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Confirmed Speakers List

by Alex Kirk — last modified 2008-08-13 14:42

Below is the list of confirmed major speakers for the 11th Annual Mars Society International Convention in Boulder, Colorado:

Elon Musk - CEO/CTO, SpaceX

SpaceX is the third company founded by Mr. Musk. Prior to SpaceX, he co-founded PayPal, the world's leading electronic payment system, and served as the company's chairman and CEO. PayPal has over twenty million customers in 38 countries, processes several billion dollars per year and went public on the NASDAQ under PYPL in early 2002. Mr. Musk was the largest shareholder of PayPal until the company was acquired by eBay for $1.5 billion in October 2002.

Before PayPal, Mr. Musk co-founded Zip2 Corporation in 1995, a leading provider of enterprise software and services to the media industry, with investments from The New York Times Company, Knight-Ridder, MDV, Softbank and the Hearst Corporation. He served as Chairman, CEO and Chief Technology Officer and in March 1999 sold Zip2 to Compaq for $307 million in an all cash transaction.

Mr. Musk's early experience extends across a spectrum of advanced technology industries, from high energy density ultra-capacitors at Pinnacle Research to software development at Rocket Science and Microsoft. He has a physics degree from the University of Pennsylvania, a business degree from Wharton and originally came out to California to pursue graduate studies in high energy density capacitor physics & materials science at Stanford.

Dr. Chris McKay - Planetary Scientist, NASA Ames

Dr. McKay is currently a planetary scientist with the Space Science Division of NASA Ames Research Center. He received his Ph.D. in AstroGeophysics from the University of Colorado in 1982 and has been a research scientist with the NASA Ames since that time. Dr. McKay is one of the world's leading researchers studying Titan, and has been involved in numerical modeling of planetary atmospheres for many years. He is currently working on models of Titan's thick atmosphere in support of the joint NASA/ESA mission to the Saturn system. Dr. McKay is co-Investigator on the Titan probe atmospheric structure experiment (HASI). His broader interests focus on understanding the relationship between the chemical and physical evolution of the solar system and the origin of life. He has been actively involved in planning for future Mars missions including human settlements. Dr. Mckay has also been involved with polar research since 1980, traveling to the Antarctic dry valleys and more recently to the Siberian Arctic to conduct research in these Mars-like environments.

Dr. James Garvin - Remote Sensing Specialist, Earth System Science Pathfinder Project, Goddard Space Flight Center

Jim Garvin joined the Geodynamics Branch in 1984, after completing his PHD at Brown University, with specialization in the geomorphology of lander sites on Mars and Venus and Radar remote sensing. Within two years of his arrival at GSFC, Garvin had established ties with laser instrument engineers and together they developed airborne laser altimeter instruments optimized for landscape characterization, as well as investigations pertaining to orbital laser altimeters for the Earth, Moon, and Mars. Garvin's main interests include time variable phenomena associated with volcano-ice interactions, catastrophic glacier outburst floods, the geomorphometry of impact craters, and topographic monitoring of dynamic landscapes. He has served as Chief Scientist for the Shuttle Laser Altimeter (SLA-01, SLA-02), and as PI on 12 airborne laser altimeter missions, four of which have focussed on Iceland. Garvin is a Co-I on the Mars Orbital Laser Altimeter and one of the founding fathers of the original MOLA. He is also serving as the Project Scientist for NASA's new ESSP Project.

Dr. Guy Consolmagno - Vatican Observatory

Consolmagno, born September 19, 1952, in Detroit, Michigan, USA, obtained his bachelor of science in 1974 and master of science in 1975 in Earth and Planetary Sciences from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and his Ph.D. in Planetary Science from the University of Arizona in 1978. From 1978-80 he was a postdoctoral fellow and lecturer at the Harvard College Observatory, and from 1980-1983 continued as postdoc and lecturer at MIT.

In 1983 he left MIT to join the US Peace Corps, where he served for two years in Kenya teaching physics and astronomy. Upon his return to the US in 1985 he became an assistant professor of physics at Lafayette College, in Easton, Pennsylvania, where he taught until his entry into the Jesuit order in 1989. He took vows as a Jesuit brother in 1991, and studied philosophy and theology at Loyola University, Chicago, and physics at the University of Chicago, before his assignment to the Vatican Observatory in 1993.

In spring 2000 he held the MacLean Chair for Visiting Jesuit Scholars at St. Joseph's University, Philadelphia, and in 2006-2007 held the Loyola Chair at Fordham University, New York. He has also been a visiting scientist at the Goddard Space Flight Center and a visiting professor at Loyola College, Baltimore, and Loyola University, Chicago.

