Speaker Biographies

Name: José Louis Belmonte

Abstract Title: Mythical creatures appearing in astral myths of Herakles in relation to the lineage of Phorcys and Ceto in Hesiod's Theogony

Biography:
International lecturer, the author of four books, two prefaces, and several research articles on astrology, José Luis Belmonte, is currently studying the M.D. 'Cultures and Languages in Antiquity' at University of Barcelona (2019-2020), has a Master's Degree on Cultural Astrology and Astronomy (University of Wales, 2015-2018), studied Classical Philology (Greek, Latin, and Hebrew) at University of Barcelona (2017-2019), studied astrology at Kepler College (2007-2011), and graduated as an Engineer of Telecommunications specialized in electronic equipment at Ramon Llull University (1996). He speaks English, Spanish, Catalan, reads French and Italian and has taken levels A1 and A2 of German at the University of Barcelona (2017-2019). Currently, he works as editor, writer, and astrologer, and researches Babylonian and Hellenistic astrology. He lives in Barcelona (Spain) with his wife and daughter.

Name: Ilaria Cristofaro

Abstract Title: Ancient Topography and Skyscape Archaeology in Magna Grecia: the Urban Layout of Pompei

Biography:
Ilaria Cristofaro is a PhD student at Università della Campania Luigi Vanvitelli with a research project on skyscape archaeology and the orientation of Greek, Etruscan, and Roman cities in ancient Campania from the VIII to III century B.C.. She holds a BSc in Astronomy at the Università degli Studi di Bologna AlmaMater Studiourm and an MA in Cultural Astronomy and Astrology at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David with a thesis on Bronze Age Minoan culture. This thesis was short-listed for the MA Cultural Astronomy and Astrology Alumni Association Dissertation Prize / Dyfernir Gwobr MA Seryddiaeth ac Astroleg Ddiwylliannol for 2019. Ilaria’s contributions include an exploration of the ways the sky is reflected on water under the title 'Reflecting the sky in water: a phenomenological exploration of water-skyscapes' published in 2017 in the Journal of Skyscape Archaeology. She is a member of SEAC - European Society for Astronomy in Culture, SIA-Società Italiana di Archeoastronomia, and EAA- European Association Archaeologists.

Name: Marc Frincu

Abstract Title: What do the cosmological paintings in old Romanian Churches tell us?

Biography:
Dr. Marc Frincu is a senior lecturer at the School of Science of Technology at Nottingham Trent University. He teaches computer science related subjects but one of his main research interests is the investigation of ancient skyscapes. He has published papers in archeoastronomy focusing on sites in Romania and Armenia. He has written 2 books on general archeoastronomy and one edited book focusing on archeoastronomy and ethnoastronomy in present day. All three were published in Romanian. He is also the president of the Romanian Society for Cultural Astronomy (SRPAC) and vice president of the European Society for Astronomy in Culture (SEAC).

Name: Wanda Gregory

Abstract Title: Celestial Play: An Exploration of Games and The Stars

Biography:
Wanda Gregory is a lecturer at University of Washington Bothell campus in the areas of interactive media and game design along media studies courses on such topics as time travel, Doctor Who and Black Mirror. Her academic interests include technology (AR/VR/MR) and consciousness along with the connections between games and cosmology.

She has worked for a variety of game companies including Wizards of the Coast, Hasbro and Microsoft Xbox. Wanda has a M.B.A from the University of Washington Foster School of Business, a M.A. in Communications from the University of Washington and a PhD from University College Dublin. She serves on a number of advisory boards for non-profits and tech/game startup companies.

Name: Duane Hamacher

Abstract Title: The First Astronomers: 65,000 years of science

Biography:
Duane Hamacher, PhD, is Associate Professor of Cultural Astronomy in the ASTRO-3D Centre of Excellence and the School of Physics at the University of Melbourne, Australia. Originally from the United States, Dr Hamacher completed a degree in physics at the University of Missouri before emigrating to Australia to complete a research Masters in astrophysics at UNSW, followed by a PhD in the social sciences at Macquarie University with a thesis on Aboriginal Astronomy.

