Current and Former Astronauts, Neuroscientist and Explorer to Guide Forum on Integration of Art and Science at Embry-Riddle
Mary van Buren
Mary van Buren
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Mary van Buren
Apr 06, 2016, 10:30 AM
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University will host Project PoSSUM and the Art of Science Communication, an interdisciplinary forum on astronautics and how it can enable science communication through stories and artistic interpretation. The forum is free, open to the public and will be held at Embry-Riddle’s Daytona Beach Campus on Saturday, April 9, from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. in the Willie Miller Instructional Center auditorium. Click here for a map of campus.
Project PoSSUM and the Art of Science Communication will include artist, retired astronaut and Embry-Riddle alumna Nicole Stott; astronaut Don Pettit; artist and explorer Dr. Sarah Jane Pell; neuroscientist and SciArt Exchange Executive Director Jancy McPhee; and Project PoSSUM Executive Director Dr. Jason Reimuller.
PoSSUM (Polar Suborbital Science in the Upper Mesosphere) is a nonprofit research and education organization that uses citizen-scientist astronauts to make novel measurements of the upper atmosphere while communicating through immersive educational programs, in partnership with Embry-Riddle, the critical role this region plays in the understanding of our global climate.
“Noctilucent clouds are the focus of PoSSUM's suborbital research,”said Reimuller. “These elusive clouds are the highest clouds in the Earth’s atmosphere at about 50 miles above the Earth. They exhibit beautiful and alluring visual displays, yet their structures also hold critical information on how our global environment is changing. The unique PoSSUM experiments can only be made by trained human operators since these features of interest are simply not visible from the ground or from orbit. The data to be collected on PoSSUM missions will inspire both the artist and the atmospheric scientist alike.”
“Really wonderful things happen through the integration of art and science,” said Stott, who is a member of the Board of Trustees at Embry-Riddle. “I look forward to our PoSSUM program and discussion on The Art of Science Communication as we explore of this SciArt topic.”
The science and art forum will coincide with PoSSUM Scientist-Astronaut Class 1601, which will bring together citizen-scientist candidates from Australia, Egypt, Germany, Canada, Portugal and the U.S. at Embry-Riddle’s Daytona Beach Campus to study noctilucent cloud science. These citizen-scientists will learn how to operate PoSSUM instrumentation in simulated suborbital spaceflight through a one-week program April 8-14. News media are invited to attend the suborbital spaceflight classes.
Media Contact
James Roddey, Director of Communications, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach, Fla.; Office: (386) 226-6198; james.roddey@erau.edu
About Project PoSSUM
Project PoSSUM, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, is the first manned suborbital research and education program devoted to the study of the upper atmosphere and the role it plays in the understanding of the global climate. The PoSSUM Scientist-Astronaut Program and PoSSUM Academy are held at the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Fla. PoSSUM instrumentation is funded by NASA and will be flown over Antarctica in 2017 as the “PMC-Turbo’ experiment.” The PoSSUM Noctilucent Cloud Tomography Experiment is supported by NASA's Flight Opportunities Program as the “Noctilucent Cloud Imagery and Tomography Experiment,” granted in March 2012; PoSSUM students train to fly this suborbital mission.
About SciArt Exchange
SciArt Exchange supports the development of programming and partnerships that bridge public understanding and the communication of science and engineering activities through the world of art. SciArt provides an interdisciplinary framework that places a focus on issues related to space, advanced technology, energy, health and medicine and sustainability