Planetary scientist and professor Lindy Elkins-Tanton will be the keynote speaker for New Mexico State University’s 31st annual Speaker Series. NMSU’s William Conroy Honors College will host this event, “Journeys on Earth and in Space,” at the Chemistry Building auditorium, Room 153, at 7 p.m. April 24. The event is free and open to the public.
Not only is Elkins-Tanton a Foundation and Regents professor in the School of Earth and Space Exploration at Arizona State University, but she is also the vice president of the ASU Interplanetary Initiative and principal investigator of NASA’s Psyche mission. Elkins-Tanton will discuss her career journey and how she became the principal investigator for the new Psyche spacecraft that launches in less than seven months. She also published her memoir last year, “A Portrait of the Scientist as a Young Woman.”
NMSU William Conroy Honors College Dean Phame Camarena described Elkins-Tanton as a wonderful example of how exceptional lives can lead to great science. She is only the second woman to lead a NASA mission to a major solar system body.
“Both the expert scientist and the general public can appreciate the spirit of exploration reflected in the NASA Psyche mission, but everyone will benefit from the portrait of a life well lived,” Camarena said.
For more information or questions, contact the Honors College at honors@nmsu.edu or 575-646-2005.