SHROUD SCIENCE GROUP INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
The Shroud of Turin: Perspectives on a Multifaceted Enigma
OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY BLACKWELL HOTEL
August 14 through August 17, 2008 Open to the Public
The Shroud Science Internet group is sponsoring an International conference titled, "The Shroud of Turin: Perspectives on a Multifaceted Enigma," to be held August 14-17, 2008 at The Blackwell Hotel on the grounds of The Ohio State University. An informal gathering for the attendees will be held the evening of August 14. The official start of the conference will be on Friday, August 15. The conference is open to the public. Abstracts can be submitted by non-Shroud Science members and are due 1 February 2008.
The conference, which falls during the 30th anniversary of the 1978 Shroud of Turin Research Project (STURP) and the 20th anniversary of the controversial 1988 carbon-dating test, will feature contributions from STURP members, including STURP documenting photographer Barrie Schwortz, who will present "A Tribute to STURP," with some previously-unseen photographs of the 1978 study. Another highlight will be a previously-unpublished paper by the late Ray Rogers, titled "The Sudarium of Oviedo: A Study of Fiber Structures," which makes some observations concerning the possible relationship of that cloth to the Shroud. A paper that supports Ray Rogers' findings from his peer-reviewed 2005 paper in Thermochimica Acta, which put forth evidence that the 1988 C-14 sample was not representative of the main cloth, is in review, as well as several interesting papers related to image-formation theories.
The keynote address, "The Shroud: An Eternal Challenge," which will highlight the past 110 years of Shroud research, will be given by Rex Morgan of Australia, who has authored books on the Shroud and had been part of the 1986 research team "Environmental Study of the Shroud in Jerusalem." A paper titled "What Went Wrong with the Shroud's Radiocarbon Date?: Setting it all in Context" will also be presented by archaeologist Paul Maloney, General Projects Director of the Association of Scientists and Scholars International for the Shroud of Turin (ASSIST).
The Blackwell Hotel, built just in 2002, has state-of-the-art-technology and will be an excellent setting for the conference, which promises to be a noteworthy event.