Name: Jessica Heim

Abstract Title: Dark Sky Advocates and the Night Sky

Biography:
Jessica Heim is currently pursuing graduate studies in Cultural Astronomy through the University of Wales Trinity St. David. In her dissertation research, she is studying community processes relating to dark sky friendly LED retrofits, examining lighting plans and policies, as well as gaining insight into the thoughts of stakeholders and community members about dark skies and lighting changes in their communities. Jessica enjoys engaging in collaborative educational outreach which allows participants to learn more about the connections between culture, science, and the night sky. She is a team member of Native Skywatchers, an initiative led by Professor Annette Lee, which seeks to remember and revitalize indigenous star and earth knowledge. Jessica's research interests involve exploring human relationships with both sky and land, not only as pertaining to dark skies, but also in regard to ethics and policy issues associated with space exploration and development. She graduated Magna cum Laude from the College of St. Benedict, double majoring in Environmental Studies and Music. In addition to her work with dark skies, she maintains a private piano studio, teaching students of all ages. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, bird watching, and otherwise spending time in the natural world.

Name: Jarita Holbrook

Abstract Title: What? Who? Why? Stellify

Biography:
Jarita Holbrook is Associate Prof in the Dept. of Physics & Astronomy at the Western Cape University, South Africa. Holbrook has successfully navigated the physical science and the social sciences. Moving to South Africa in 2013, Holbrook has been engaged in indigenous astronomy, studying the sociocultural aspects of astrophysics education in South Africa, and making a film about the social issues connected to building the Square Kilometre Array radio telescope. Using interview based inquiry, Holbrook researches the practices of inclusion and exclusion through analyzing socioeconomic class, gender, and ethnicity among database-driven astrophysics collaborations.

Name: Géza Kulcsár

Abstract Title: Down to Earth: A Skyward Story of Clouded Ideas

Biography:
The speaker, born in 1988 in Cegléd, Hungary is an interdisciplinary researcher and experienced writer and speaker in different topics. He holds a PhD in theoretical computer science, with a number of publications and conference talks in that field. A particular interest of him is the philosophy of computer science in the light of Tradition. Besides that, he published essays in aesthetics, particularly film aesthetics and holds a prestigious Hungarian price for the best essay on the art of Miklós Jancsó. He has many years of experience in studying Ancient Greek, Latin and Sanskrit. He stands in close contact with the respective academic communities. He is a decade-long listener of various Hungarian Traditionalist teachers, such as Péter Kecskés and Róbert Horváth. He also has an intensive artistic output, mainly in traditional as well as experimental forms of poetry, bringing that into experimental music, as well as experimenting with generative programming techniques in those musical and visual settings. He plays Hungarian folk instruments.

Name: Christopher Layser

Abstract Title: The Cosmic Shark in the Maya Sky

Biography:
Christopher Layser holds an MA in Cultural Astronomy and Astrology from the University of Wales TSD and is the Vice President of the Pre-Columbian Society of the Penn Museum. Much of his fieldwork was completed in Belize where he participates in excavation and 3D spatial analysis as a volunteer with the Maya Research Program. He is employed as a senior network engineer in Pennsylvania, where he lives with his wife Misti and two golden retrievers.

Name: Annette Lee

Abstract Title: Wicaŋhpi Oyate-Star People: Critical Teachings of Earth-Sky Mirroring Rooted in First Nations Indigenous Knowledge Systems

Biography:
TBA

Name: Astrid B. Leimlehner

Abstract Title: 'There’s no longer order among the Stars / Comets should be forbidden!': The Role Of The Sky In Johann Nestroy's The Evil Spirit Lumpazivagabundus

Biography:
Astrid Bernadette Leimlehner was born and lives in Linz, Austria. In the 1990s she studied psychology at the University of Salzburg. She holds a certificate in print journalism and is a trained radio presenter (1996, 1999). Sje received her MA in Cultural Astronomy and Astrology in 2015 with distinction. In 2016, the Alumni Association of the Sophia Centre awarded her the first Dissertation Prize. Currently working as an independent scholar, Astrid translates primary and secondary sources from German into English, speaks at conferences (for example Sophia Centre conferences 2016, 2017; SEAC conference 2018; Kepler Conference St. Petersburg, Russia 2019) and writes papers of which one was published in 2018 and two are forthcoming next year. Research interests: historical, philosophical and psychological perspectives of astrology, alchemy and similar fields; influences of different languages on cosmologies; the representation of the stars in literature and music.