Consolmagno has served on the governing boards of the Meteoritical Society; the International Astronomical Union's (IAU) Division III, Planetary Systems Science (secretary, 2000 - present) and Commission 16, Moons and Planets (president, 2003-2006); and the American Astronomical Society Division for Planetary Sciences (chair, 2006-2007).

He has coauthored five astronomy books: Turn Left at Orion (with Dan M. Davis; Cambridge University Press, 1989); Worlds Apart (with Martha W. Schaefer; Prentice Hall, 1993); The Way to the Dwelling of Light (U of Notre Dame Press, 1998); Brother Astronomer (McGraw Hill, 2000); and God's Mechanics (Jossey-Bass, 2007). (Our Publications Page will help you to obtain these.)

Dr. Consolmagno is curator of the Vatican meteorite collection in Castel Gandolfo, one of the largest in the world. His research explores the connections between meteorites and asteroids, and the origin and evolution of small bodies in the solar system. In 1996, he spent six weeks collecting meteorites with an NSF-sponsored team on the blue ice of Antarctica, and in 2000 he was honored by the IAU for his contributions to the study of meteorites and asteroids with the naming of asteroid 4597 Consolmagno.

Dr. William J. Clancey - Computer Scientist, NASA Ames

Dr. William J. Clancey is the Chief Scientist for Human-Centered Computing in the Intelligent Systems Division, at NASA Ames Research Center, by appointment from the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition (Pensacola). He leads several partnership projects with Johnson Space Center, including automating routine aspects of file management between Mission Control Center and the International Space Station, and the EVA Metabolic Rate Advisor, a voice-commanded assistant for astronauts.

In a work system design method called "simulation to implementation," proposed tools are embedded in a computer simulation of people in a working environment. Using a technology called "multi-agent systems," the Ames group has developed a general computer architecture for systems integration and workflow automation that was extensively refined in Mobile Agents Mars analog experiments at MDRS (2002-2006) - this same technology is now being deployed for ISS operations.

Clancey holds a doctorate in computer science from Stanford University (1979), in which he developed the first computer program to use an expert system for teaching. He received a BA degree in mathematical sciences from Rice University, Houston (1974), where he also took courses in lunar geology and space science. Before joining NASA, he was a founding member of the Institute for Research on Learning (1987-1997), which related cognitive and social perspectives on the nature of knowledge and work.

Clancey has published six books, including Situated Cognition: On Human Knowledge and Computer Representations (1997). He argues that to use the technology of artificial intelligence tools and robots appropriately, we must understand how people are different from today´s machines. He is currently writing a NASA Special Publication for the History Division on how working with the Mars Exploration Rover has changed the nature of field science.

George Whitesides - Executive Director, National Space Society

George Whitesides is the Executive Director of the National Space Society, the largest space advocacy group dedicated to the creation of a spacefaring civilization. NSS has approximately 20,000 supporters and more than 50 chapters around the world. Founded in 1974 on the principles of Werner von Braun and Dr. Gerald O'Neill, NSS seeks to promote change to advance the day when humans will live, work and play in space.

Whitesides began his career at Orbital Sciences Corporation as special assistant to the president. Since then, he has served as Vice President of Marketing for Zero Gravity Corporation, a private space-tourism company, and Director of Marketing for Blastoff Corporation, a space-experience company funded by film and technology leaders.

He is an appointed member of COMSTAC, the official advisory committee to the Department of Transportation on space transportation issues. He has also served on the Board of Trustees of Princeton University, and currently serves on the board of the Space Generation Foundation.

He has focused on bringing new constituencies into the space community via pioneering outreach and education projects, and by building media coverage of space outside traditional venues. For this work, he has been featured on MTV and NPR.

Whitesides is the co-founder of Yuri's Night, a global celebration of space that includes thousands of celebrants each year around the world. He is also the founder of Permission to Dream, a global space-education program focused on astronomy. Permission to Dream has donated telescopes and astronomy materials to disadvantaged children in 16 countries to date.

A Fulbright scholar, Whitesides received his graduate degree in remote sensing and GIS from Cambridge University, and his undergraduate degree in public and international affairs from Princeton University with honors.

Whitesides maintains an active speaking schedule, including talks at the annual convention of the National Society of Black Engineers, the FAA's Space Transportation division, the Arthur C. Clark Awards, the ORBIT Awards for Space Tourism, Cambridge University, Princeton University, and local schools. Internationally, he has presented at UNESCO headquarters in Paris and at events in other spacefaring countries like Brazil, China and Russia.

