Husband and wife astronauts highlight Tulane Engineering Forum
NASA astronauts Douglas Hurley, a Tulane University graduate, and Karen Nyberg are among the featured speakers at the 16th annual Tulane Engineering Forum Friday, April 15, at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center.
The one-day conference brings together experts from around the country to share their knowledge with more than 500 professional engineers, scientists and technical managers.
Nyberg and Hurley, who are married, are the featured luncheon speakers. They will present an overview of the last 15 years of human space flight and discuss NASA’s plans for the future.
Hurley, a retired colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps, graduated magna cum laude with honors from Tulane with bachelor’s of science degree in civil engineering in 1988. He has piloted two space shuttle missions, including the last flight of the Space Shuttle Program in 2011. Nyberg became the 50th woman in space on her first mission in 2008 and spent six months on the International Space Station in 2013.
The conference includes plenary talks, panel presentations and concurrent sessions on such engineering topics as innovative infrastructure design and construction, the future of the U.S. electrical grid, coastal restoration, aerospace, innovation and energy technology and the importance of natural gas and oil to Louisiana. Case studies and current regional projects of scientific and engineering interest will also be discussed.
Other speakers include Gary LaGrange, president and CEO of the Port of New Orleans, and Terrence Chambers, director of the Center for Energy Efficiency and Sustainable Energy at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. LaGrange will discuss the widening of the Panama Canal and its impact on the Port, and Chambers will discuss engineering ethics.
The complete program along with registration information can be found online at http://tef.tulane.edu.