Name: Kim Malville

Abstract Title: Changing Stories of the Sky as told by Astrophysicists - Competing Paradigms and Surprising Harmonies

Biography:
Dr. Malville obtained his BS in physics from Caltech and his PhD in radio astronomy and solar physics from the University of Colorado. His first teaching position was at the University of Michigan where he was a Sloan Research Fellow. Returning to Boulder he was on the research staff of the High Altitude Observatory and then he moved the University of Colorado where he served as Chairman of the Department of Astro-Geophysics, Director of the College's Honors Program, and Director of the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program. His research interests have ranged from the aurora, the interstellar medium, solar physics, and, more recently, archaeoastronomy. In 1997 he was a member of the team that revealed the world's oldest known megalithic astronomy at Nabta Playa near Abu Simbel in southern Egypt. In 2003 he was involved in the rediscovery of Llactapata and its sun temple, previously lost in a cloud forest near from Machu Picchu. In 2014 received the Fourth Carlos Jaschek Award from the European Society for Astronomy in Culture for his work in archaeoastronomy. He is presently Professor Emeritus in the Department of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences at the University of Colorado.

Name: Maayan Medzini

Abstract Title: The Venus Synodic cycle in the Canaanite myth and ritual

Biography:
Maayan Medzini is a graduate student in the MA in Cultural Astronomy and Astrology in the University of Wales Trinity Saint David. Her focus is on the ancient Canaanite religion in its astral aspect. She practices and teaches astrology in Israel.

Name: Alina Pelteacu

Abstract Title: The Platonic basis of Jung's sky-story

Biography:
Alina Pelteacu holds an MA in Cultural Astronomy and Astrology from the University of Wales TSD since 2018. Graduating from the Politehnica University of Bucharest (chemical engineer's degree) and CNAM Paris (Executive MBA) in 2004, she subsequently combined managerial positions in editing and printing fields, and later, and for more than a decade, managing the commercial activity of the Romanian stamp-issuing company, and currently as a freelance book publisher. Her projects as publisher include the release in 2019 of the Romanian translation of Nicholas Campion’s Astrology and Cosmology in the World’s Religions originally published in English by New York University Press in 2012. She currently resides in Bucharest with her family and some of her collaborators. She can be contacted at alina_pelteacu@yahoo.com.

Name: Ana Stefanova

Abstract Title: The Sky as a symbol of The Self from Analytical Psychological perspective

Biography:
Ana Stefanova has a master degree in Medicine, master degree in Psychology and PhD in Folklore studies (Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Studies with Ethnographic Museum). Her Master thesis in Psychology was Evolution of the concept of community psychological phenomena in the works of C. G. Jung and PhD thesis was Analytical psychological approach to Bulgarian Folklore with emphasize on firedancing. She also works on the topic of Analytical psychological approach to Heavy Metal Culture, has many publications in the field of Analytical psychology and folklore, including three articles in international journal for Jungian studies: the official journal of the C.G. Jung Analytical Psychology Club, London and the International Association for Jungian Studies. Ana has few art exhibitions and three books with illustrations.

Name: Three Poets

Abstract Title: Performing Sky in the Poems

Biographies:

Based in West Wales, Jane Manley has been writing short stories and poetry since childhood. She is a prize-winning Haiku writer and had short stories published in Blue Tattoo Magazine. Now retired after a forty-year career as a community midwife, Jane finally has time to concentrate on her two passions – poetry and motorcycle touring. 'Poetry is ideal to write when touring with a bike, you only need a notebook, pen or phone' she says. Westray is a spiritual home although not on two wheels 'it can be too wet and windy at times.'

Dawn Morgan received a distinction in her MA in Creative Writing at Lampeter, in 2016. she writes short stories and some longer fiction, including children’s novels as well as poetry. Her poems have been published by Writers Forum magazine, Paragram Poetry and in the 2015 Flambard Poetry Prize winners anthology. Her first poetry pamphlet, Blood And Other Elements, was published in October 2018 by Rack Press.

Jo Lambert is currently studying Creative Writing at Aberystwyth University as a mature student. She is the founder of Queer Writers Cardiff. Her novel was long-listed for the Mslexia Children's and YA Novel Competition. She has had work published by The New York Times, Gloucester Poetry Society and Gwyllion Magazine as well as online