Houston Science Enthusiasts

"At the inaugural installment of the Joni Sue Lane Lecture Series on Women in Science and Technology, Dr. France Córdova, president of the Science Philanthropy Alliance and former director of the US National Science Foundation (NSF), will give a keynote lecture on science, science funding, and the importance of fundamental research as well as her journey as a physicist. This lecture will take a closer look at where things stand — from funding trends to policy shifts — and what it all means for the future of research and innovation.

"The Joni Sue Lane Lecture Series aims to recognize and amplify the vital contributions of women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. It's named in honor Joni Lane, a talented systems programmer, who worked at the Federal Aviation Agency and Rice University in the early days of computing. The Joni Sue Lane Lecture Series, funded by the Lane Family Endowment, is a part of the Baker Institute Civic Scientist Lecture Series, sponsored by Dr. Virginia Clark, with additional support from Benjamin and Winifer Cheng, Rice University’s George R. Brown School of Engineering and Weiss School of Natural Sciences."

This event is free, but registration is required: https://www.bakerinstitute.org/event/joni-sue-lane-lecture-series-conversation-dr-france-cordova

Baker Institute on the Rice Interactive Map: [https://map.concept3d.com/?id=473#!m/120221?ct/13398](https://map.concept3d.com/?id=473#!m/120221?ct/13398)

Campus parking: [https://parking.rice.edu/parking-facilities-and-rates](https://parking.rice.edu/parking-facilities-and-rates)

NOTE: RSVP'ing on this Meetup page DOES NOT mean you are registered for the event itself.

HYBRID: The Johnson Space Center Astronomical Society will hold a meeting featuring a presentation by Samina Masood, Ph.D., Program Director of Physics and Professor, Science and Engineering at the University of Houston-Clear Lake, called "Biology in Space."

The meeting at will be held at the University of Houston-Clear Lake STEM Building, Room 1203 starting at 7:30 p.m.. People should arrive between 7 and 7:15 p.m. Attendees should park in Parking Lots D3 or D4 no earlier than 7 p.m.

Please see the UHCL Map here -- Please park in lots D3 and D4. The STEM building is building #5 on the map. Come in from the east side and go left. When you come to the end of hallway, you should find the auditorium where the meeting will be.

The meeting can be accessed by going to the JSCAS YouTube Channel at the link: https://www.youtube.com/c/JSCAstronomicalSociety

Also, the JSCAS YouTube Channel link will be posted on the JSCAS web page: http://www.jscas.net

To submit questions for our presenters during the meeting, please either enter your questions as a YouTube comment (if you have an account that will allow doing so) or send your questions to: jscaslive@gmail.com

JSCAS is open to anyone who wants to learn about astronomy and membership is free. After joining, you’ll have access to our amazing Astronomy DVD Library with 100’s of choices to learn from (from Astronomy Magazine, NASA, The Great Courses, Discovery Channel, etc.).

Top photo: NASA

IN PERSON: Let's meet and talk about the untold story of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster based on Adam Higginbotham's work.

"Early in the morning of April 26, 1986, Reactor Number Four of the Chernobyl Atomic Energy Station exploded, triggering one of the 20th century’s greatest disasters. In the thirty years since then, Chernobyl has become lodged in the collective nightmares of the world: shorthand for the spectral horrors of radiation poisoning, for a dangerous technology slipping its leash, for ecological fragility, and for what can happen when a dishonest and careless state endangers its citizens and the entire world. But the real story of the accident, clouded from the beginning by secrecy, propaganda, and misinformation, has long remained in dispute.

"Drawing on hundreds of hours of interviews conducted over the course of more than ten years, as well as letters, unpublished memoirs, and documents from recently-declassified archives, Adam Higginbotham brings the disaster to life through the eyes of the men and women who witnessed it firsthand. The result is a “riveting, deeply reported reconstruction” (Los Angeles Times) and a definitive account of an event that changed history: a story that is more complex, more human, and more terrifying than the Soviet myth."

Everyone is welcome whether you have explored the topic before or not.

You can:

• read sample
• view past selections
• view pool of candidates
• add your ideas to the pool of candidates
• join the chat group on Signal

At this meeting each person can nominate a publication to be voted on whether it is from the pool of candidates or not.

We'll be meeting at Cafe Express. There is ample parking in the nearby lot.

Come prepared to discuss and share ideas on the topic and have a good time.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

HYBRID: The Rice Space Institute presents a Houston Spaceport Frontiers Lecture featuring John Scott, retired NASA Systems Engineer, in a talk titled "For the Precious Things Put Forth by the Moon: Considerations for Power and Energy Infrastructure on the Lunar Surface."

Description: "NASA's Moon to Mars Program partners with U.S. agencies, international groups, and industry to establish a lasting human presence on the Moon. This effort supports science, Mars exploration technology, and lunar commerce, all reliant on communications, navigation and especially power. This lecture will explore the technological and economic challenges of building lunar power facilities."

The event will be held in Keck Hall, Room 100.

Keck Hall on the Rice Interactive Map: https://map.concept3d.com/?id=473#!m/120224?s/Kec

Event page and registration (including Zoom): https://events.rice.edu/event/407093-rsi-frontiers-lecture-series-john-scott-on-for-the

For parking options, please visit here: Rice Parking

For a map of Rice University, please visit Rice University Maps

Rice Space Institute: Rice Space Institute | Rice University

Rice Space Institute YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/@ricespaceinstitute2211/videos

To be placed on the RSI Spaceport Lecture Series newsletter list, visit https://mailman.rice.edu/mailman/listinfo/rsi