JPL’s Jia-Rui Chong Cook

Can I Offer You Some Earplugs?

Jia-Rui Chong Cook is a media relations specialist for the outer solar system at Jet Propulsion Laboratory and a former Los Angeles Times reporter—as well as a one-time Jeopardy! contestant. Before moderating a panel on what we lose if we don’t go to space, she talked in the Zócalo green room about her deep knowledge of indie music—unfortunately from two years ago—and her love of graffiti, especially when it comes to the walls of public bathrooms—and her childhood bedroom.

January 29, 2013

The Planetary Society’s Louis Friedman

I’ve Got a Lot of Nerve, I’ll Tell You

January 28, 2013

Louis Friedman is co-founder of The Planetary Society and a longtime space engineer. Before participating in a panel on the importance of NASA, he sat down in the Zócalo green …

Rocketdyne VP John Vilja

A Native Californian Who’s Never Seen the Point of Leaving

January 24, 2013

John Vilja, a San Fernando Valley native, is vice president of strategy, innovation, and growth at Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, where he has worked for 30 years. Before participating in …

These Days, Darwin Would Need To Know More About Jupiter

What Can Astronomers Teach Biologists?

January 10, 2013

The more we learn about the universe, the more it looks like the building blocks of life—organic molecules, amino acids, planets near a sun—are present throughout. Much of what we …

Life After the Space Shuttle, Information Overload, and the Black Death

January 9, 2013

Mankind Beyond Earth: The History, Science, and Future of Human Space Exploration by Claude A. Piantadosi

The nutshell: The space shuttle fleet has been retired—but where are we off to next, …

NASA Mohawk Guy

Bobak Ferdowsi Used To Play With Legos. Now He Plays on Mars.

December 14, 2012

Bobak Ferdowsi, also known as, “NASA Mohawk Guy,” is flight director of the Mars Curiosity rover. Before participating in a panel on what we stand to lose if we don’t go to …

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