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Kathryn Clark

Dr. Kathryn Clark spent four years at NASA Headquarters, two of them as NASA's Chief Scientist for the International Space Station Program and two years as NASA's Chief Scientist for the Human Exploration & Development of Space Enterprise. As Chief Scientist, Clark worked with scientists from all other areas of NASA to communicate research needs and look for possible collaboration among the science programs at NASA. She also assisted with education and outreach activities related to any human space flight endeavors, including the International Space Station, the shuttle, any expendable launch vehicles intended to further human endeavors in space, and future missions to the Moon and Mars. Clark's particular interest is in "Human Factors"; all the elements necessary for the health, safety, and efficiency of crews involved in long duration space flight. These include training, interfacing with machines and robotics, biological countermeasures for the undesirable physical changes associated with space flight, and the psychological issues that may occur in response to the closed, dangerous environments while traveling in space or living on other planets.

Clark's experience with NASA began with a study on neuromuscular development (NIH.R1) that flew on STS-66 in November of 1994. These experiments were repeated and augmented (NIH.R2) on STS-70 in July of 1995. She was also involved in the Neurolab project flown on STS-90 in May of 1998 and directed a student-developed experiment involving research on ladybugs that flew on STS-93 with Commander Eileen Collins. She also served as the Deputy Director of the NASA Commercial Space Center, The Center for Microgravity Automation Technology from 1996-1998. CMAT provides imaging technology for use on the Space Station. The primary commercial focus of that Center is on using high fidelity imaging technology for science and education.

Clark received both her Master's and Doctoral degrees from the University of Michigan and then joined the faculty in the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology in 1993. She is currently continuing her education with the University by working toward an MS in Geological Science.

In 2001, she was appointed by both Governor Engler (2001) and Governor Granholm (2005) of Michigan as Chair of Academic Affairs Committee, Board of Control for Michigan Tech University. She received the National Aeronautics & Space Administration Goddard Space Flight Center Customer Service Excellence Award and the Women in Aerospace International Award as well as being inducted into the National Women's Museum. She was also recognized for her outstanding alumni contributions to the community by the Western Reserve Academy in 2000 and received the National Aeronautics & Space Administration Space Flight Awareness Team Award in 1991.

Dr. Clark has an extraordinary amount of speaking experience and enjoys using NASA and the aerospace environment to engage students in education. Her favorite topics include Building the International Space Station, Space Exploration and All That Goes With It, and The Antics of Travel, Especially As A Government Employee.

Building the International Space Station is both fun and inspiring. It is unimaginable that 16 countries could work together in 12 languages to build a structure 200 miles in the air in an environment that forgives no mistakes, using tools that have not yet been created, with access limited to only 2 vehicles on the planet. Yet that is exactly what we are doing. Sometimes ridiculously comical, sometimes tragically mistaken, NASA and the rest of the world's space agencies take the risks necessary to prepare us for future exploration.

Space Exploration and All That Goes With It presents interesting questions, thoughts and facts about space exploration. Why do we explore? Is exploration worth the enormous cost, sometimes the cost in human lives? Is long-term exploration even possible? KC enjoys the topic of exploration so much that she has created 4 separate talks coming at the topic from different angles.

The Antics of Travel, Especially as A Government Employee is a light-hearted look at travel, as a way to comically vent on all that one must endure to be away from home in order to do a job. From fighting with airline reservation personnel to searching a hotel room desperately seeking an outlet to plug in her computer, this talk is filled with vignettes that most audience members can relate to and will enjoy knowing that they are not alone in their frustration. While some topics are more humorous than others, all of her talks are laced with humor, most of them will take a serious look at some issues, and all are intended to educate the audience. Her theory of education is to "entertain people and sneak education in when they aren't looking" and she tries to create talks that fit that theory.

Additional Speaking Topics

KC is currently the President of Docere, a limited liability company that specializes in science and education. The science arm of the company partners with the Jean-Michel Cousteau Society, the Argos Foundation, the National Marine Sanctuaries, and the Sea World Hubbs Institute to enhance research of oceans and marine wildlife and use of the data for education and awareness of the environment of the seas. The second arm of Docere is an education company dedicated to helping teachers engage students through the Internet and exciting educational tools. Partners in education include The Convergence Education Foundation and SAS Games, Inc., which created TiViTz, a math and strategy game for students in 4th to 8th grades. Dr. Clark is the VP for Education of SAS Games. She also serves on the NASA Return to Flight Task Group, an external advisory body that is overseeing the NASA team as they make changes necessary to return the space shuttle to space.

Clark is the Chair of the Academic Affairs Committee and Vice-chair of the Board of Control of Michigan Tech University, and serves on the Board of Trustees of Western Reserve Academy and on the Board of Directors of Orion's Quest, an education oriented not-for-profit organization that provides opportunities for high school students to take part in real space flight experiments, which began with the aforementioned ladybug experiment that flew on STS-93.

