CASPER Space Sciences Laboratory Director Promotes Annual ISU Space Studies Program at Ohio University
WACO, TX - Dr. Rene Laufer, Baylor associate research professor and director of CASPER's Space Sciences Laboratory recently traveled to Athens, Ohio to attend a meeting of the Ohio University board of trustees. On June 8 - August 7, Ohio University's Russ College of Engineering and Technology will host the International Space University's 28th annual Space Studies Program, known as "SSP15." Laufer is a member of the ISU faculty.
At the meeting, he and two Canadian colleagues promoted and briefed trustees on the nine-week space sciences immersion course that annually draws more than 150 space industry professionals and post-graduate students from around the globe to study "humankind's evolving experience of space."
Program sessions cover a wide assortment of technical and non-technical topics including space physical sciences, space engineering, space policy, economics and law, space management and business, space and the humanities, space applications and human performance in space. Some sessions are open to the public.
An especially anticipated part of the program is a panel discussion featuring four astronauts, including former U.S. Senator Harrison "Jack" Schmitt. Joining Schmitt will be fellow astronauts Bob Thirsk of Canada and Paolo Nespoli of Italy, and cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev of Russia.
Primary sponsor of SSP15 is NASA's Glenn Research Center, with Lockheed Martin providing additional major support. Previous host sites include Barcelona, Vancouver, Beijing, Melbourne (Florida) and the NASA Ames Research Center near San Jose, California.
About the International Space University
The International Space University is a private, non-profit institution, formally recognized as an institute of higher education in France by the French Ministry of Education. ISU specializes in providing graduate-level training to future leaders of the emerging global space community at its Central Campus in Strasbourg, France, and at locations around the world. Since its founding in 1987, ISU has graduated more than 3,900 students from over 100 countries. Together with hundreds of ISU faculty and lecturers from around the world, ISU alumni comprise an extremely effective network of space professionals and leaders that actively facilitates individual career growth, professional activities and international space cooperation.
