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PHI BETA KAPPA
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION THE GAMMA ASSOCIATION OF CALIFORNIA Association Chartered June 14, 1946 September 2026 |
You can check your membership here, and if it has lapsed, you can help our scholarships by renewing for the rest of the year to Dec 31, 2026. Or mail a check to: PBKNCA, c/o Larry Davenport, VP Membership, 1501 Adeline Ave, Redlands, CA 92374 |
From the President
Dear fellow Phi Betes,
I recently saw Project Hail Mary, the film adaptation of Andy Weir's novel. I read the book years ago, and while many of the plot details had faded from memory, several touching moments stayed with me. Seeing them brought to life on screen was unexpectedly moving. Both the novel and the film celebrate what PBK has always cherished: curiosity, disciplined inquiry, and the extraordinary power of knowledge. But Weir also portrays scientific discovery not as the triumph of a lone genius but as something built through friendship, collaboration, generosity, trust, creativity, and the willingness to learn from others.
One scene involves Rocky—an engineer from the planet Erid—choosing to remain awake while Ryland Grace, a middle-school science teacher from Earth, sleeps. Sleep, after all, leaves us vulnerable. Keeping watch over another is a profound act. As their friendship unfolds, they gradually build trust, even though they come from entirely different worlds and do not share a language, a culture, or even the same biology. They misunderstand one another, learn from one another, and repeatedly place each other's well-being above their own. Their friendship grows not because they are alike, but because they consistently choose generosity, reliability, and sacrifice.
In a time when differences often dominate public conversation, Project Hail Mary reminds us that common purpose can transcend even the widest divides. PBK has always recognized that knowledge carries responsibilities. Learning reaches its fullest purpose when it is accompanied by character, when intellectual gifts are placed in service of others, and when curiosity leads to understanding and compassion.
I hope your summer brings opportunities for discovery and connection—with good books, stimulating conversations, meaningful activities, and the ones who remind you, in large ways and small, that we are all strengthened when we watch over one another.
Wishing you a joyful and restorative summer.
Warmly,
Melissa Stevens, President
May 3, 2026 Scholarship awardees
In fulfillment of its mission to encourage scholarship and research, the Phi Beta Kappa Northern California Association honored the following outstanding Phi Beta Kappa graduate students with $10,000 scholarship awards to assist them in completing their educational objectives.
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Back row: Nathaniel Dolton-Thornton, Sylvie Thode, Hannah Kortbawi, Jacob Steenis, Alexis Wood Front row: Moreen Akomea-Ampeh, Flannery McIntyre, Sylvana Finn, Alejandra Rosselli-Calderon Melanie Kirkpatrick was not able to attend the Awards Luncheon |
May 3, 2026 Teaching Excellence Awardees
The Teaching Excellence Award which is given to teachers nominated by
their students, consists of a Certificate and a $1000 honorarium.
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Robert J. Podesva, PhD, Stanford, Linguistics; Gil-li Vardi, PhD, Stanford, History; Joshua Landy, PhD, Stanford, French; Andrew W. Reddie, PhD, UC Berkeley, Goldman School of Public Policy |
Note: The price stated for events is for current PBKNCA members and their guests; lapsed or non-members will pay a surcharge. Full event information, and means of credit card payment, are available on our website https://pbknca.com/Events/.
If you won’t be able to make Asilomar, contact Barry Haskell at bghaskell@comcast.net.
For any other event, contact Jim Richardson at 434-964-7946 or revjimr@yahoo.com ASAP.
No-shows do NOT receive a refund! Cancellations probably do.
Sign up for events including Asilomar 2027 at https://pbknca.com/Events
To register for an event if you don’t have Internet access, please contact Jim Richardson (434) 964-7946 revjimr@yahoo.com
40th Annual Asilomar Conference Feb 12-15, 2027
For information and registration for the 2027 conference, go here
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As we look forward to a year likely filled with surprises throughout our world, PBKNCA members are again preparing for an inspiring February weekend to recharge our engines, gain some new perspectives, and connect with friends from across California, both new and old. So, come relax with friends in a historic state park and coastal retreat. Recharge your batteries on the lovely Monterey coast. Venture onto horizons you’ve perhaps not considered – or even thought of – before. Our speaker roster is complete, and is shaping up as an extraordinary program. As always, we include speakers from across the arts and sciences – technology, politics, astrophysics, geography, law, the arts, and modern language and culture. There will be something for everyone. (Note: order of some talks may change between now and February.) Please mark your calendar now for a refreshing weekend at the Asilomar coast February 12 - 15, 2027, Better yet, send your registration today to reserve a place, and ensure we retain best pricing for our annual gathering A few speaker previews: If you have questions on this year’s program, outlined below, please contact dfrontczak@scu.edu. For registration or logistics, please contact Barry Haskell at bghaskell@comcast.net. Registration is $150, which goes toward scholarships for our graduate students. Costs will be similar to last year, about $680 per person, double occupancy, and includes all nine meals and parking. All registered participants will receive a link to reserve their Asilomar accommodations, including meals; please check your email. (Remember, to be part of the PBKNCA package, do not reserve directly with the facility.) Register here: https://pbknca.com/event-6554625
From Innovation to Instability: Emerging Technologies and International Security Cybersecurity Debates about emerging technology and international security often gravitate toward distant and speculative futures -- yet many of the most consequential risks are already taking shape today, through artificial intelligence, advanced intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance systems, and missile defenses (e.g., the Golden Dome. This talk examines the near-term implications of these developments for nuclear deterrence and escalation. It argues that the central policy challenge is not simply controlling technological capability, but understanding how new systems reshape decision-making under conditions of acute uncertainty.