An active writer and commentator on space and exploration issues, Whitesides has been interviewed on NBC, CNN, Fox News, VOA, and many other media outlets, as well as contributing comment to NPR, Space News, Space.com, and the Planetary Report. He was the co-recipient, with Loretta Hidalgo, of the 2001 Permission to Dream award.

Whitesides is a licensed private pilot and certified parabolic flight coach, with over 200 parabolas. His other interests include architecture, photography, ice hockey and mountaineering. In 2000 he made a successful ascent of Aconcagua, the highest peak in the western hemisphere.

Dr. Carol Stoker - Co-Investigator, Phoenix Mars Lander

Carol Stoker is a staff scientist in the Space Sciences Division at the NASA Ames Research Center in California. She is a lead scientist on the Phoenix mission whose four principal science teams include Biological Potential, Geology, Chemistry and Minerology, and Atmospheric Science. Dr. Stoker leads the Biological Potential working group responsible for evaluating the biological potential, or biohabitability, of the polar landing site. Her Mars-analog drilling experience and research into life in extreme environments on Earth, together with her development of the virtual reality technology that enhances the control of mobile rovers, make her uniquely qualified to participate in the exploration of the Polar region of Mars currently underway by the Phoenix mission.

Dr. Stoker received a PhD in Astrogeophysics in 1983 from the University of Colorado, and has been with NASA since 1985. She studied the atmospheres of the outer planets while working on the Voyager imaging team during its 12-year mission. Carol's most recent research has focused on Mars-analog field studies in the Antarctic, arctic, equatorial pacific, Southern Spain, and the southwestern United States. She was a participating scientist on the Mars Pathfinder mission where she developed a three-dimensional interactive virtual reality model of the Pathfinder landing site as a tool for operating the rover mission, and played a similar role during the Mars Polar Lander mission, a progenitor of Phoenix. In addition, she leads the MARTE (Mars Analog Rio Tinto Experiment) team in its develop of the subsurface biosphere drilling system, sample handling and instrument technologies for future Mars exploration that were recently deployed to search for subsurface life at the Rio Tinto site in Spain. The Rio Tinto site is considered a chemical analog to the Sinus Merdiani site explored by the MER rover. The interpretation of the mineralogical discoveries at Sinus Merdiani have been the subject of some debate as to whether the findings point conclusively to evidence of an ancient acid sea on Mars.

Dr. Carolyn Porco - Imaging Science Lead, Cassini

Dr. Porco is a planetary scientist and the leader of the imaging science team on the Cassini mission presently in orbit around Saturn. In 1999, she was selected by The London Sunday Times as one of 18 scientific leaders of the 21st century, and by Industrial Week as one of 50 Stars to Watch. Porco was responsible for the epitaph and proposal to honor the late renowned planetary geologist Eugene Shoemaker by sending his cremains to the Moon aboard the Lunar Prospector spacecraft in 1998. Her contributions to the exploration of the outer solar system were recognized with the naming of Asteroid (7231) Porco which is "Named in honor of Carolyn C. Porco, a pioneer in the study of planetary ring systems...and a leader in spacecraft exploration of the outer solar system". She was awarded the Isaac Asimov Science Award in 2008 by the American Humanist Association.

Porco was an imaging scientist on the Voyager mission in the 1980s, and is also an imaging scientist on the New Horizons[9] mission launched to Pluto on January 19, 2006. She is an expert on planetary rings and the Saturnian moon, Enceladus. As a young Voyager scientist, she was the first person to describe the behavior of the eccentric ringlets and the "spokes" discovered by Voyager within the rings of Saturn, to elucidate the mechanism by which the outer Uranian rings were being shepherded by the Voyager-discovered moons Cordelia and Ophelia, and to provide an explanation for the shepherding of the rings arcs of Neptune by the moon Galatea, also discovered by Voyager. She was a co-originator of the idea to take a 'portrait of the planets' with the Voyager spacecraft, and participated in the planning, design, and execution of those images in 1991, including the famous Pale Blue Dot image of Earth.

She has co-authored over 80 scientific papers on subjects ranging from the spectroscopy of Uranus and Neptune, the interstellar medium, the photometry of planetary rings, satellite/ring interactions, computer simulations of planetary rings, the thermal balance of Triton’s polar caps, heat flow in the interior of Jupiter, and a suite of results on the atmosphere, satellites, and rings of Saturn from the Cassini imaging experiment. She and her team discovered five moons around Saturn: Methone, Pallene, Polydeuces, Daphnis, and Anthe. They also have found several new rings, such as rings coincident with the orbits of Atlas, Janus and Epimetheus (the Saturnian 'co-orbitals') and Pallene, a diffuse ring between Atlas and the F ring, and new rings within several of the gaps in Saturn's rings. Recently, she has turned her scientific investigations to the study of Enceladus and its now-famous jets. She and her team first suggested, and provided detailed scientific arguments, that these jets might be geysers erupting from reservoirs of near-surface liquid water under the south pole of the small moon. They also sighted what looked like a hydrocarbon lake in the southern hemisphere of Titan in June 2005, and a group of similar (and larger) features in the northern hemisphere in February 2007. The possibility that these sea-sized features are either completely or partially filled with liquid hydrocarbons is significantly strengthened by overlapping Cassini radar data.