Bradley C. Edwards

The center of recent attention, Dr. Bradley C. Edwards is the driving force behind the development of the space elevator. His work on this revolutionary topic has brought it from science fiction to a viable technology that will change the future of humanity. Imagine climbing on an elevator and ascending to space, traveling to the moon and Mars without a rocket - this is the impact of the space elevator and Dr. Edwards' work will make it happen in our lifetime. His groundbreaking book, The Space Elevator, is changing how the world looks at our future in space. Dr. Edwards’ effort has been funded by NASA and has appeared on the cover of Discover, and Science News, featured in the New York Times, Wired, BBC and CNN and hundreds of other media spots around the world. Dr. Edwards’ presentations provide insight into our future and the innovations and creativity that will shape it.

Brad's extensive speaking experience and rave reviews speak volumes about his ability to capture an audience. His most exciting speaking topics include: The Space Elevator, Real and Objective Pursuit of Outlandish Goals, and Man's Future in Space.

The Space Elevator

Take a ride to space and see where our future may take us. This isn't the standard story of far off dreams that never seem to happen. This is a new and very real set of possibilities that technology has provided us. When rockets were first being built for travel to the moon a second concept was proposed and discarded - a space elevator. Over the last 40 years technology has advanced to the point where we can build the space elevator and travel to space more easily than a transatlantic flight. The rapid development of this concept led by Dr. Edwards and the real possibility of opening space in our lifetime is an exciting and inspiring trip that will leave your audience exhilarated and ambitious.

Real and Objective Pursuit of Outlandish Goals

Many dream of doing the impossible, doing what has never been done, building what has never been built. Some accomplish these goals while others never seem to start. Some discard all possibilities while others believe everything can be done. How do we determine which apparently impossible tasks are actually very real and which seemingly easy tasks can never be done? How do we open our minds to possibilities but stay grounded? Dr. Edwards started eight years ago down a path toward what seemed to many an impossible goal - to design and eventually build the first space elevator. That goal is now within reach. By examining the process of this endeavor we can find some answers to realistically pursuing seemingly impossible goals.

Man's Future in Space

What is man's future in space? We stand at a cusp where our decisions will bind us to Earth or allow us to commercialize and colonize our solar system in the coming years. This presentation will show the wonders of space and what is possible. It will inspire and educate. As we go through our daily activities we forget that we as a race can accomplish much more than we as individuals imagine. This presentation will leave you wanting to do so much more.

Reviews of Dr. Edwards' Presentations

Alan Hale

Alan Hale was born in Tachikawa, Japan in 1958 but moved with his family later that year to Alamogordo, New Mexico, where he spent the remainder of his childhood years. After graduation from Alamogordo High School in 1976 he attended the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, where he graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Physics in 1980.

After assignments at duty stations in San Diego and Long Beach, California, he left the Navy in 1983 and began working at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, as an engineering contractor for the Deep Space Network. While at JPL he was involved with several spacecraft projects, most notably the Voyager 2 encounter with the planet Uranus in 1986.

Following the Uranus encounter Alan Hale left JPL and returned to New Mexico, enrolling in the Astronomy department at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces. He earned his Master's Degree in 1989 and his Ph.D. in 1992 with a thesis entitled "Orbital Coplanarity in Solar-Type Binary Systems: Implications for Planetary System Formation and Detection" (which was published in the January 1994 issue of the Astronomical Journal). Upon earning his doctorate he initially worked at The Space Center in Alamogordo, New Mexico as its Staff Astronomer and Outreach Education Coordinator, and in 1993 he founded the Southwest Institute for Space Research.

Alan Hale's research interests include the search for planets beyond the solar system, including those which might have favorable environments for life; stars like the sun; minor bodies in the solar system, especially comets and near-Earth asteroids; and advocacy of space flight. He is primarily known for his work with comets, which has included his discovery of Comet Hale-Bopp in 1995 and his participation in the International HalleyWatch during the return of Halley's Comet in 1986. In one of his most recent projects he has led two delegations of American scientists, students, and educators to Iran to engage in person-to-person science diplomacy with the Iranian people, the first to collect observations of the August 11, 1999 total solar eclipse and the second in July 2000 to participate in an international astronomical conference in Esfahan. Besides his research activities, he is an outspoken advocate for improved scientific literacy in our society, for better career opportunities for current and future scientists, and for taking individual responsibility to make ours a better society. He has written for such publications as Astronomy, the International Comet Quarterly, the Skeptical Inquirer, Free Inquiry, and the McGraw-Hill Yearbook of Science and Technology, and he writes a weekly newspaper column entitled "In Our Skies." He is the author of Everybody's Comet: A Layman's Guide to Comet Hale-Bopp (High-Lonesome Books, 1996), has recently finished a book entitled A Century of Comets, and is a frequent public speaker on astronomy, space, and other scientific issues.

While continuing to remain active in his other activities, at the present time Alan Hale is developing the Earthrise Project, an international goodwill and educational endeavor that he conceived in early 2002, and that builds upon his previous efforts in science diplomacy.

