Home
QR Code

Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771

Photo of Catherine Asaro
Photo by David Bartell

ENGINEERING COLLOQUIUM

Monday, March 24, 2014 / 3:30 PM, Building 3 Auditorium

Catherine Asaro

"The Future of Virtual Reality"

ABSTRACT -- Can humanity remake itself with science? We may someday download our brains into computers or other technologies yet to be invented, or we may live in virtual universes so well developed that we can no longer tell created worlds from reality. Our technology has developed at an unprecedented rate in recent years. This talk considers where we might be in another few decades, in particular in regards to artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and biomechanics (which can be thought of as the combination of neural prosthetics with the enhanced living body). We may someday reach a point where we can augment our minds and bodies to such a great extent that we are no longer purely human as we know that term today. The talk considers the possibilities of genius machines, super humans both physically and intellectually, and immortality.

SPEAKER -- Catherine Asaro received her Ph.D. in Chemical Physics from Harvard University and wrote her doctorate in Theoretical Atomic and Molecular Physics. For the past twenty years, she worked primarily as a novelist with over twenty-five books published in science fiction, fantasy, and near future thrillers, as well as numerous works of shorter fiction and non-fiction. She was elected to two terms as president of the board of directors for the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, and is the president and founder of Starflight Music. Asaro is a member of SIGMA, a think tank of speculative writers and scientists who advise the government as to future trends affecting national security.

Catherine appears as a speaker or visiting professor for various institutions, including the DASAR program sponsored by the National Academy of Sciences, Harvard, Georgetown's Communication, Culture, and Technology program, the New Zealand National ConText Writer's program, the Global Competitiveness Forum in Saudi Arabia, the University of Maryland, the US Naval Academy, and as a Guest of Honor at many science fiction conventions, including the National Science Fiction Convention of Denmark and more recently Norwescon. She also coaches profoundly gifted math students in high school and middle school for top-ranked national and international contests, including the USA Mathematical Olympiad and the American Regional Mathematics League.

As an author, Asaro is a two-time winner of the Nebula® Award, sometimes known as the "Oscar of Science Fiction," for her novel, The Quantum Rose and her novella "The Spacetime Pool," and her work has won numerous other awards. She also appears as a vocalist, often performing with the Greg Adams Trio. She has two CD's out and several singles, including "Deep Snows," which was nominated for Best R&B video at the World Independent Music and Film Festival in Washington.


Engineering Colloquium home page: https://ecolloq.gsfc.nasa.gov