Sciences Librarian Dr. Doug Dechow to Speak on Panel: Mars is a Place on Earth
November 10, 2020
On Wednesday, November 18th, at 5 PM, the Institute for Quantum Studies at Chapman University presents an online discussion between Kate Greene, Anna Leahy and Doug Dechow.
Kate Greene is a science writer and poet, and the author of the book Once Upon a Time I Lived on Mars, about her experience participating in NASA’s first HI-SEAS mission, a simulated Martian environment located on the slopes of Mauna Loa in Hawai’i.
Anna Leahy is the director of Chapman’s MFA program in Creative Writing, a poet, and nonfiction author.
Doug Dechow is the Leatherby Libraries’ Engineering, Science and Digital Humanities Librarian. A married couple, Anna and Doug are coauthors of the book Generation Space: A Love Story, which describes their love affair with space travel and with each other. The conversation will be streamed live on YouTube at https://rebrand.ly/IQSGreene and there will be a book giveaway and Q&A at the end of the event.
Librarian Dr. Doug Dechow shared with us a bit more about how the event came to be, and his and Dr. Leahy’s involvement with the event:
“This event is part of a regular series of popular science and technology talks held by Chapman University’s Institute for Quantum Studies. Some of the talks are structured as a conversation between the presenter and a member of the Chapman University community. Dr. Matthew Leifer, Co-Director of the Institute for Quantum Studies, invited Anna and me to participate in a conversation with Kate Greene, author of the book Once Upon a Time I Lived on Mars. Matt and I have discussed NASA and space exploration on occasion, and he was aware of the book that Anna and I wrote together. Anna and I wrote Generation Space as a love letter to each other and the Space Age. For me, being born into the Apollo program and coming of age during the era of the space shuttle made me want to become an astronaut. Kate Greene’s book makes it clear that she felt that same calling. In writing Generation Space, Anna and I wanted to be as close to the action as possible for ordinary American citizens. Our solution was to become credentialed journalists reporting on the final series of space shuttle missions. Kate Greene’s desire to contribute to the human exploration of space led her to spend four months in a mission to Mars simulation. Her written account of that mission simulation speaks to what it’s like–not to just be part of a Mars exploration experiment–but to be the experiment.”
To attend the event, follow this link: https://rebrand.ly/IQSGreene