugh S. Gregory

Saturday October 19, 2024 4:00pm - 4:50pm PDT
Mt St Helens

SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGY

5:00pm PDT

AI practical applications

Saturday October 19, 2024 5:00pm - 5:50pm PDT

Mt St Helens

There has been a lot of buzz in the last year about AI. How have you used it in the last year? What do you think it will be used for in the next year?

Moderators

Bart Kemper

Panelists

L. Pierce Ludke

Kristi Charish

Emily Suvada

Matthew 'Fish' Dockrey

Sean Robinson

Saturday October 19, 2024 5:00pm - 5:50pm PDT
Mt St Helens

SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGY

6:00pm PDT

The Northern Lights: Silk of the Gods

Saturday October 19, 2024 6:00pm - 6:50pm PDT

Mt St Helens

Imagine the night sky shimmering in an ever-changing tapestry of light. Dr. Torley takes you on a fascinating celestial field trip to enjoy their shapes and colors here on Earth, and on other planets in the Solar System.

Moderators

Roy Torley

Saturday October 19, 2024 6:00pm - 6:50pm PDT
Mt St Helens

EVENTS (SOLO)

7:00pm PDT

The Channeled Scablands of Eastern Washington Earth; and Mars

Saturday October 19, 2024 7:00pm - 7:50pm PDT

Mt St Helens

Ancient floods on Mars left their marks deeply etched into the planet’s surface. Canyons bigger than the Grand Canyon, dry riverbeds, deltas, and huge sandbars suggest to us that Mars had a lot of water and that it flowed with a vengeance. We see something amazingly similar in southeastern Washington, in the Channeled Scablands. Dr. Torley takes you on a tour to do some interesting planetary geology on Earth and its sister planet, Mars.

Moderators

Roy Torley

Saturday October 19, 2024 7:00pm - 7:50pm PDT
Mt St Helens

EVENTS (SOLO)

9:00am PDT

Renewable Energy 1 - Energy source

Sunday October 20, 2024 9:00am - 9:50am PDT

Mt St Helens

To truly move to renewable energy, we must combine wind, solar, and possibly wave or tide. What are the best and latest developments in this world. Who leads the way in each? What are the cleanest sources of energy? What are the downsides of each?

Moderators

Manny Frishberg

Panelists

Bob Brown

Wolf Read

Sunday October 20, 2024 9:00am - 9:50am PDT
Mt St Helens

SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGY

10:00am PDT

Renewable Energy 2 - Nuclear

Sunday October 20, 2024 10:00am - 10:50am PDT

Mt St Helens

In a clean energy future, how big a role does nuclear play? Should it replace every other way to generate energy? Should we keep some natural gas? What are the barriers, and how do we break them? What kinds of reactors should we look at?

Moderators

Bob Brown

Panelists

Wolf Read

Hugh S. Gregory

Sean Robinson

Sunday October 20, 2024 10:00am - 10:50am PDT
Mt St Helens

SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGY

11:00am PDT

Renewable Energy 3 - Storage

Sunday October 20, 2024 11:00am - 11:50am PDT

Mt St Helens

Any future where we are primarily relying on renewable energy will depend on storage. What are the latest trends in battery technology? Should we be thinking in terms of massive central storage, or distributed storage in each person's home? What about using EVs as storage when not driving? What are the environmental costs? How smart does our grid need to be?

Panelists