Symposia

Earth, Air, Ocean and Space

Earth, Air, Ocean and Space: The Future of Exploration


Tuesday, April 26, 2011 - Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Kresge Auditorium, 48 Massachusetts Avenue


To view these videos with their searchable interactive transcript, visit the MIT Infinite History website.

Welcome

  • W. Eric L. Grimson PhD '80, Chancellor; Bernard M. Gordon Professor of Medical Engineering; Professor of Computer Science, MIT
  • David A. Mindell PhD '96, Chair, MIT150 Steering Committee; Frances and David Dibner Professor of the History of Engineering and Manufacturing; Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics; Margaret MacVicar Faculty Fellow; Head, Program in Science, Technology, and Society, MIT
  • Dava J. Newman SM '89 PhD '92, Chair, MIT150 Exploration Symposium; Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics and Engineering Systems; Affiliate Faculty Member, Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology; Margaret MacVicar Faculty Fellow; Director, Technology and Policy Program, MIT

MIT Astronaut Alumni Panel: Exploration and Discovery

  • Moderators: Jeffrey A. Hoffman, Professor of the Practice of Aerospace Engineering, Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, MIT; Astronaut,  STS-35, STS-46, STS-51-D, STS-61, STS-75
  • Laurence R. Young '57 SM '59 ScD '62, Apollo Program Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics and Professor of Health Sciences and Technology, MIT; Director, PhD Program in Bioastronautics, Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology; Astronaut, STS-58 (Alternate)
  • Panel: Buzz Aldrin ScD '63, Gemini 12, Apollo 11
  • Timothy J. (TJ) Creamer SM '92, Soyuz TMA-17, Expedition 22/23
  • John Grunsfeld '80, STS-67, STS-81, STS-103, STS-109, STS-125
  • Terry J. Hart SM '69, STS-41-C
  • Frederick H. (Rick) Hauck SM '66, STS-7, STS-51-A, STS-26
  • Byron Lichtenberg SM '75 ScD '79, STS-9, STS-45
  • Michael J. Massimino SM '88 Eng '90 ME '90 PhD '92, STS-109, STS-125
  • Janice Voss SM '77 PhD '87, STS-57, STS-63, STS-83, STS-94, STS-99

Explorers' Panel

  • Catherine (Cady) Coleman '83, live video appearance; currently aboard the International Space Station.
  • Maria T. Zuber, E.A. Griswold Professor of Geophysics; Head, Department of Earth, Atmospheric and planetary Sciences, MIT
  • Steven W. Squyres, Goldwin Smith Professor of Astronomy, Cornell University
  • Buzz Aldrin ScD '63, Astronaut
  • James G. Bellingham '84 SM '84 PhD '88, Chief Technologist, Autonomous Ocean Sampling Network Program, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute

XCOR Student Showcase Competition: Great Exploration Ideas for the Future

  • The final five student teams share their "Revolutionary Exploration Ideas for the 21st Century."

Welcome — MIT Vision: Discourse on Our Exploration Future and XCOR Student Showcase Awards

  • Ian A. Waitz, Dean, School of Engineering, MIT; Jerome C. Hunsaker Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics; Margaret MacVicar Faculty Fellow
  • Awards presented by Jeff Greason, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, XCOR Aerospace

Exploration Vision Panel 1

  • Moderator: Ryan L. Kobrick, Event Director, MIT150 Exploration Symposium; Postdoctoral Associate, Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, MIT; Executive Director, Yuri's Night
  • Panel: Anna Mracek Dietrich '04 SM '06, Chief Operating Officer, Acting Chief Financial Officer, Acting Chief Financial Officer, and Co-Founder, Terrafugia, Inc.
  • R. John Hansman SM '80 PhD '82, Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics; Director, MIT International Center for Air Transportation
  • Dana Yoerger '77 SM '79 PhD '83, Senior Scientist in Applied Ocean Physics and Engineering, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
  • Jeffrey Greason, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, XCOR Aerospace

Exploration Visions Panel 2

  • Moderator: Christopher E. Carr '99 SM '01 ScD '05, Research Scientist, Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, MIT
  • Panel: Dava J. Newman SM '89 PhD '92, Chair, MIT150 Exploration Symposium; Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics and Engineering Systems; Affiliate Faculty Member, Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology; Margaret MacVicar Faculty Fellow; Director, Technology and Policy Program, MIT
  • Sara Seager, Ellen Swallow Richards Professor of Planetary Sciences and Professor of Physics, MIT
  • James D. Shields '71 SM '72, President and Chief Executive Officer, Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc.
  • Susan Humphris PhD '77, Senior Scientist, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Keynote Address: Future Exploration Opportunities