An Inside View of the Klamath Dam Removal Project: The Largest Environmental Restoration Project in American History The Klamath River was one of the largest salmon fisheries on the West Coast. However, during the last 100 years, migratory salmon were blocked from a large part of the watershed by a series of hydroelectric dams. Now, through the collaborative efforts of the Yurok Tribe, the Karuk Tribe, California, Oregon, the Klamath River Renewal Corporation, and PacifiCorp, four dams were removed in 2024, which opened up a large part of the watershed to assist in salmon recovery. This presentation will explain the story behind the dam removal project and the status of efforts to restore the watershed.
(PBK Teaching Excellence awardee) Is Conventional War Back? The Present and Future of war The data is clear - for decades, conventional war was in decline. So, is it making a comeback now? And, if we are experiencing a resurgence, what can current conflicts reveal about the character of war today and in the foreseeable future? What - if anything - sets contemporary war apart? What is the meaning of victory (and defeat)? While we cannot predict the future, this talk employs historical analysis and historical thinking to attempt to make sense of the current state of war.
A Stellar Perspective of History The history of humanity is deeply intertwined with the cosmos. From the earliest settlement that developed agriculture to long voyages across the seas. The history generally taught in school focuses only on the sky as the Greeks saw it, but our ancestors have looked at the sky from every corner of the world for hundreds of thousands of years. In my talk I hope to bring to you just a small look at the cosmos from our very own small speck of a planet. A Colombian scholar, at UCSC Rosselli-Calderon has had the remarkable opportunity to advance our understanding of how stars and black holes dance together in the depths of space.
Everyday Democracy: Liberals, Conservatives, and Their Attitudes About Politics Liberals and conservatives seem to have vastly different opinions about various policies. But do we actually think differently about politics -- concepts like civility, dialogue, compromise, power, and volunteerism? I propose that we do. In this talk, I will present some of these differences and offer an explanation of their origins -- and offer some thoughts about what to make of these differences and how they shed light on our current political environment.
Marcel Proust and the Re-Enchanted World What can we do when the world loses its wonder for us? How can we find, again, the enchantment that we’ve lost? And what has art got to do with any of that? These are some of the big questions Marcel Proust was thinking about when he wrote his twentieth-century masterpiece, In Search of Lost Time. This lecture will explore Proust’s inspiring answers, as well as the re-enchanting delights in store for those of us lucky souls who get to read him. Joshua Landy is the Andrew B. Hammond Professor of French and Professor of Comparative Literature at Stanford University, where he co-directs the Initiative in Philosophy and Literature. Prof. Landy co-directs the co-directs the Initiative in Philosophy and co-hosts the nationally syndicated public radio program “Philosophy Talk.”
Science As Spiritual Power Author of A God That Could Be Real: Spirituality, Science, and the Future of Our Planet, winner of the 2015 USA Best Book Award in philosophy. Nancy is also a singer/songwriter; her recent songs are on Substack at “The Philosophical Cabaret.” “The best lack all conviction, while the worst/Are full of passionate intensity.” (Yeats) Why? Can “the best” change this? It is no coincidence that the worst tend to be the most extreme, in all religions. Yet, so many wonderful people dedicated to saving the planet lack any sense of connection to the larger universe because they have no language or story that meaningfully narrates the experience of being an earthling in the real universe. Modern cosmology could be key to that story, providing in this dangerous era a new, responsible source of spiritual power.
What does it mean to know a place? To trace its borders? To inherit its histories and archives or to move through its landscapes? Listen to its stories? Or to confront the stories we make as we experience it? |
Sunday Evening: Nancy Abrams, a philosopher of science, lawyer, and former lecturer on Cosmology and Culture at U.C. Santa Cruz. 
Register here: https://pbknca.com/event-6554625 |
There is an ongoing virtual book club open to interested members.
The Northern California PBK Association book club has set their book reading slate for the next year or so and would like to welcome any new members who would like to join.We meet every 6 weeks or so by Zoom with the hosting duties rotating depending on who has chosen that meeting's book. We read a mixture of fiction, non-fiction, memoir, and mysteries.
For more information, please contact Libby Tyler at ehtyler6@gmail.com
Sincerely,
Libby
Elizabeth H. Tyler, Ph.D., FAICP
ΦBK Board, July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027 Email addresses are in the directory. Login to access. |
Melissa X. Stevens, President | Kristine Angeles, Corresponding Secretary Anna Hoehenrieder, Chapter Liaison, 510-931-8636 |