Dr. Matt Mountain - Director, Space Telescope Science Institute

Matt Mountain is the Director of the Space Telescope Science Institute, taking the reins on September 1, 2005. Matt was previously the Director of the Gemini Observatory, which is based in Hilo, Hawaii. He is also the Telescope Scientist for NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, a member of the Webb Science Working Group, and a Visiting Professor at the University of Oxford (UK).

Matt received a B.S. in physics in 1978 and a Ph.D. in astronomy in 1983—both from the Imperial College of Science and Technology, London University — where he also held a Research Fellowship before joining the staff at the Royal Observatory in Edinburgh. During his seven years in Edinburgh, he worked on observations of star formation processes and instrumentation for infrared astronomy, which culminated in the successful commissioning of a new infrared spectrometer for the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope in Hawaii.

In 1992, Matt became Project Scientist for the Gemini 8-meter Telescopes Project and went on to become Project Director in 1994. In 1998 he moved to the "big island" of Hawaii, with responsibility for the creation of the Gemini Observatory.

Matt's principle research interests have included star formation in galaxies (including our own), advanced infrared instrumentation, and the capabilities of advanced telescopes.

Ted Peters - Director, Institute for Theology and Ethics

Ted Peters is Professor of Systematic Theology at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary and the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California. He is co-editor of the journal, Theology and Science, published by the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences. He is author of Playing God? Genetic Determinism and Human Freedom (Routledge, 2nd ed., 2002); Science, Theology, and Ethics (Ashgate 2003); and The Evolution of Terrestrial and Extraterrestrial Life (Pandora Press 2008). He currently serves on the Scientific and Medical Standards Working Group of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine; and he serves as a member of the Genetics Task Force for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Along with his science teacher research assistant and colleague, Julie Froehlig, these two have just finished up the "Peters ETI Religious Crisis Survey," the results of which will be summarized in their joint presentation.

Geoffrey L. Yoder - Exploration Systems Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters

Mr. Yoder joined NASA in 2000 formulating the Flight Hardware Development Branch within the Engineering Directorate at the Johnson Space Center, Houston Texas. Currently, Yoder serves as the Director for the Directorate Integration Office within the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate NASA Headquarters in Washington DC where he is responsible for a broad range of ESMD integration activities including ESMD information technology architecture and IT management, risk and knowledge management and technology protection, architecture trades and analysis, and ESMD Level 1 requirements.

From 1986 to 1996, working for Litton Systems Inc., Yoder was responsible for reliability assurance of hardware suites used on various military programs planning and directing test and verification, engineering and reliability tests for components and systems. He served as scientist for the Reliability Assurance Department participating in the Navy Production Technology Improvement Program (PTIP). He also served as Project Manager for various commercial, military, and space projects. From 1996 to 2000 Yoder served as Manager of Advanced Programs for Litton Systems Space Group College Park Md. responsible for evolving existing space avionics products to competitive leading edge technologies. He was responsible for identifying new technologies, system engineering and integration processes, and overseeing the validation process for implementing new technologies into programs. His role also included customer communications, interpretation of requirements, proposal writing, advertising, institutional marketing, supporting engineering and approving technical approaches.

Joseph (Joe) Cassady – Director, Emerging Exploration Space Systems, Aerojet

Mr. Cassady is a graduate of Purdue University where he obtained a BS in Aeronautics and Astronautics in 1981 and an MS in Aeronautics and Astronautics in 1983. In 2005, he completed a Graduate Certificate in Systems Engineering at the George Washington University. He has 25 years experience in the field of propulsion and related mission and systems analysis, first at the Air Force Rocket Propulsion Laboratory and later with Aerojet in Redmond, WA. He has authored over 40 technical papers dealing with various aspects of electric propulsion, attitude control systems and mission analysis. Mr Cassady led the project teams which developed two flight projects successfully flown and tested in space – the 26 kWe ESEX arcjet system and the EO-1 Pulsed Plasma Thruster system. In addition, he has served on a number of advisory groups for NASA and the Air Force. Mr. Cassady is a member of a number of technical societies including the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, the American Astronomical Society, the Electric Rocket Propulsion Society and The Planetary Society. He currently serves as Vice President, Operations for the Electric Rocket Propulsion Society. His connections to Mars exploration date back to his early days at Rocket Research Company when he was known far and wide for his little green Subaru with the GO2MARS license plate.

