A Dream Realized
As a pilot and presently a doctoral student, I have long been fascinated by space. Currently, I am researching issues on the impact of isolation on long-duration space flights and new tools to address isolation’s effects. There are many challenges astronauts face when trying to solve the ultimate question: Are we alone in the universe? […]
The Mars Dilemma
According to NASA administrator Robert M Lightfoot Jr., Mars remains the next great goal in space exploration. At a conference in Dublin, Lightfoot went on to say that “Right now we’re working on trying to get there in the 2030s, with crew. We’re building off what we’re doing in the International Space Station – we’re using […]
Why We WILL Go To Mars
Humankind is by nature curious, and that curiosity has led us far from home to explore new worlds. Making new discoveries means taking risks, but as Martin Buber says: “All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware.” Nothing will be truer than our journey to go to Mars. Our exploration to our […]
From Star Struck to Space Games – How Childhood Dreams can fuel your Future and STEM Students’ too
I’ve been a stargazer since I was a kid. We all look up at the stars at night, but it’s how we feel about them that makes us different. For me, the stars are what made my dreams happen. Inside, I am still the kid on the front lawn of my parent’s house on a […]
Want to Help Your Stress? Get a Charismatic Deviant
After my first semester as graduate researcher I am proud to present to you my most surprising discovery: charismatic deviants. It turns out that they are essential for our survival. This is as true for our life on Earth and, I propose, for space life too. The nature of my research is on isolation. My […]
Prescription for a Lonely Soul
You wouldn’t think when living on a planet teaming with over seven billion other people and 36 million acres of real estate that so many of us are plagued with aching loneliness. But it’s so. The percentage of the U.S. feeling lonely on a regular or frequent basis runs from about 25-45% (1.) Chronic loneliness […]
The One Thing You Want to Change—and What It Takes.
What is YOUR Grit Score? New graduate students have a lot in common with new preschoolers who are entering Montessori school: we are eager, we are intrigued by colorful opportunities presented in books to building blocks with which to explore the world, and we hope to find a friend somewhere in the classroom with whom […]
Think Space is Lonely? So is Life on Earth
Helping Astronauts and the Rest of Us Feeling lonely? You’re not alone. Over the last several years, it’s a wide spread and growing feeling across America. Data from recent studies show that 20-24% of Americans report loneliness, or about 1 in 4 or 5 of us, and they say the feeling is strong enough that […]
Tomorrow Has Landed
THE POWER OF IMAGINATION I have never forgotten my first sight of Tomorrowland. I was six and at Disneyland and feeling the power of the magic. Exploring all the Lands of Disney was like drifting from dream-to-dream and seeing a fairy flying here, haunted by a ticking crocodile there, and everywhere familiar movie tunes played […]