The University of Virginia’s Division of Perceptual Studies (DOPS) announced Edward Kelly, PhD, will participate in two distinguished events in April 2024. Dr. Kelly will deliver a keynote address at the 14th annual BIAL Foundation Symposium in Porto, Portugal, April 3-6, and will be presented with the Myers Memorial Medal from the Society for Psychical Research in London, England on April 9.
Dr. Kelly’s keynote address will focus on creativity and how it fits naturally into the larger theoretical picture regarding the study of psi in an academic context. The presentation will center around the award-winning trilogy of books co-authored by Dr. Kelly, which places psi research in a historical and philosophical context and reviews in detail empirical data from a wealth of sources. This trilogy received the 2021 Parapsychology Book Award and demands a radical revision regarding the place of consciousness in the overall scheme of nature.
Following the BIAL Symposium, Dr. Kelly will travel to London to be presented with the Myers Memorial Medal at a prestigious Society for Psychical Research event to be held at the Royal Society. This award is widely considered one of the highest honors in the academic study of psi phenomena. Dr. Kelly will be receiving the ninth medal of its kind, with the first awarded to DOPS founder Dr. Ian Stevenson in 1995. Along with the awards ceremony, Dr. Kelly will deliver a talk focused on where he thinks the field is headed and encouraging upcoming students of the subject to come aboard.
“I’m humbled and honored to receive the Myers Memorial Medal and to be recognized by the SPR,” said Dr. Kelly. “We have made great strides since the society’s founding in 1882, and I am optimistic about what lies ahead for psychical research.”
About the Bial Foundation Symposium
With its 14th “Beyond and Behind the Brain” Symposium, the BIAL Foundation will seek to address the concept of human creativity, specifically how it works and how it can be enhanced. The event invites prominent neuroscientists, psychologists, philosophers, and artists and engages them in a profoundly interdisciplinary dialogue over a rich program extending over three days.
About the Myers Memorial Medal
The Myers Memorial Medal was introduced in 1995 both to honor the memory of the Society for Psychical Research (SPR) co-founder Frederic Myers (1843-1901) and to acknowledge significant contributions by current researchers. It is awarded on an irregular basis, with nominations considered by the Society’s President in consultation with the vice presidents.
Learn more about this event at Society for Psychical Research.
Filed Under: Faculty, Honors & Awards