J. Michael Straczynski - Creator, Babylon 5 Series

Mr. Straczynski is an award-winning American writer/producer of television series, novels, short stories, comic books, and radio dramas. He is also a playwright, journalist and author of a well-regarded tome on scriptwriting. He was the creator, executive producer and head writer for the science fiction TV series Babylon 5 and its spin-off Crusade. Straczynski wrote 91 out of the 110 Babylon 5 episodes, notably including an unbroken 59-episode run through all of the third and fourth seasons, and all but one episode of the fifth season. He also wrote the four Babylon 5 TV movies produced alongside the series. Straczynski is often credited as being the first TV producer to directly engage with fans on the Internet, and have their comments affect the look and feel of his shows.

Dr. Michael Simpson - President, International Space University

Dr. Michael Simpson is President of International Space University. An internationalist by education and inclination, Dr. Simpson's academic career extends over 25 years and two continents. He has been president of Utica College and the American University of Paris with a combined total of fifteen years of experience as an academic chief executive officer. He has taught courses in political science, international relations, business management, leadership and economics at Universities in both the United States of America and France. He received his Bachelors Degree magna cum laude from Fordham University in 1970 where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He has also been elected to academic honor societies in the fields of political science and business management. After graduating from Fordham University, Dr. Simpson accepted a commission as an officer in the U.S. Navy, retiring from the Naval Reserve in 1993. Dr. Simpson completed his Ph.D. at Tufts University, The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, holds the Master of Business Administration from Syracuse University, and two Master of Arts degrees from The Fletcher School. He has also completed two prestigious one year courses in Europe: the French advanced defense institute (Institut des Hautes Études de Défense Nationale) and the General Course of the London School of Economics.

Michael Carroll - Founding Member, International Association for the Astronomical Arts

Michael Carroll has been an astronomical, science fiction and paleo artist for over two decades. He has done work for NASA and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. His art has appeared in several hundred magazines throughout the world, including TIME, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, ASIMOV'S, SMITHSONIAN, ASTRONOMY, HARPERS, SKY & TELESCOPE, CIEL ET ESPACE, and ASTRONOMY NOW (UK). His paintings have aired on NOVA, National Geographic's EXPLORER and other TV specials, and have covered numerous books, including works by Carl Sagan and Arthur C. Clarke. He has exhibited paintings at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, at Moscow's Institute for Space Research (IKI), the Fleet Science Center, the Wyoming Geologic Museum, and has had traveling exhibits throughout the world. Mike is a Fellow and founding member of the International Association for the Astronomical Arts. He was one of 7 North American space artists invited by the Space Research Institute of the former USSR to attend the Space Future Forum in Moscow (l987). While there, he helped to establish the "Dialogues" project, a series of workshops and exhibitions involving Soviet, American and European artists. He is a member of the NASA Arts Program, and documented research during a U.S. Geological Survey expedition to the Bering Glacier in Alaska. One of his original paintings flew aboard MIR, and another is resting at the bottom of the Atlantic aboard Russia's ill-fated Mars 96 spacecraft. Murals include two 70-foot works for the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, murals in Michigan, California, Nebraska, and for Lockheed/Martin and the Planetary Society. He is also a member of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology and the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators. Mike has painted in numerous historic fossil quarry sites, and enjoys reconstructing ancient life for museums and publications.

Mike is the 2006 recipient of the Lucien Rudaux Lifetime Award for contribution to the astronomical arts. Other awards include the 2001 and 2002 Reader's Choice award for outstanding science fiction cover art, and the Tiny Tennies for Meritorious Bungling.

Dr. David N. Spires - Senior Instructor, Unversity of Colorado

Professor Spires specializes in military, space, and German history. He is a Senior Instructor in the Department of History, and has also taught at the United States Air Force Academy. His publications include Patton's Air Force: Forging a Legendary Air-Ground Team (2002), A Theater in Conflict and Transition: United States European Command Operations During the Tenure of General George A. Joulwan, 1991-1997 (2004), Active Engagement and Preparedness: United States European Command Operations During the Tenure of General Wesley K. Clark, 1997-2000 (2004), Orbital Futures: Selected Documents in Air Force Space History (2004), and Beyond Horizons: A Half-Century of Air Force Space Leadership (1997).

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