ALIFE 2019

Thanks to everybody who contributed to ALIFE 2019

Download in high resolution.

A Hybrid of ECAL and ALIFE

The International Conference on the Synthesis and Simulation of Living Systems (ALIFE) and European Conference on Artificial Life (ECAL) conferences are the major meeting of the artificial life research community since 1987 and 1991, respectively. Since 2018, these two conferences have merged into the annual Conference on Artificial Life. The 2019 Conference on Artificial Life will take place in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, from 29 July - 2 August 2019.

How Can Artificial Life Help Solve Societal Challenges?

Artificial Life has historically been regarded by its adversaries as an academic “hobby” with little relation to real life. We feel that these days are past, as in fact, our interdisciplinary and constantly self-innovating discipline brings together a set of skills and perspectives with a unique potential to tackle some of the most pressing societal challenges of our times. The theme “How can Artificial Life help to solve Societal Challenges” will run through the conference in the shape of keynote presentations and satellite events that apply Artificial Life principles to research on sustainable technologies, bioremediation, urban development and environmental planning, alternative societies a.s.o.

But more than merely theming presentations, ALIFE2019 in Newcastle plans to revisit the very way academic conferences are run: a balanced amount of remote talks as well as broadcasting of presentations in order to reduce CO₂ emissions, carbon-offset bursaries that allow participants to diminish their ecological footprint, locally sourced catering – these are just a few of the ideas that the organizers will explore, so that us academics can realize some of the change we are advocating for.

Designer Biology

Simultaneously to ALIFE 2019, Newcastle University will also host the Designer Biology 2019 conference, which aims to bring together young and established scientists working in the field of bioengineering/synthetic biology. The scope is to discuss different applications, ranging from the engineering of organisms, proteins, and the engineering of functionalized bio-based and bio-inspired materials. With the growing overlap of Wet Artificial Life and Synthetic Biology, we welcome interested participants of both meetings to also take part in the other event. As organizers we further try to explore synergies of these fields by sharing keynote presentations and holding a joint panel discussion.