Colloquium Lectures: 2000s

2009

January 13, 2009. Energy For the Greenhouse World by Dr. Aristides A.N. Patrinos

February 10, 2009. The Dark Universe Challenge by Dr. Salman Habib

March 3, 2009. Biologically-Inspired Materials: From Electroactive Polymers To Biomolecular Networks by Dr. Don Leo

April 7, 2009. Methane on Mars – Geology, Biology, Neither, or Both? by Dr. Michael J. Mumma, Goddard Center for Astrobiology, NASA-GSFC

May 5, 2009. Transforming Organizations: How To Start an Innovation Movement by Michael L. Maness Vice President, Design and Innovation, Gannett Co., Inc.

June 2, 2009. Whither or Wither? – Innovation in Air Transportation by Dr. Bruce Holmes

July 7, 2009. How We Remember Apollo by Dr. Roger D. Launius

August 4, 2009. Back to the Future – CSI Three Centuries Later by Dr. Michael J. Kelley

September 1, 2009. CLARREO: Cornerstone of the Climate Observing System by Stephen P. Sandford

October 6, 2009. HURRICANE OF INDEPENDENCE: The Untold Story of the Deadly Storm at the Deciding Moment of the American Revolution by Tony Williams

November 3, 2009. Unsteady hydrodynamics in bio-inspired propulsion by Dr. John Dabiri

December 1, 2009. Crazy Robots and the Students Who Build Them by NASA Knights Robotics Team

2008

January 8, 2008. Importance and Challenges of Protecting the Crew from Radiation on Missions to Moon and Mars by Dr. John W. Wilson, NASA Langley (retired)

February 5, 2008. Advanced Aircraft Carrier Technology: A Shipbuilder’s Perspective by David P. Rice, Engineering Research Manager for Aircraft Carrier Technology, Northrop Grumman Newport News

March 4, 2008. Why the World’s Information Technology Leader Can’t Count Votes by Professor Bryan Pfaffenberger, University of Virginia

April 1, 2008. An Energy Revolution for the Greenhouse Century by Dr. Martin Hoffert, Professor Emeritus of Physics, New York University

May 6, 2008. An Update on Strategic Initiatives in Modeling and Simulation in Hampton Roads, the Commonwealth of Virginia and Nationally by Dr. Michael McGinnis, Executive Director of the Virginia Modeling Analysis and Simulation Center

June 3, 2008. Impacts of Climate Change on Coastal Virginia and Chesapeake Bay: Physical, Chemical and Ecological Processes by Dr. James Bauer, College of William & Mary (This lecture is cosponsored by the Green Series.)

July 8, 2008. The Life and Works of Galileo: A Guided Tour by Dr. Kerry V. Magruder, University of Oklahoma

August 12, 2008. Mercury In a New Light: The First MESSENGER Flyby by Dr. Ralph L. McNutt, Jr., Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory

September 9, 2008. Sputnik, Eisenhower, and the founding of NASA by Dr. Roger Launius, former NASA Chief Historian and currently Senior Curator, Division of Space History, Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum

NASA at 50: A Celebration of Science, Technology and the Spirit of Human Exploration
Four Tuesdays in October (October 7, 14, 21 and 28)

  • October 7, 2008. NASA Human Spaceflight: Past, Present, and Future by Ken Reightler
  • October 14, 2008. Exploration of the Moon and Planets: A New Perspective on Earth by Dr. James W. Head III
  • October 21, 2008. Science and Survival in the Anthropocene: Why NASA and Earth Science Are Vital for Human Wellbeing by Dr. Jeffrey D. Sachs
  • October 28, 2008. 50 Years of NASA Aeronautical Research by Roy V. Harris

No Lecture Scheduled for November

December 9, 2008. Phoenix Lander’s Odyssey to Mars – A 10 Year Journey by Dr. Prasun N. Desai

2007

January 4, 2007. Statistical Approaches in the NIST World Trade Center Analysis by James J. Filliben

February 1, 2007. Return to the Moon: Exploration, Enterprise, and Energy in the Human Settlement of Space by Harrison (Jack) Schmitt

March 6, 2007. Motion Capture and Technology Leadership by Nels H. Madsen (lectures returned to Tuesdays this month)

April 10, 2007. Humans and the Global Carbon Cycle: A Faustian Bargain? by Berrien Moore III

May 8, 2007. Why We Explore by Steven Dick

June 5, 2007. The CALIPSO Mission – One Year After Launch by Dr. Dave Winker

July 10, 2007. The Tuskegee Airmen – The Long Flight from WWII to the Congressional Gold Medal by Ezra M. Hill, USAF (Ret)

August 7, 2007. F22 Raptor’s First Year in Service from an Aircraft Maintenance Squadron Perspective by Lt. Col. Dane West, 1st Aircraft Maintenance Squadron Commander, Langley Air Force Base

September 11, 2007. Climate Change Impacts on Natural Resources in Virginia by Dr. Roger Mann, Virginia Institute of Marine Science

