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Schedule for this lecture.
Goddard Space Flight Center Engineering Colloquium
Date: Monday, March 16, 1998
Behind the scripts at Star Trek: This presentation provides insight into how the science consultant for "Star Trek: Voyager" and " Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" invents and explains "future science" for the popular television programs. Andre Bormanis discusses how he tries to base far-flung science fiction ideas as much as possible on real science. He also describes melding that science into television scripts; he's personally written two episodes of "Star Trek: Voyager." Mr. Bormanis will also discuss what it's like dealing with the producers, actors, and very loyal fans of a television series that has inspired many a young and not-so-young engineer and scientist.
Andre Bormanis got hooked on science -- both real and fictional -- by two events: the first time he saw Star Trek (at the age of seven), and the first time he looked at the planet Saturn through a telescope. He studied physics, astronomy, and screenwriting at the University of Arizona and Arizona State. After working as a consultant for IBM, PacBel, and numerous other high-tech corporations, as well as writing articles on astronomy and space science for magazines such as Sky and Telescope, he received a NASA Space Grant fellowship to study science policy issues at George Washington University's Space Policy Institute. When he received his master's in science, technology, and public policy from GWU in 1994, he had already become the science adviser for Star Trek. His book, "Star Trek Science Logs," is available in most bookstores.
Colloquium Committee Sponsor: Dr. Jan Kalshoven
Engineering Colloquium home page: https://ecolloq.gsfc.nasa.gov