I am very interested in engaging and educating the public about NASA's Mars Exploration Rover (MER) mission through public speaking. The images taken by the Pancam instruments on MER are some of the most stunning and captivating ever taken of a planetary surface, and they are excellent tools for fostering the public's interest in Mars science and space exploration.
While a graduate student at Cornell, I have enjoyed speaking about my work with MER and sharing images from Mars with varied audiences at museums, universities, and schools across New York state.
I am currently teaching a seminar for first-year students at Cornell titled The Exploration of Mars. You can view the course syllabus here.
Feel free to contact me if you would like me to speak to your class, club, organization, etc. about Mars.
Conferences, Colloquia and Seminars
SCHEDULED:"The Mars Exploration Rover Mission: Overview of Imaging Science Results"
Astrophysics Department Seminar
American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY, April 2011
"Roving the Surface of Mars"
Whitin Observatory Rededication Ceremony
Wellesley College, Wellesley, MA, April 2011
"Spectra of Silica Rock Coatings and Implications for Rover-Based Observations of Mars"
Topics in Mineralogy of the Solar System Seminar
Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, March 2011
"The Mars Exploration Rover Mission: Overview of Imaging Science Results"
Astrophysics Colloquium
Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY, November 2010
"Exploring the Red Planet"
9th Annual Educators' Conference
Cortland High School, Cortland, NY, March 2010
"Exploring Mars"
Zonta International District 2 Conference
Glenn Falls, NY, October 2009
"Hunting Mars: My Knafel Fellowship Year"
Astronomy Department Seminar
Wellesley College, Wellesley, MA, November 2007
"The Soils at Gusev Crater, Mars"
Friends of Astronomy Symposium
Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, October 2007
Museums, Observatories and Planetariums
"A Journey To Mars"
Public Lecture
Buffalo Museum of Science, Buffalo, NY, April 2011
"Red Rover, Red Rover - Exploring Mars with the Rover Imaging Team"
Public Lecture
Sciencenter, Ithaca, NY, February 2011
"New Results from the Mars Exploration Rover Mission"
Planetarium Free Show Program
Southern Cayuga Planetarium, Aurora, NY, August 2009
"Rovers on the Moon and Mars"
Grand Reopening and Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony
Empire State Aerosciences Museum, Schenectady, NY, May 2009
"New Results from the Mars Exploration Rover Mission"
Public Lecture
Wings of Eagles Aviation Museum, Elmira, NY, March 2008
K-12 Classrooms and Events
SCHEDULED:"The Mars Exploration Rover Mission"
Assembly for 6th Grade Students
Tully Elementary School, Tully, NY, April 2011
HSBC Keynote Speaker
Greater Syracuse Scholastic Science Fair
Solvay High School, Solvay, NY, March 2011
"Exploring Mars"
Assembly for 4th and 5th Grade Students
Public School 164, Brooklyn, NY, October 2010
"The Mars Exploration Rover Mission"
Science Academy for Middle School Students
Wings of Eagles Aviation Museum, Elmira, NY, July 2010
"Six Years of Discoveries from NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Mission"
AP Physics Class
Ithaca High School, Ithaca, NY, June 2010
"New Results from the Mars Exploration Rover Mission"
Elementary School Program
Kopernik Observatory, Vestal, NY, October 2008
"New Results from the Mars Exploration Rover Mission"
AP Physics Class
Ithaca High School, Ithaca, NY, June 2008
University Classrooms
"Mars"
Physics 106L: Introductory Astronomy
Wells College, Aurora, NY, October 2010
"Six Years of Discoveries from NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Mission"
Astronomy 202: Our Home in the Solar System
Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, April 2010
"Mars"
Physics 106L: Introductory Astronomy
Wells College, Aurora, NY, October 2009
"The Mars Exploration Rover Mission"
Astronomy 202: Our Home in the Solar System
Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, April 2009
"Mars Analogs"
Astronomy 490: Critical Thinking
Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, April 2007
Clubs and Organizations
"Seven Years on Mars"
Buffalo Astronomical Socieity 2011 Annual Dinner Banquet
Buffalo, NY, April 2011
"Hunting for Mars on Earth"
Zonta Club of Elmira Dinner
Elmira, NY, March 2009
Speaking
