Popular presentations:

Space history:

  • The First Space Race:  From the V-2 to Vanguard—the decade of competition that led to Sputnik
  • White suit, Red suit: the American and Soviet human spaceflight programs, from Mercury to the Moon Landing
  • Shattered Dreams (or why Elon Musk isn’t going to get us to Mars): How the promise of cheap spaceflight continues to elude us
  • The first giant leap: paving the way to the Moon with robots: Pioneers, Rangers, and Lunas, oh my!
  • Unveiling the Gods: interplanetary probes to Venus, Mars, and beyond!

Astronomy:

  • Strange New Worlds: How we discovered the planets beyond our solar system, and the exotic secrets they hold
  • The Hell Up There: the discovery and importance of the Van Allen radiation belts that girdle the globe
  • The coolest planets…are moons! The exotic worlds of Europa, Enceladus, and Titan, and the prospect for life beyond Earth

Social science:

  • Hidden Figures: the Women Pioneers of Space Science and Science Fiction, and why history would not have happened without them
  • What Science Fiction got Wrong…and Right! (and how you make the future) — doomsday predictions of the past and present, and how we avoid catastrophe
  • Better than Dune (or you can trust science fiction over 30!) — the best SFF of the ’50s and ’60s, and why they’re relevant today
  • Lost Continent(s): Atlantis, Mu, and More! The best civilizations are Under the Sea
  • Where We Came From: the discovery of hominid fossils over time, and how they changed our understanding of human evolution

2025

April 2, 2025 | California State University, San Marcos, CA — Shattered Dreams: How the promise of cheap spaceflight continues to elude us

March 19, 2025 | California State University, San Marcos, CA — The coolest planets…are moons! The exotic worlds of Europa, Enceladus, and Titan

February 25, 2025 | UCSD – The Women Pioneers of Space Science

2024

November 20, 2024 | San Diego Anime Con, San Diego, CA — Featured Guest

October 30, 2024 | California State University, San Marcos, CA — All We Did was Go to the Moon — Apollo and Soyuz

October 22, 2024 | Carlsbad by the Sea – The first giant leap (part 2): Stepping Stones to the Moon — Gemini and Voskhod

September 24, 2024 | Carlsbad by the Sea – The first giant leap (part 1): Stepping Stones to the Moon — Mercury and Vostok

September 23, 2024 | Brookdale Senior Community, San Marcos, CA – Strange New Worlds: our Solar System

August 27, 2024 | Carlsbad by the Sea – The first giant leap (part 2): Robots to the Moon–Pioneers, Rangers, and Lunas

August 22, 2024 | Carlsbad by the Sea – The first giant leap (part 1): Robots to the Moon–Pioneers, Rangers, and Lunas

May 28, 2024 | Carlsbad by the Sea – Better than Dune (or you can trust science fiction over 30!) — the best SFF of the ’50s and ’60s

May 6, 2024 | Brookdale Senior Community, San Marcos, CA – The Women Pioneers of Space Science

April 23, 2024 | Carlsbad by the Sea – The Hell Up There: the discovery and importance of the Van Allen Belts

April 20, 2024 | Fangaea, San Diego, CA – Featured Guest

April 10, 2024 | Carlsbad by the Sea – What Science Fiction got wrong…and right—(and how you make the future) Part 2

March 26, 2024 | Carlsbad by the Sea – What Science Fiction got wrong…and right—(and how you make the future)

March 15-17, 2024 | Escapade, Los Angeles, CA – Panelist

March 5, 2024 | California State University, San Marcos, CA – The First Space Race:  1945 – 1957

February 27, 2024 | Carlsbad by the Sea – The Women Pioneers of Space Science

February 21, 2024 | California State University, San Marcos, CA – What Science Fiction got wrong…and right—doomsday predictions of the past and present

January 16, 2024 | Carlsbad by the Sea – Strange New Worlds: Exoplanets

January 2, 2024 | Carlsbad by the Sea – Strange New Worlds: our Solar System

2023

November 18-19, 2023 | Anime Con, San Diego, CA – Panelist

November 15, 2023 | California State University, San Marcos, CA – Strange New Worlds: How we Discovered the Planets Beyond
our Solar System, and the Exotic Secrets They Hold