  • Peter H. Diamandis '83 SM '88, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, X PRIZE Foundation; Chief Executive Officer, Zero Gravity Corporation; Chairman and Co-Founder, Rocket Racing League; Co-Founder and Director, Space Adventures; Co-Founder, International Space  University

Closing Remarks

  • Dava J. Newman SM '89 PhD '92, Chair, MIT150 Exploration Symposium; Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics and Engineering Systems; Affiliate Faculty Member, Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology; Margaret MacVicar Faculty Fellow; Director, Technology and Policy Program, MIT

The symposium on exploration discussed key questions for humans who embark on journeys of exploration where there is remarkable potential for discovery. When it comes to exploring earth, air, ocean and space, MIT’s contributions have shaped the 20th century. Great inventors and explorers such as MIT’s own Doolittle, Draper, and Edgerton contributed breakthrough technologies and instrumentation along with personal exploration and piloting feats. These inventors, engineers, scientists, and artists literally put us on the Moon and let us ‘see the unseen’.

Faculty leads

  • Jeffrey A. Hoffman, Professor of the Practice of Aerospace Engineering, MIT Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics
  • David A. Mindell PhD ‘96, Chair, MIT150 Steering Committee; Dibner Professor of the History of Engineering and Manufacturing; Head of the MIT Program in Science, Technology, and Society
  • Dava J. Newman SM '89 PhD '92, Chair, MIT150 Exploration Symposium; Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics and Engineering Systems; Director of the Technology and Policy Program, MIT
  • James D. Shields ’71 SM ’72, President and Chief Executive Officer, Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc.
  • Ian A. Waitz, Dean, School of Engineering; Jerome C. Hunsaker Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics, MIT
  • James A. Yoder, Vice President for Academic Programs and Dean Directorate, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
  • Maria T. Zuber, E.A. Griswold Professor of Geophysics and Head of the MIT Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences

Read more about this symosium in the news

MIT News

Monday, April 25, 2011
Evening performance
Kirsch Auditorium, Stata Center, MIT Room 32-123
6 pm: Ticket pickup begins outside Kirsch Auditorium
7 pm: Forged in the Stars, a one-man play by Jay O'Callahan

Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Continental breakfast and registration
Kresge Auditorium, MIT
7:45 am

Welcome
8:45 – 9 am

  • W. Eric L. Grimson PhD '80, MIT Chancellor; Bernard Gordon Professor of Medical Engineering; Professor of Computer Science
  • David A. Mindell PhD '96, Chair, MIT150 Steering Committee; Dibner Professor of the History of Engineering and Manufacturing; Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics and of Engineering Systems; Head, MIT Program in Science, Technology, and Society
  • Dava J. Newman SM '89 PhD '92, Chair, MIT150 Exploration Symposium; Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics and of Engineering Systems; Director, Technology and Policy Program, MIT

Great Ages of Exploration and Discovery Panel
9 – 10:30 am

A historical perspective of exploration and discovery with leading authors.

  • Stephen J. Pyne, Author and Regents' Professor, Arizona State University
  • Rosalind H. Williams, Bern Dibner Professor of the History of Science and Technology, MIT
  • David A. Mindell PhD '96, Chair of the MIT150 Steering Committee; Dibner Professor of the History of Engineering and Manufacturing; Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics and of Engineering Systems; Head, MIT Program in Science, Technology, and Society

Break

MIT Astronaut Alumni Panel: Exploration and Discovery
11 am – 12:30 pm

MIT alumni astronauts discuss spaceflight experiences that range from Gemini to Apollo through the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station missions.