Alan Hale lives in the Sacramento Mountains outside of Cloudcroft, New Mexico, with his wife Eva, sons Zachary and Tyler, dog Muttley, and cat Doofus. On clear nights he can often be found making observations of the latest comets or other astronomical phenomena. When he is not engaged in his astronomical activities he enjoys running up and down the mountain roads, hiking in the hills, listening to the latest rock and roll music, and watching football games.

John Paterson

John Paterson has over 15 years of experience in the Aerospace field, including 8 yeas at NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California. He has worked on Space Station and Space Shuttle payloads, Mars Pathfinder, Milstar Communications Satellites, and is currently a Senior Systems Engineer on Airborn laser. As a team member of NASA, he published several papers on Lunar and Mars Exploration in the areas of In Situ Resource Utilization, and Surface Mobility during the first Space Exploration Initiative of the early 1990’s. He is a member of the National Space Coalition and a participant in the current Lunar/Mars Space Exploration Development team for Lockheed Martin.

Mike Reynolds

Dr. Mike Reynolds has spent twenty-eight years in astronomy and space sciences in the gamut of a high school and university instructor, planetarium and museum director, researcher, writer, lecturer, and consultant. He has received numerous recognition for his work, including the 1986 Florida State Teacher of the Year, NASA Teacher-in-Space National Finalist, and the G. Bruce Blair Medal.

Reynolds has written a number of astronomy books and articles and is completing his fifth book about using binoculars for astronomy. He has led numerous astronomical expeditions worldwide, and has also served as an invited speaker internationally. Reynolds is Executive Director Emeritus of the Chabot Space & Science Center in Oakland, California.

Reynolds's recent books include:

Falling Stars is an introductory book on the subject of meteors and meteorites. This widely-acclaimed book takes the reader through the basics of meteor watching, then describes meteorites; from the various types to collecting these rocks from space.

Observe Eclipses, co-authored with Richard Sweetsir, takes the reader through the history of eclipses and eclipse observing, the mechanics of why we see eclipses, and how to observe and image eclipses. Reynolds draws on his vast experience observing total solar and lunar eclipses, having lead numerous eclipse expeditions worldwide.

Binocular Stargazing, to be released in 2005, will introduce the reader to binocular selection and use, finding objects in the night sky, and systematic observing programs with binoculars.

Reynolds has given talks and book signings on the above topics, in addition to lectures on Ancient Chinese Astronomy, Space Exploration, and science museum design and implementation.

Seth Shostak

Seth is a Senior Astronomer at the SETI Institute, in Mountain View, California. He has an undergraduate degree in physics from Princeton University, and a doctorate in astronomy from the California Institute of Technology. For much of his career, Seth conducted radio astronomy research on galaxies, and has published approximately fifty papers in professional journals. During more than a decade, he worked at the Kapteyn Astronomical Institute, in Groningen, The Netherlands, using the Westerbork Radio Synthesis Telescope. He also founded a ran a company producing computer animation for TV.

Seth has written several hundred popular magazine and Web articles on various topics in astronomy, technology, film and television. He now lectures on astronomy and other subjects at the California Academy of Sciences, and gives approximately 70 talks annually at both educational and corporate institutions. For the last four years, Seth has been a Distinguished Speaker for the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

Frequently interviewed for radio and TV, Seth has recently been seen and/or heard on Discovery Channel, Learning Channel, History Channel, the BBC, Ted Koppel's "Nightline," "The O'Reilly Factor," "Coast to Coast AM," NPR, CNN News, and National Geographic Television.

Seth has edited and contributed to a half dozen books. His first popular tome, "Sharing the Universe: Perspectives on Extraterrestrial Life" (Berkeley Hills Books) appeared in March, 1998. In 1999, it was chosen as a Book of the Month Club science selection. He has also co-authored an astrobiology text, "Life in the Universe" (Addison-Wesley), and his latest is book is "Cosmic Company" (Cambridge Univ. Press). In 2004, he won the Klumpke-Roberts Prize for the popularization of astronomy.

Robert Zubrin

Robert Zubrin holds masters degrees in Aeronautics and Astronautics and a doctorate in Nuclear Engineering. He is the inventor of several unique concepts for space propulsion and exploration, the author of over 100 published technical and non-technical papers in the field, as well the books "The Case for Mars: The Plan to Settle the Red Planet and Why We Must" (Simon and Schuster, 1996), "Entering Space: Creating a Spacefaring Civilization" (Tarcher-Putnam, 1999) and "First Landing" (Ace Putnam, 2001).

As an engineer at Martin Marietta (now Lockheed-Martin), he co-developed the "Mars Direct" plan for affordable manned Mars Missions. He is now president of his own space R&D company, Pioneer Astronautics, and he is a Fellow of the British Interplanetary Society. Most recently, he founded the Mars Society; an international organization dedicated to furthering the exploration and settlement of Mars by both public and private means. Prior to his work in astronautics, Dr. Zubrin was employed in areas of thermonuclear fusion research, nuclear engineering, radiation protection, and as a high school science teacher.