Since the lifetime learning organization Chesapeake Forum started its Distinguished Visiting Scholar program three years ago, they have had remarkably good luck in attracting excellent speakers for their annual fundraising program, but they also have seemed to perfectly calibrate the subject of those talks that connect with national topics of great interest.
Last year was a good example of this when scholar and author David Blight addressed the Forum after his award-winning book, Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom was published.
And this year, the Forum continues this tradition on January 20th when Mars Mission scientist, Pamela Conrad, will talk about man’s quest for discovering the universe and the once unheard future where humans will become interplanetary creatures.
The Glen Burnie resident is a remarkable individual to talk about this journey. For many years, she has been in the forefront of NASA’s work in exploring Mars with the Perseverance Rover and its companion, the Ingenuity helicopter, with her long association with the Earth and Planets Laboratory of the Carnegie Institution and Goddard Space Flight Center.
But Dr. Conrad brings something beyond her stellar background and years of dedicated research. Amid an already demanding career, she chose to become an Episcopal priest. In fact, she is a rector at the St. Alban’s Episcopal Church when she’s not working on the Mars mission.
So it was this special combination of science and religion, according to John Miller, one of Chesapeake Forum’s board members, that made Conrad the perfect selection for a stimulating conversation about the challenges that come with space exploration and man’s moral responsibilities that come hand-in-hand with these bold acts of discovery.
The Spy sat down with John a few weeks ago to discuss Pamela Conrad’s work and her upcoming Zoom discussion.
This video is approximately five minutes in length. To make reservations for the Conrad program please go here.
Exploration, Adventure and Science
with Pamela Conrad
via Zoom
Thu Jan 20, 4:00 – 5:30 PM
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