Mar 10, 2026 09:41 PM
(This post was last modified: Mar 10, 2026 09:42 PM by C C.)
RELATED (scivillage): What science should learn from the Epstein files
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Epstein paid for a conference of top scientists in 2006. His motives are now clear
https://www.npr.org/2026/03/09/nx-s1-572...conference
EXCERPTS: Some 100 feet below the ocean's surface, Stephen Hawking peeked through the circular porthole of a submarine and saw the brilliant blue tropical water. It was March 2006, and the famous astrophysicist, accompanied by one of his ever-present nurses, sat strapped in his wheelchair, enjoying the view of coral reefs and colorful fish off the coast of the U.S. Virgin Islands. It was his first undersea experience, and he had Jeffrey Epstein to thank for it.
[...] The "Confronting Gravity" conference was billed as a chance to discuss key issues in fundamental physics and cosmology and was described as a place where participants could "meet, discuss, relax on the beach, and take a trip to the nearby private island retreat of the science philanthropist Jeffrey Epstein."
"It was an excellent conference," said Alan Guth, a physicist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who attended the event. In fact, Epstein would go on to describe it as one of his top five professional achievements. Theoretical physicist Lawrence Krauss, then with Case Western Reserve University, organized the event. He maintained an almost 15-year friendship with Epstein...
The 2006 Virgin Islands conference illustrates how Epstein used philanthropy to build relationships with scientists and academic institutions. NPR spoke to scientists and searched through the Department of Justice documents on Epstein to understand how he built his network of prominent scientists. Epstein's interests spanned fields including theoretical physics, evolutionary biology and computer science, and he funded conferences, research programs and individual scientists.
"Jeffrey was interested in interesting people," Krauss told NPR. [...] But if the idea was to keep Epstein's private life a secret, it wasn't entirely effective. There were hints.
Guth said that during the conference, Epstein "was around but was really quite inconspicuous. He did not act as a host. He acted as a bystander." However, "we probably never saw him without three or four young women," Guth said.
[...] Peebles attended the conference with his wife. He vividly recalls a coffee break between talks at the Ritz where he and others "noticed several young women, maybe five, maybe 10," who seemed out of place. "Several of us asked each other, 'What are they doing here?'"
"I can only tell you they were younger than the youngest women in our meeting," he told NPR. "Were they 15 or 30? I have no idea." Speaking to NPR, Krauss said the young women were Hawking's nurses...
[...] Peter Woit, a senior lecturer in the Department of Mathematics at Columbia University, didn't attend the 2006 conference. His name appears twice in the Epstein files but only in passing — both times on emails that included a general list of scientists. There is no indication of any direct involvement, though he does know several people who were connected to Epstein.
In a recent post on his blog, Woit concluded: "Epstein used his mysteriously acquired wealth to pursue his two great interests in life: the sexual exploitation of young women and hanging out with celebrity scientists."
[...] Woit said it is his sense that Epstein thought of himself as a "philosopher king" who liked to "share his brilliant ideas with these brilliant people and they would come and hang out with him." ... Epstein was eager to engage on the leading science topics of the day but had only a cursory understanding of them. Still, Woit concedes that "scientists love to have somebody who is willing to talk to them." (MORE - missing details)
- - - - - - - - - -
Epstein paid for a conference of top scientists in 2006. His motives are now clear
https://www.npr.org/2026/03/09/nx-s1-572...conference
EXCERPTS: Some 100 feet below the ocean's surface, Stephen Hawking peeked through the circular porthole of a submarine and saw the brilliant blue tropical water. It was March 2006, and the famous astrophysicist, accompanied by one of his ever-present nurses, sat strapped in his wheelchair, enjoying the view of coral reefs and colorful fish off the coast of the U.S. Virgin Islands. It was his first undersea experience, and he had Jeffrey Epstein to thank for it.
[...] The "Confronting Gravity" conference was billed as a chance to discuss key issues in fundamental physics and cosmology and was described as a place where participants could "meet, discuss, relax on the beach, and take a trip to the nearby private island retreat of the science philanthropist Jeffrey Epstein."
"It was an excellent conference," said Alan Guth, a physicist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who attended the event. In fact, Epstein would go on to describe it as one of his top five professional achievements. Theoretical physicist Lawrence Krauss, then with Case Western Reserve University, organized the event. He maintained an almost 15-year friendship with Epstein...
The 2006 Virgin Islands conference illustrates how Epstein used philanthropy to build relationships with scientists and academic institutions. NPR spoke to scientists and searched through the Department of Justice documents on Epstein to understand how he built his network of prominent scientists. Epstein's interests spanned fields including theoretical physics, evolutionary biology and computer science, and he funded conferences, research programs and individual scientists.
"Jeffrey was interested in interesting people," Krauss told NPR. [...] But if the idea was to keep Epstein's private life a secret, it wasn't entirely effective. There were hints.
Guth said that during the conference, Epstein "was around but was really quite inconspicuous. He did not act as a host. He acted as a bystander." However, "we probably never saw him without three or four young women," Guth said.
[...] Peebles attended the conference with his wife. He vividly recalls a coffee break between talks at the Ritz where he and others "noticed several young women, maybe five, maybe 10," who seemed out of place. "Several of us asked each other, 'What are they doing here?'"
"I can only tell you they were younger than the youngest women in our meeting," he told NPR. "Were they 15 or 30? I have no idea." Speaking to NPR, Krauss said the young women were Hawking's nurses...
[...] Peter Woit, a senior lecturer in the Department of Mathematics at Columbia University, didn't attend the 2006 conference. His name appears twice in the Epstein files but only in passing — both times on emails that included a general list of scientists. There is no indication of any direct involvement, though he does know several people who were connected to Epstein.
In a recent post on his blog, Woit concluded: "Epstein used his mysteriously acquired wealth to pursue his two great interests in life: the sexual exploitation of young women and hanging out with celebrity scientists."
[...] Woit said it is his sense that Epstein thought of himself as a "philosopher king" who liked to "share his brilliant ideas with these brilliant people and they would come and hang out with him." ... Epstein was eager to engage on the leading science topics of the day but had only a cursory understanding of them. Still, Woit concedes that "scientists love to have somebody who is willing to talk to them." (MORE - missing details)