Moderators

  • Jeffrey A. Hoffman, Professor of the Practice of Aerospace Engineering, Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, MIT; STS-51-D, STS-35, STS-46, STS-61, STS-75
  • Laurence R. Young '57 SM '59 ScD '62, Apollo Program Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics;  Professor of Health Sciences and Technology, MIT; STS-58 (alternate)

Panelists

  • Buzz Aldrin ScD '63 - Gemini 12, Apollo 11
  • Timothy J. (TJ) Creamer SM '92, Soyuz TMA-17, Expedition 22/23
  • Terry J. Hart SM '69 - STS 41-C
  • Frederick H. (Rick) Hauck SM '66 - STS-7, STS-51-A, STS-26
  • Byron Lichtenberg SM '75, ScD '79 - STS-9, STS-45
  • Michael J. Massimino SM '88, ENG '90, ME '90, PhD '92 - STS-109, STS-125

Lunch

Johnson Athletic Center Ice Rink, MIT Building W34

Explorers' Panel
1:30 – 3:30 pm

Explorers of earth, air, ocean, and space share the extreme challenges and rewards of universal exploration. Guest appearance by astronaut Catherine (Cady) Coleman '83, currently aboard the International Space Station.

  • Maria T. Zuber, E.A. Griswold Professor of Geophysics; Head, Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, MIT
  • Steven W. Squyres, Goldwin Smith Professor of Astronomy, Cornell University
  • Buzz Aldrin ScD '63, Astronaut
  • James G. Bellingham '84 SM '84 PhD '88, Chief Technologist, Autonomous Ocean Sampling Network Program, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute

Break

XCOR Student Showcase Competition: Great Exploration Ideas for the Future
4 – 5 pm

The five final student teams share their 'Revolutionary Exploration Ideas for the 21st Century", which will be judged by an invited panel of explorers. Competition website: http://explore.mit.edu.

Earth, Air, Ocean, and Space Vehicle and Systems Exposition
Johnson Athletic Center Ice Rink, MIT Building W34
5 – 7 pm

Artist Exploration Exhibit
Baker House Mezzanine
MIT Building W7
362 Memorial Drive, Cambridge
7 – 10 pm

"Stellar Landscapes" : Glasswork by Josh Simpson http://megaplanet.com/

Photography by Chris Newbert
http://www.rstours.com/Site/Marine_Life_Gallery.html

Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Continental breakfast and registration
Kresge Auditorium, MIT
7:45 am

Welcome — MIT Vision: Discourse on our Exploration Future
8:45 – 9:15 am

  • Ian A. Waitz, Dean, School of Engineering; Jerome C. Hunsaker Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics

Presentation of XCOR Student Showcase Awards

  • Jeff Greason, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, XCOR Aerospace

Exploration Visions Panel I
9:15 – 10:30 am

A panel of experts will provide a forum for idea generation and strategic planning for the future of exploration.

Moderator: Ryan L. Kobrick, Event Director, MIT150 Exploration Symposium; Executive Director, Yuri's Night; Postdoctoral Associate, Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, MIT

  • Anna Mracek Dietrich '04 SM '06, Chief Operating Officer, Acting Chief Financial Officer, and Co-Founder, Terrafugia
  • R. John Hansman SM '80 PhD '82, Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics; Director, International Center for Air Transportation, MIT
  • Dana Yoerger '77 SM '79 PhD '83, Senior Scientist in Applied Ocean Physics and Engineering, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
  • Jeff Greason, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, XCOR Aerospace

Break

Exploration Visions Panel II
11 am – 12:30 pm

A second panel of experts will provide a forum for idea generation and strategic planning for the future of exploration.

Moderator: Christopher E. Carr '99 SM '01 ScD '05, Research Scientist, Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, MIT

  • Dava J. Newman SM '89 PhD '92, Chair, MIT150 Exploration Symposium; Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics and Engineering Systems; Director, Technology and Policy Program, MIT
  • Sara Seager, Ellen Swallow Richards Professor of Planetary Sciences and Professor of Physics, MIT
  • James D. Shields '71 SM '72, President and Chief Executive Officer, Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc.
  • Susan Humphris PhD '77, Senior Scientist, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Lunch

Johnson Athletic Center Ice Rink, MIT Building W34

Keynote address
Kresge Auditorium, MIT
1:30 – 2:15 pm

Future Exploration Opportunities

  • Peter H. Diamandis'83 SM '88, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, X PRIZE Foundation; Chief Executive Officer, Zero Gravity Corporation; Chairman and Co-Founder, Rocket Racing League; Co-Founder and Director, Space Adventures; Co-Founder, International Space University

Closing remarks

  • Dava J. NewmanSM '89 PhD '92, Chair, MIT150 Exploration Symposium; Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics and Engineering Systems; Director, Technology and Policy Program, MIT

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Leaders in Science and Engineering: The Women of MIT

Computation and the Transformation of Practically Everything

Earth, Air, Ocean and Space: The Future of Exploration

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