October 2, 2007. The Search for the Cause of the Mysterious Tiny Crystals in the Charters of Freedom by Dr. Joel S. Levine, NASA Langley Research Center

November 6, 2007. Finding our Origins with the James Webb Space Telescope by Dr. John Mather, Nobel Prize Winner

December 4, 2007. The USS Monitor Materials: Organic and Metal by Susanne Grieve and Eric Nordgren, The Mariners’ Museum

2006

January 5, 2006. X-Prize Flights: SpaceShipOne by Douglas Shane

February 2, 2006. Russia – Candidate Roles in the Exploration Vision by James Oberg

March 2, 2006. NASA Capabilities for Human Exploration Beyond the Moon by Patrick A. Troutman

April 6, 2006. Hurricanes and Global Warming: The Science, Technologies, and Politics by Judith Curry

May 4, 2006. Mars Direct: Humans to the Red Planet within a Decade by Robert Zubrin

June 1, 2006. Aeronautics Research in Decline: Why the Trend Must be Reversed by Roy V. Harris, Jr.

July 6, 2006. Uranus and Neptune: Understanding the Ice Giants by Dr. Heidi B. Hammel

August 3, 2006. Advances in Nanotechnology by Professor Mool C. Gupta

September 7, 2006. Traditional Native Scientists by Scott Frazier

October 5, 2006. MISSEs- Experiments to Mitigate Risks in Future Space Exploration Missions by Bill Kinnard

TUESDAY: October 24, 2006. Special 35th Anniversary Lecture: Space Exploration: Filling Up the Canvas by Michael Griffin

November 2, 2006 NO COLLOQUIUM HELD THIS MONTH

December 7, 2006. Hypersonics: Flying Higher and Faster in the Air and Beyond by Mark J. Lewis

2005

January 11, 2005. Technical Challenges for Space Exploration Missions by John C. Mankins

February 1, 2005. Spectacular Visualization of Planet Earth by Arthur Frederick (Fritz) Hasler

March 1, 2005. The Man Who Hated Loose Ends: Einstein’s Legacy by Hans Christian von Baeyer

April 7, 2005. Investigation into the Crash of American Airlines Flight 587 by John W. DeLisi (at the request of Senior Staff, lectures were moved to Thursdays)

May 5, 2005. Toward a Sustainable Mars Infrastructure (for Human Exploration) by Robert L. Ash

June 2, 2005. Solar Sails: Propellantless In-Space Propulsion by Billy Derbes

July 7, 2005. Understanding the Mechanics of Tsunamis by Ronald E. Johnson

August 4, 2005. Mars Rovers by Prasun Desai

September 1, 2005. The Engineer of 2020 Project by Gary S. May

October 6, 2005. Cassini at Saturn: An Evolving Planetary System by Robert E. Johnson

November 3, 2005. Nature, Fireworks and Multifunctional Aerospace Materials by Professor Kathryn V. Logan

December 1, 2005. First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong by Jim Hansen

2004

January 13, 2004. From Flower Stems to Feather Shafts: Twisting in the Wind Without Getting Bent Out of Shape by Steven Vogel

February 3, 2004. “Big Mac” System X Supercomputer by Srindi Varadarajan

March 2, 2004. Color and Light in Nature: Visual Adventures in Optical Phenomena by David K. Lynch

April 6, 2004. Human Exploration of the Moon: Preparing to Go to Mars by James Head

May 4, 2004. Discovering the Secrets of the Wright Brothers by Ken Hyde and Kevin Kochersberger

June 1, 2004. Scramjet Powered Vehicles: Force or Fiction by Charles R. McClinton

July 13, 2004. The Design of Electronic Textile Applications by Mark T. Jones

August 18, 2004. Reasons to be Optimistic About Aeronautics by Rich Wlezien

September 14, 2004. Improved Composite Materials for Exploration Systems by Ranji K. Vaidyanathan

October 5, 2004. A Century of Innovation That Transformed Our Lives by Bob Somerville

November 2, 2004. America’s Future in Space and PBS NOVA series “Origins” by Neil deGrasse Tyson

December 7, 2004. Hydrogen and Fuel Cells: Hope or Hype? by Robert Rose

2003

January 14, 2003. Space Exploration: Sputnik to the International Space Station by Andrew Chaikin

February 5, 2003. America and The First Century of Flight: Echoes and Resonances by Richard P. Hallion

March 4, 2003. Crafting the Dream of Wings on the Wind: 100 years from Aviation to Spaceflight by Tom D. Crouch, James R. Hansen, and James Schultz

April 1, 2003. Catching up with NASA: Fuel Cells on Earth by Brian Walsh

May 6, 2003. Segway Human Transporter by Bart Thompson

June 10, 2003. Biomimetics Research to Develop Biologically Inspired Materials by Ilhan A. Aksay

July 1, 2003. The ARES Mission to Mars: The First Flight of an Airplane on Another Planet by Joel S. Levine and Robert D. Braun

August 5, 2003. Avionics in the Operation of Modern Civil and Military Aircraft by Cary R. Spitzer

September 9, 2003. The Golden Ratio: The Story of Phi, The World’s Most Astonishing Number by Mario Livio

October 7, 2003. The Wright Brothers’ Aerodynamics, and the Future of Flight by John D. Anderson, Jr.

