Last Monday, I attended a reception in the EEEL building in celebration of the achievements of our university’s Killam Award winners. To receive a Killam Award, one of the most prestigious in Canadian academia, is a notable honour. It says that you are truly outstanding among Canadian researchers. The Killam Pre-Doctoral Scholarship and Prize Programs […]
In my April 13 blog entry I wrote about an experiment known as Reversible Figures that was performed by astronauts aboard the International Space Station. I also asked your thoughts on how depth perception might change during spaceflight. The results of this experiment have recently been published so I am now at liberty to provide the […]
Following my July 21 blog entry about the near-miss of the International Space Station by orbital debris, I thought you would be interested to know how an ISS crew would respond to a rapid depressurization of the Station. A depressurization would certainly result from a breach of the hull if hit by a piece of […]
Last week, I was in Toronto participating in the annual general meeting of Tomatosphere. Tomatosphere is a Canadian project that promotes science learning at the grade school level (students aged 8 – 14). It connects students’ fascination with space travel and the role that green plants must someday play in the life support system of space […]
The credibility and influence of the University of Calgary Senate stem largely from its diverse membership. Members include an impressively capable and passionate group of volunteers with substantial knowledge, skills and experiences from the business, government, non-profit and academic sectors. In this guest blog entry, I asked Senator Jill Wyatt to report on the […]
Several thousand first year students have arrived this week at the University of Calgary. I see energy, smiles and spirited conversation everywhere I walk today on campus. Exciting stuff. The University has planned a week-long Orientation program to ease the Class of 2019’s transition to university life. Our intent is to welcome the freshmen to […]
Last week, I was in Houston, Texas for medical testing. Every year, usually around my birth date, I return to the NASA Johnson Space Center to participate in the Lifetime Surveillance of Astronaut Health program. The Canadian Space Agency supports my participation. Lifetime Surveillance of Astronaut Health (LSAH) is a proactive medical surveillance program. Its purpose […]
I mentioned in my June 22 blog entry that I had delivered a lecture entitled ‘What has space brought us?’ to the participants attending the summer session of International Space University. At the end of the lecture, I encouraged each student to prepare and practice a brief ‘elevator pitch’ to highlight a few benefits of the […]
It was impossible to share in my previous blog entry everything about Dr. David Kendall that makes him a superb choice as Chair of the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space. Besides being a well-regarded leader, Dave also has a sense of humour. Throughout our careers in space, Dave and I have attended […]
Another University of Calgary alumnus has done us proud. Dr. David Kendall MSc’72, PhD’79 was recently appointed by the United Nations as incoming Chair of the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS). This is a big deal – the first time that a Canadian has held such a position. The Committee […]
