JPL has announced the 1998 line-up for its popular von Kármán Lecture Series, which features free monthly lectures by prominent experts who will describe the latest in earth and space exploration and innovative technologies.
The lecture series, named in honor of JPL founder Theodore von Kármán, is held at JPL's von Karman Auditorium, and this year will also be held a second evening at Pasadena City College.
A multifaceted list of topics awaits visitors this year:
January 15 &16: "Forecasting an El Niño: The TOPEX/Poseidon Mission Brings News of a Wet Winter."
February 19 & 20: "Destination Earth: JPL's Near Earth Asteroid Tracking Program Searches for Earthbound Objects."
March 19 (held at JPL only): "Mapping the Amazon: Science, Supercomputers and Synthetic Aperture Radar."
April 16 &17: "The Earth Observer: A Guide to Understanding Our Planet From 400 Miles Up."
May 14 & 15: "Deep Space 1: An Experimental High-Tech Mission into the Solar System."
June 18 & 19: "Bringing the Universe into Focus: Four Years of Imaging from the Hubble Space Telescope."
July 16 & 17: "The Basics of Space Flight: Clues on How We Reach Planets Millions of Miles Away."
August 20 & 21: "Ice & Fire: To Three of the Most Difficult Solar System Destinations...on a Budget."
September 17 & 18: "Robotic Explorers: Enablers of Exciting New Discoveries."
October 15 &16: "Stardust: Mr. NASA's Wild Ride to a Comet."
November 19 & 20: "Going Back to Mars: The Mars '98 Missions Revisit the Red Planet."
December 17 & 18: "The Galileo Europa Mission: Searching for Clues of What Lies Beneath the Ice of a Faraway World."
Lectures will be held on consecutive Thursdays and Fridays of each month. Thursday lectures will be held at JPL's von Kármán Auditorium at 4800 Oak Grove Drive in Pasadena. Friday lectures (with the exception of the March lecture) will be held at The Forum at Pasadena City College, located at 1570 East Colorado Blvd. in Pasadena. Visitors can park in staff parking on Bonnie Avenue south of Colorado Boulevard between Hill & Allen Avenues. Admission is free for all lectures and seating at both locations is limited.
A detailed web site on the lecture series is located at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/lecture. For directions and other information, call the JPL Media Relations Office at (818) 354- 5011.
818-354-5011