NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

What better place to generate ideas on shaping the future of NASA’s role to inspire, innovate and explore space than California, a state that is home to three of NASA’s 10 field centers, prestigious academic institutions and groundbreaking innovation powerhouses?

“California’s Silicon Valley is a launch pad for academic and fundamental space research that can drive U.S. economic growth,” said Shana Dale, NASA’s Deputy Administrator, in her keynote address. “NASA is working to encourage more Americans to focus on science, technology, engineering and mathematics to create a scientifically literate population.”

Dale also announced the launch of NASA Education TV (NASA eTV), a partnership with the National Institute of Aerospace (NIA), to produce new “bite-sized” educational television programs for distribution on NASA Television and digital “on-demand” programs over the Internet.

Nearly 200 technological gurus, space industry and innovation front-runners, educators and NASA leadership exchanged ideas at the San Jose Future Forum that convened in the heart of Silicon Valley, at the Tech Museum of Innovation on May 14, 2008. Digital participants in Second Life used their “avatars” to ask online moderators questions of the panelists and experienced the Future Forum through movie theater-like screens that played live streaming video and audio.

NASA Ames Center Director S. Pete Worden anchored the forum as master of ceremonies. Panel participants included Jim Garvin, chief scientist at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and Joyce Winterton, assistant administrator for the NASA Office of Education. They were joined by panel members from prominent businesses and academic institutions, including the University of California, the Commonwealth Club of California, Symantec Research Labs, Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company, Aerojet, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Curriki and many more.

Other speakers included Rex Walheim, a NASA astronaut and San Francisco Bay Area native, James Norman, director of NASA’s Constellation Systems Division, Doug Comstock, director of the NASA Innovative Partnerships Program and Mike Wiskerchen, director of the California Space Grant Consortium.

The forum featured three panel discussions. The "Innovation" panel focused on the development of “green” sustainable business and technology. The "Discovery" panelists discussed the process of conducting research and how to enable the public to participate in “real” science. The "Inspiration" panel focused on education and how to motivate Americans to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields. Each panel addressed questions from a moderator and from the audience.

The San Jose Future Forum is the fifth stop of a nationwide NASA’s 50th anniversary tour that includes Seattle, Columbus, St. Louis, Miami, Boston and Chicago. Coinciding with the Future Forum, The Tech Museum displayed a variety of interactive exhibits for thousands of visiting children and teachers to learn about NASA space exploration and science.

Rachel Prucey
NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.
650-604-0643
Rachel.L.Prucey@nasa.gov