SSE 2026 Conference
Saturday Evening Banquet
Saturday Evening Banquet Speaker: Paul Sperry
Navigating the Misinformation Maze: Might Life's Synchronicities be Clues of Our Inner Knowing?
The theme for this year’s conference, Evidence & Encounters, purposely embraced alternative means for perceiving our reality. In a time of chaotic change, explosive AI evolution, quantum computing, deep fakes and rampant intentional misinformation, how is one to discern what to accept as true? Are there clues within life and nature to help biological beings navigate their future? Is this a time to return to our instincts and rely upon intuition without risking belief of everything we think? Paul believes it is and will take us on an entertaining journey of real-life adventures that illustrate how we all might come to trust our inner knowing.
Biography
Paul is an interdisciplinary scientist with a passion for recognizing universal patterns between seemingly disparate schools of thought. He understands that science, like religion, builds upon truths established over time, yet realizes both avenues risk missing revelations when they rigidly defend their foundation as sacrosanct. He is thus willing to consider all possibilities and follow where data and grounded discernment lead.
Paul’s traditional training includes degrees in chemistry and systems science. He began his career as a research scientist for 3M, but was soon diverted to flying jet fighters in the Viet Nam war. He began his career at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) where he conducted worldwide studies on acid rain, Arctic haze, stratospheric ozone, pollutant photochemistry. He began washing test tubes and departed as Associate Director of their Atmospheric Chemistry Division.
Paul left NCAR to become Executive Director of the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES), an institute of over 500 researchers, faculty, students and staff bridging the University of Colorado and NOAA. He left campus in 2006 to investigate Earth energy phenomena at remote sites around the world.