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Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771

ENGINEERING COLLOQUIUM

Monday, June 3, 2019 / 12:00 Noon, Building 34, Room W-150

Photo of David Brin at the Keck Telescopes

David Brin

"Opportunities, dangers and destiny in the Solar System... and beyond"

ABSTRACT -- A century ago, after the First World War, the great age of aviation exploration began, spurred by governments but also amplified by new kinds of private endeavors, from philanthropists and millionaires to showmen and shoestring airlines. Are we on the verge of something similar? Many factors appear to be converging... along with errors that might stifle the new era in its crib.

Astrophysicist, NASA advisor and science fiction author David Brin will offer unique perspectives on public vs. private space, on Moon vs. asteroids, on possibilities for war in space, our readiness for Mars... and what our discovery of a dozen water worlds may imply for life in the universe.

SPEAKER -- David Brin is an astrophysicist whose best-selling novels include The Postman, Earth, and recently Existence. His nonfiction book The Transparent Society: Will Technology Make Us Choose Between Privacy and Freedom? explores the dangers of secrecy and loss of privacy in our modern world. It garnered the prestigious Freedom of Speech Prize from the American Library Association.

Brin's scientific work covers an eclectic range of topics, from astronautics, astronomy, and optics to alternative dispute resolution and the role of neoteny in human evolution. He earned a Ph.D in Physics from the University of California at San Diego (UCSD), working in the lab of nobelist Hannes Alfven. He has a master's in optics and an undergraduate degree in astrophysics from Caltech. He was a postdoctoral fellow at the California Space Institute and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. His patents aim to improve the way human beings converse online.

Dr. Brin serves on the advisory panels of science and tech groups such as NASA's Innovative & Advanced Concepts program (NIAC). As a scientist/futurist, David is appears frequently on PBS, BBC and NPR. A film by Kevin Costner was based on Brin’s novel, The Postman. David's science fictional Uplift Universe explores a future when humans genetically engineer higher animals such as dolphins to join our society.

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