***Special 1.5 Hour Colloquium Lecture***October 23, 2003. Langley Support to the Columbia Accident Investigation by Mark Saunders, Charles Miller, Mark Shuart, and Charles Poupard

November 4, 2003. Six Degrees: The Science of a Connected Age by Duncan Watts

December 2, 2003. Aircraft Noise-Prospects for a Quieter Future by David H. Reed

2002

January 8, 2002. How Well Did the “Flyer” Fly? – An Analysis of the Wright Brothers Flights, December 17, 1903 by Colin Britcher

February 5, 2002. Computational Combustion: from Molecular Processes to Combustor Design by Stephen B. Pope

March 5, 2002. Mars Odyssey by David Spenser

April 2, 2002. The Quest for Sustainability: Sustainable Development and Remote Sensing by Thomas E. Lovejoy

May 7, 2002. Take this gene and call me in the morning: The Human Genome Project and the Promise of Gene Therapy by Francis L. Macrina

June 4, 2002. Shock Waves on Aircraft Structure and Aviation Security by Gary Settles

July 9, 2002. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles: It takes a Team by Michael J. Logan

August 13, 2002. Evaluating the Effectiveness of Incident Reporting Systems by Chris Johnson

September 10, 2002. Small Aircraft Transportation System: The Vision for Wings on America by Bruce J. Holmes

October 1, 2002. Emergency Preparedness: Emergency Response Before and After September 11th, 2001 by Scott M. Solomon

November 5, 2002. The Aerodynamics of Bird Flight by Geoffrey Spedding

December 17, 2002. From Kitty Hawk to the Stars by Gentry Lee

2001

January 9, 2001. MicroEngines by Alan Epstein

February 6, 2001. Photosynthesis in the Deep Sea without Sunlight? The Denouement! by Cindy Lee Van Dover

March 13, 2001. Recipes for Living Off The Land in Mars by KR Sridhar

April 3, 2001. The 35 Million Year Old Chesapeake Bay Impact Crater by David S. Powars

May 1, 2001. Challenges and Opportunities in Aeronautical Design, Engineering, and Manufacturing by Earll Murman

June 5, 2001. Cooperative Control of Autonomous and Semi-Autonomous Vehicles by Raffaello D’Andrea

July 10, 2001. Molecular Electronics and Directed Self-Assembly: Ultra-Small Computers that Build Themselves by Theresa S. Mayer

July 20, 2001. Viking: 25th Anniversary of Landing on Mars by Panel Discussion

August 7, 2001. Advanced Fuels and Propellants – Exciting Ways of Improving Future Transportation And Exploration by Bryan Palaszewski

September 11, 2001. Postponed Computational Combustion: from Molecular Processes to Combustor Design by Stephen B. Pope

Monday, October 15, 2001. Mars: A Strange and Complex Planet by Joel S. Levine (Colloquium Series – 30th Anniversary Lecture)

November 6, 2001. The Limits of Automation: How Far Should we Trust Software? by Nancy Leveson

December 4, 2001. CANCELLED (due to illness) The Seven Warning Signs of Voodoo Science by Robert L. Park

2000

January 11, 2000. Langley Research Center: Contributing to the Quality of Life for Americans by Jeremiah F. Creedon

February 1, 2000. Breaking The Sound Barrier: The Aerodynamic Breakthroughs That Made It Possible by John D. Anderson, Jr.

March 7, 2000. Slippin’ and a-Slidin’ – A Researchers’ Dilemma by Thomas J. Yager

March 17, 2000. Support of Shuttle Launches and Landings by Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper

April 4, 2000. Protecting Our Planet – Securing Our Future: Linkages Among Global Environmental Issues and Human Needs by Robert T. Watson

May 2, 2000. Magnet Science and Technology: From Quantum Wells to Floating Frogs by Jack Crow

June 6, 2000. The Future of Scientific Computers by Horst Simon

July 11, 2000. Composite Materials for Aerospace Applications: Past, Present, and Future by Charles E. Harris

August 1, 2000. Mars Program Assessment–Findings and Recommendations by Tom Young

September 12, 2000. Recent Progress in Understanding Hurricanes by Kerry A. Emanuel

Special Lecture: September 25, 2000. The International Space Station by Gus Loria

October 3, 2000. The Lifting Bodies by Bill Dana

November 7, 2000. Nanotechnology and Space by Ralph Merkle

December 5, 2000. Galileo’s Journey to Jupiter: The Twisted Path and the Successes by Ronald Greeley