MEDIA RELATIONS OFFICE
JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
PASADENA, CALIFORNIA 91109. TELEPHONE (818) 354-5011
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov

Contact: Gabrielle Birchak-Birkman

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 18, 2000

FREE LECTURES ON HEALTH BENEFITS FROM SPACE TECHNOLOGY

       "Medical Technology: Using Technology to Improve Our Health," is the topic of two free public lectures to be held at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory on Thursday, Aug. 24, and Pasadena City College on Friday, Aug. 25.

       The lectures by Dr. James L. Lambert of the Intelligent Instrument and Systems Technology group at JPL will address recent advances in technology that could repair damaged spinal cords and other areas of the nervous system. These advances include an imaging system that can see three-dimensional, internal structures smaller than human hair; control systems driven by artificial neural networks capable of real-time decision making on a low powered microchip; and robotic systems driven by brain activity.

       Lambert is actively involved in the development of biomedical technologies for non-invasive medical monitoring systems for use in both manned NASA missions and clinical medicine. He joined JPL in 1987 after receiving his doctorate in electrical engineering from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Penn. Lambert has published over 26 papers, currently holds six U.S. patents and is also an associate professor of research ophthalmology at the University of Southern California's Keck School of Medicine.

       The lectures are part of the monthly von Karman Lecture Series sponsored by JPL's Office of Public Affairs. They take place in JPL's von Karman Auditorium located at 4800 Oak Grove Drive in Pasadena and at the Pasadena City College Forum located at 1570 East Colorado Blvd. Both lectures are at 7 p.m., with limited seating available on a first-come, first-served basis.

       More information about JPL's von Karman Lecture Series is available at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/lecture/ or by calling (818) 354-5011. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.

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