The Mind Science Foundation (MSF) is a private non-profit scientific foundation in
San Antonio,
Texas, USA, established by the philanthropist
Thomas Baker Slick
Thomas Baker Slick Jr. (May 6, 1916 – October 6, 1962) was a San Antonio, Texas-based inventor, businessman, adventurer, and heir to an oil business. Slick's father, Thomas Baker Slick Sr., a.k.a. "The King of the Wildcatters", had made ...
in 1958.
The Foundation's mission is to raise awareness and levels of funding for one of the major unsolved questions in science: how consciousness arises in human beings.
Awards and sponsorship of research
MSF is a principal, international supporter of pilot data grants for consciousness research. Some recent award recipients include:
*
Fred Gage – Salk Institute for Biological Studies
*
Susan Greenfield
Susan Adele Greenfield, Baroness Greenfield, (born 1 October 1950) is an English scientist, writer, broadcaster and member of the House of Lords (since 2001). Her research has focused on the treatment of Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's dise ...
– Oxford University
*
Christof Koch – California Institute of Technology
*
V.S. Ramachandran – University of California San Diego
Lecture events
In addition to funding leading researchers in the field, the Mind Science Foundation hosts a Distinguished Speakers Series to heighten public awareness of practical topics related to human consciousness. Examples of past speakers include:
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Jonas Salk – inaugural speaker, Distinguished Speakers Series
*
Steven Laureys
Steven Laureys (born 24 December 1968 in Leuven) is a Belgian neurologist. He is principally known as a clinician and researcher in the field of neurology of consciousness.
Career
Prof. Laureys graduated as a Medical Doctor from the Vrije Univer ...
– University of Liege, Belgium
*
J. Allan Hobson
John Allan Hobson (June 3, 1933 – July 7, 2021) was an American psychiatrist and dream researcher. He was known for his research on rapid eye movement sleep. He was Professor of Psychiatry, Emeritus, Harvard Medical School, and Professor, Depar ...
- Harvard Medical School
*
Kay Redfield Jamison Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
*
Temple Grandin – Colorado State University
*
Jane Goodall – Goodall Institute
Sponsoring events
The Foundation also supports international symposia and conferences focused on the scientific study of consciousness and has also helped to sponsor events with the following organizations:
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Association for the Scientific Study of Consciousness
**ASSC-8 Satellite meeting (Antwerp, 2004): "Coma and Impaired Consciousness"
**ASSC-9 (Caltech, 2005)
**ASSC-10 (Oxford, 2006)
*
Mind and Life Institute
**Public Meeting with the
Dalai Lama (M.I.T., 2003)
**Public Meeting with the Dalai Lama (Washington, D. C., 2005)
See also
*
Association for the Scientific Study of Consciousness
References
External links
Official website
{{Authority control
Consciousness studies
Companies based in San Antonio
Organizations established in 1958
1958 establishments in Texas