Space Settlement Symposium to feature NASA speakers, researchers

Posted by Jayme Blaschke
Office of Media Relations
September 12, 2016

Jacob Grimes, a research scientist with the Southwest Research Institute (SWRI), will deliver the keynote address during Texas State University’s Space Settlement Symposium September 23.

The symposium will take place from 9 a.m.-noon in the LBJ Student Center Ballroom. The event is free and open to the public.

Grimes will speak at 11 a.m. He has been with SWRI since 2007, where he develops prototype instrumentation for space and planetary applications. Prior to joining SWRI, he was a research assistant at Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York, where he researched and developed techniques that enabled the design, construction and testing of a prototype diamond-amplified photocathode. Grimes earned his master’s degree from Stony Brook University, New York, and his bachelor’s degree in physics from Texas State.

Other scheduled speakers include Dynae Fullwood, an educator professional development specialist at NASA’s Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC), who will be the opening speaker at 9 a.m. Eli Kanon of Texas State, Andrew Brei of St. Mary’s University and Isaac Weigmann of Texas State will lead a panel discussion on “Should We? A Philosophical Investigation” at 9:45 a.m. Eric Malroy, a passive thermal control engineer at NASA’s JSC with interest in nanotechnology and solar sail propulsion, will speak on “Advancements and Challenges” at 10:30 a.m.

The symposium is co-sponsored by Aerospace Studies, the Department of Philosophy, the Ingram School of Engineering and the LBJ Institute for STEM Education and Research.

For more information, visit www.txstate.edu/philosophy/other-programs/Symposia-and-Lectures/Space-Settlement-Symposium-.html or contact Elizabeth Kanon at ek17@txstate.edu.