Yair Lior – Founder
Yair holds a Ph.D. in Comparative Religion at Boston University. His work focuses on the scientific study of culture and religion with a particular focus on cross-disciplinary research that integrates the humanities and social sciences with scientific methodologies such as cultural evolution, cognitive science, systems theory, and complexity science. He teaches at Boston University and is a research associate at the Center for Mind and Culture in Boston.
Elly Moseson – Associate Director
Elly earned his B.A. at Columbia University, where he studied literature and philosophy. He completed his M.A. and Ph.D. in Religious Studies at Boston University. He has held postdoctoral positions at the University of Hamburg and Tel Aviv University. His research interests include mysticism, magic, the cultural and political functions of texts, and the intersection of literature, religion and psychoanalysis.
Casandra Silva – Education Advisor
Casandra is a full-time Lecturer of Philosophy at the City University of New York. She earned her B.A. in English and Philosophy at Barnard College, Columbia University, and her M.A. in Humanities, concentrating in Philosophy, at the University of Chicago. Her research and teaching focuses on philosophy of education.
Ma’ayan Castel-Lior – Technology Programing Advisor
Ma’ayan, is a senior UX designer passionate about storytelling through multi sensory media and creating human-centered experiences on screen and IRL. She has extensive experience in the field of cyber-security and is currently particularly interested in optimizing the integration of technology in society to create a more equitable environment
Connor Wood
Connor is an expert in the cognitive and evolutionary sciences of ritual. He received his PhD in religious studies from Boston University. His research spans disciplines and has led to peer-reviewed articles on many aspects of ritual, including self-regulation, shamanism, and the evolutionary foundations of music. He blogs at the religion website Patheos and has written for The Conversation, HuffPost, Orbiter Magazine and elsewhere.
scholarium
Chris Gross
Chris is an anthropologist with extensive ethnographic experience in Central Asia. He is also a UX researcher with a passionate interest in how people interact with technology, and how those interactions are shaped by their distinct cultural settings. With extensive experience in teaching academically and in the public sphere, Chris also engages in dialogue with the public about the importance of intelligently integrating, as well as regulating, the use of technology in contemporary culture.