This month, the Library will hold its first Bicentennial symposium when distinguished scholars summarize significant developments in the past century in approximately 24 fields of knowledge and speculate on what will be the most important developments in these fields in the 21st century.
The symposium, "Frontiers of the Mind in the Twenty-First Century," is open to the public. It is supported by the American Academy of Achievement and the Heinz Family Philanthropies and celebrates the Library of Congress's 200th anniversary on April 24, 2000 (www.loc.gov/bicentennial).
The conference is supported by the American Academy of Achievement and the Heinz Family Philanthropies and is the first in a series of symposia celebrating the Library's 200th anniversary on April 24, 2000.
Among the invited presenters and commentators are six Nobel laureates, the Astronomer Royal of Great Britain and the directors of major academic and research organizations throughout the world.
Participants have been asked to prepare a short paper that will present, for nonspecialists, the critical discoveries of the 20th century and suggest which lines of inquiry may be especially promising or what new conceptual or applied breakthroughs might be expected in the decades ahead. The papers will be circulated in advance, with the main points summarized by the author at the symposium and discussed by a commentator and members of the audience.
On the final day, participants will join approximately 500 high school honor students selected by the American Academy of Achievement to continue discussions.
Following is a tentative schedule for "Frontiers of the Mind in the Twenty-First Century." All sessions will be held in the Coolidge Auditorium in the Thomas Jefferson Building, 10 First St. S.E.
