Department of Aerospace Engineering

NASA astronaut to present distinguished lecture

 

Ames, Iowa—Aerospace engineering alum and NASA astronaut Clayton Anderson will present a talk, “Dreams to Reality,” at 3:10 p.m. on Thursday, April 10, in Alliant Energy-Lee Liu Auditorium in Howe Hall on the Iowa State campus. The event, which is open to the public, is part of the Department of Aerospace Engineering’s Distinguished Lecture Series.

Anderson will share experiences from the 152 days he recently spent in space. Anderson, the first Iowa State alum to become an astronaut, began his journey onboard space shuttle Atlantis on June 8, 2007, and then spent five months on the International Space Station (ISS) as a member of the Expedition 15 and 16 crews. During his mission, he successfully completed three spacewalks for a total of 18 hours outside of the ISS, preparing the station for additional construction. Anderson returned to Earth on November 7 onboard space shuttle Discovery.

After his presentation, Anderson, who earned his MS in aerospace engineering in 1983, will be inducted into the department’s Hall of Distinguished Alumni.

Anderson will also be involved in VEISHEA activities during his visit to campus. He will give the keynote at the opening ceremony at 11:45 a.m., Friday, April 11, and he will receive the Iowa State University Distinguished Alumni Award at the university’s awards ceremony at 2:15 p.m. in the Curtiss Hall auditorium. Anderson will also serve as the VEISHEA parade grand marshal. The parade is scheduled to start at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, April 12.

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