October 14, 2023 | Animeland, Escondido, CA – Performer

September 20, 2023 | California State University, San Marcos, CA – Women of Space; Women of Science Fiction: The pivotal
Hidden Figures of the mid-20th Century

September 1-4, 2023 | Cokocon, Tempe, AZ – Guest

July 1-4, 2023 | Baycon, San Mateo, CA – Featured Guest

June 24, 2023 | North Park Book Fair 2023, San Diego, CA – Exhibitor

June 3, 2023 | Once Upon a Book Fair 2023, Escondido, CA – Exhibitor

May 16, 2023 | O’Farrell Charter High School Student Networking Event, San Diego

April 29, 2023 | Fangaea, San Diego, CA – Featured Guest

April 11, 2023 | California State University, San Marcos, CA – The First Giant Leap: Pioneer and Ranger

March 8, 2023 | California State University, San Marcos, CA – Stepping stones to the Moon: Mercury and Gemini

March 3-5, 2023 | Escapade, Los Angeles, CA – Panelist

February 25, 2023 | Black Nerds Expo, Mira Costa, CA – Exhibitor

January 27, 2023 | San Diego Library – Local Author Showcase

 

2022

October 3, 2022 | Reuben H. Fleet Space Theater, San Diego – Stepping stone to the Moon:  Project Gemini

September 1-5, 2022 | Worldcon, Chicago – Panels on space history, publishing, and classic SFF & anime

July 1-4, 2022 | Baycon, San Mateo – Guest

May 17th, 2022 | AbSciCon 2022, Atlanta – Life is Groovy: Astrobiology in the 1960s

 

2021

October 26th, 2021 | Georgia Tech, Atlanta – What Science Fiction Got Wrong…and Right! (and how you make the future)

 

2020

December 9th, 2020 | Worldbuilders, Minnesota – Galactic Journey Telethon: A Time Traveling Fundraiser

June 8th, 2020 | Reuben H. Fleet Space Theater, San Diego – The women who pioneered space

April 17th, 2020 | Space Cowboy Stage, Joshua Tree, CA – What Science Fiction Got Wrong…and Right! (and how you make the future)

February 19th, 2020 | Gloria McClellan Senior Center, Vista, CA – Apollo: How we got to the Moon, and what happened after

February 7th, 2020 | Wavelength Science Friday, Vista, CA – Unveiling the planet of love: Mariner 2’s flight to Venus

 

2019

December 14th | Borrego Library – The Women who pioneered space

December 6th | Wavelength Science Friday, Vista, CA – The first giant leap — Ranger to the Moon

December 5th | Vista Library – What Science Fiction Got Wrong…and Right! (and how you make the future)

November 10th | Space Cowboy Stage, Joshua Tree, CA – The Women who pioneered space

September 7th | Wavelength Science Friday, Vista, CA – Science in the Zone: The Twilight Zone and Science Fiction

July 13th | San Diego County Library, Rancho San Diego – Apollo: How we got to the Moon, and what happened after

June 7th | Wavelength Science Friday, Vista, CA – The hell up there: the discovery of the Van Allen Belts

May 16th | Reuben H. Fleet Space Theater, San Diego – Exploring space in a Tin Can: How Mercury and Vostok opened up the universe forever

March 3rd | Wavelength Science Friday, Vista, CA – The Women who pioneered space

 

2018

December 7th | Wavelength Science Friday, Vista, CA – John F. Kennedy: An administrative legacy

September 7th | Wavelength Science Friday, Vista, CA – What Science Fiction Got Wrong…and Right! (and how you make the future)

August 17th | Worldcon (San Jose, CA) – Come Time Travel with Me: Science fiction in the Silver Age (1950-1963)

June 22nd | Wavelength Science Friday, Vista, CA – The Mercury Seven

March 2nd | Wavelength Science Friday, Vista, CA – An Introduction to Time Travel: Galactic Journey to the early 1960s

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