43rd Annual Conference of the Society for Scientific Exploration

In response to enthusiastic responses and requests, SSE’s 2025 Annual Conference (online) has been rescheduled. 

Online Conference | September 20-21, 2025

The 43rd annual SSE Conference will take place online as a live ZOOM event from September 20-21, 2025.  

Conference Theme: Exploring the Unexplained

SSE solicits abstracts documenting exciting new frontier research related to the conference theme, Exploring the Unexplained.

With the ever-expanding scientific knowledge and ever-exploding technological advances, we may be wondering where the boundary of scientific discovery resides, what governs the conditioning of the boundary of discovery, and which edge of the establishment the boundary of the discovery must stay on and not walk off. “In fact, science is not a collection of truths. It is a continuing exploration of mysteries.” (Freedman Dyson). “The value of science, of all its many values, the greatest must be the freedom to doubt.” (Richard Feynman). Science advances by questioning the present.

Since 1982, the Society for Scientific Exploration (SSE) has provided a professional forum for presentations, criticism, and debate concerning topics that for various reasons, are ignored or studied inadequately within mainstream science. The SSE also promotes improved understanding of those factors that unnecessarily limit the scope of scientific inquiry, such as sociological constraints, restrictive world views, hidden theoretical assumptions, and the temptation to convert prevailing theory into prevailing dogma. The Annual Conference of SSE serves as a premier forum to spark rigorous new understandings from the examination of ever-updating empirical evidence.

The 43rd annual SSE conference will have the following program tracks:

• Unexplained aerial, oceanic, and terrestrial phenomena
• Unexplained consciousness, intelligence, and nous phenomena
• Unexplained dynamics, energy, and kinetics phenomena
• Unexplained health, medical, and veterinary medical phenomena
• Unexplained phenomena of sociological dynamics  

The program committee will consider the following types of submissions:

• Case reports
• Formal studies (based on either original data or original experiment)
• Reanalyses of existing data
• Proposed hypotheses/models (either qualitative or quantitative)

Submissions promoting pure speculation without sound rationale or data will be rejected.

The conference will consist of long talks (30-35-min talk +10~15-min Q/A), short talks (15~20-min talk + 5-min Q/A) and poster presentations (5-min talk) in PowerPoint formats. 

Abstract Format     

Title
Names and affiliations of authors and e-mail contact of the presenting author     
Main text (500 words maximum)

• Introduction (background/significance)
• Aim/objective (hypothesis/rationale)
• Methods (analytical, experimental, and applicable statistical approaches)
• Results
• Discussion/implication
• Acknowledgements (optional)
• References (up to 5 references cited in the APA style)

Keywords (3-5 words)
A speaker biography (100 words limit) and head shot suitable for publishing in the conference program.

The length for the main text of the abstract is 500 words maximum; keywords 5 words maximum; and speaker biography 100 words maximum. Use your word processor’s WordCount feature to verify your lengths. Figures, images, and tables can be included but are discouraged to reduce file size.

The Word template for abstract preparation may be downloaded here:

Abstract Submission Word Template

Once your abstract, keywords, and biography are complete, fill out the submission form and upload your completed abstract file to the SSE Conference Abstract Submission website:

Submit your Abstract

Acceptance Criteria

Presentation acceptance and length will be determined by the Program Committee based on evaluation of the abstracts for:

Case reports:

• How has the case been documented?
• Which aspects of the case cannot be addressed by the presently accepted principles of science?
• What new insights based on present science may contribute to understanding the case?
• Which hypothesis must be reckoned for the present science to extend explanation into the case?  

Formal Studies, reanalysis of existing data, and hypothesis/model development:

• Scientific focus (e.g., has/can the concept be tested?)
• Quality of scholarship and cumulative science (e.g., is the research rationale well-articulated and aligned with previous studies?)
• Originality of the research (i.e., does the research feature new thinking, innovative methods, or advanced analyses?)
• Predictability of the research (i.e., does the research project or predict a phenomenon or principle that can be experimentally tested.)

Strong preference will be given to work that has not been previously presented or published. 

Who can submit an abstract:

SSE 2025 Annual Conference welcomes submission of abstracts from anyone.  However, all presenting authors of accepted talks must be active members of SSE by September 1, 2025 for the talk to be presented.     
    

Who can present an accepted abstract at the conference:

• Full or Emeritus members of SSE.
• Associate or Student members of SSE. Sponsorship by a Full or Emeritus member is encouraged, but not required, for presenting an accepted abstract.  

The Society for Scientific Exploration (SSE) is a member-supported organization.  We appreciate your support!

Abstract Submission Deadline:  June 30, 2025

Notification of acceptance and type of talk: August 11, 2025
 
Deadline to submit recordings for accepted talks and be a current SSE member:  September 1, 2025

Program Committee:

Damon Abraham, Ph.D.
Morris Freedman, M.D.
Brian Laythe, Ph.D.
Margaret Moga, Ph.D.
Daching Piao (Chair), Ph.D.
Mark Rodeghier, Ph.D.
Daniel Sheehan, Ph.D.
Mark Urban-Lurain, Ph.D.

Advisory Program Committee:

Garret Moddel, Ph.D.
Roger Nelson, Ph.D.
Dean Radin, Ph.D.   

The Word template for abstract preparation may be downloaded here:

Abstract Submission Word Template

Once your abstract, keywords, and biography are complete, fill out the submission form and upload your completed abstract file to the SSE Conference Abstract Submission website:

Submit your Abstract

If you have any questions regarding abstract submission, contact the Program Committee Chair via email:

Daching Piao, Ph.D.
SSE Conference 2025 Program Committee Chair
conference@scientificexploration.org

A subject line of “Questions on SSE-2025 Abstract Submission” is appreciated.