🎉 Now in our 26th year! 🎉

The First Coast Freethought Society is an organization of individuals who prefer science and reason over religious dogma and fanaticism. We have enjoyed the nonreligious population of Northeast Florida since 1998 as we seek ways to improve the quality of life within our communities.

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Everyone Welcome!

Sign on to our Meet-up page. Sign-up for our Newsletter and email announcements. Stay in touch. If you have an idea for a program, please let us know.

UPCOMING EVENTS: 

Our November 18th speaker will be Dr. Lev V. Gasparov, who will offer a primer about why physics is important in our lives.

ZOOM LINK: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86930248001?pwd=RWFGbkFMdjVEeGs2aExvUEtoMGtudz09

Zoom Meeting ID: 869 3024 8001
Zoom Passcode: 363219

PLEASE RSVP at our Meetup page here: https://meetu.ps/e/NB3hl/1WNf1/i

Monday, November 18, 2024
6:30 PM to 8:30 PM EST

The presentation will introduce the audience into the high pressure optical spectroscopy right in our Zoom Room!

Dr. Lev Gasparov is a physicist with a research focus on optical spectroscopy and materials science. My academic journey has taken me from Russia to the US, with a significant stint in Germany from 1995 to 1997 as a visiting scholar and Alexander von Humboldt fellow. In 2000, I joined the University of North Florida (UNF) as a tenure-track assistant professor and have since advanced to my current position as a tenured full professor. Throughout my scientific career, I have published 46 peer-reviewed papers, which have been cited over 1,400 times, underscoring the substantial impact of my research in physics. I have also secured over $1.7 million in external grants, facilitating the advancement of critical research projects and the establishment of a state-of-the-art optical spectroscopy lab. This lab has served as a training ground for many UNF graduates who have gone on to become industry leaders. My collaboration with industry partners has resulted in five US patents.

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The book discussion group meets the first Sunday of the month at various locations.

Next movie discussion is November 12, 2024: Contact.

Monday, December 16th at 6:30pm (ET) our meeting is in-person for our annual Human Lights Celebration to be held at the Olive Garden on 10144 Philips Highway, Jacksonville, 32256.

January 2025, our speaker is scheduled to be author, Katherine Stewart, who wrote several books including, The Power Worshippers: Inside the Dangerous Rise of Religious Nationalism (2020), which also served as the basis for the documentary film God & Country (2024).

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Our monthly meetings are usually held the third Monday of each month from 6:30 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. (ET) via Zoom.

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