Hudson Mohawk Section Newsletter Editor: Kris Frutschy (
[email protected]) March 2014 AIAA Distinguished Lecturer Laurie A. Leshin, Ph.D., Dean, School of Science, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Roving the Red Planet with Curiosity: Seeking Habitable Environments in our Solar System* Since October 2011, Dr. Laurie Leshin has been the Dean of the School of Science at RPI. Prior to joining Rensselaer, Dr. Leshin served as the Deputy Associate Administrator for NASA’s Exploration Systems Mission After surviving the so-called "7 minutes of terror" to land Directorate where she played a leading role NASA's safely in Gale Crater on Mars, the rover Curiosity has future human spaceflight endeavors. In this role, she been exploring for signs of water and other evidence oversaw the planning and execution of the next that Mars was once habitable. Come and hear hot-off- generation of human exploration systems, as well as the-presses science, see the breathtaking images from the research, robotic and future capabilities the Red Planet, and get an insider view from a member development activities that support them. She was also of the Curiosity science team. engaged in initiating the development of commercial Date: Tuesday, March 25th human spaceflight capabilities to low earth orbit. Time: Social at 5 PM, Dinner at 6 PM with Dr. Leshin has published more than 40 scientific presentation following papers, and was the inaugural recipient of the Meteoritical Society’s Nier Prize in 1996 for her work. Location: Holiday Inn Express, 400 Old Loudon Rd., In 2013, President Obama appointed Leshin to the Latham NY, 12110.