Engineering Exploration Lecture Series

Students preparing to build in Peru

What really is the difference between mechanical engineering and electrical engineering? What is project based engineering? What innovations are happening in the field of engineering? Engineering Exploration will bring you 10 different experts from the University of Colorado Boulder in varied departments of engineering to answer these kinds of questions. Whether you are a high school student trying to decide if engineering is for you or simply excited to stay engaged with breaking technology in the college, Engineering Exploration is for you.

All donations benefit CU Engineers Without Borders, a student group which originated here at CU to provide access to basic humans needs for thousands of people across the world and to educate a generation of socially responsible engineers. Your support of this program helps us build much needed infrastructure in Nepal, Rwanda, Puerto Rico and Guatemala where our teams affect over 3,000 people each year.

Schedule

All lectures will take place on Wednesday nights 

February 24th: Scott Tibbitts 6:00pm-7:00pm

March 3rd: Dr. Michael Hannigan 5:30pm-6:30pm

March 10th: Dr. Bruce Jakosky - Mars Exploration: 2021 and Beyond - 6:00pm-7:00pm

March 17th: Dr. Dennis McCarthy 6:00pm-7:00pm

Speakers

Scott Tibbitts

Scott is currently the Managing Director for the company SpaceDev Inc., an aerospace company that provides innovative microsatellites, hybrid propulsion and spacecraft mechanisms to the global aerospace industry. Mr. Tibbitts was the founder and CEO of Starsys Research Corporation in Boulder, Colorado. It has grown to become a world-class supplier of mechanical systems and actuators for spacecraft on completion of the merger. Mr. Tibbitts is also the Executive Director of eSpace: The Center for Space Entrepreneurship; a not-for-profit partnership of the University of Colorado and SpaceDev, chartered with accelerating the creation of entrepreneurial space companies and the workforce that supports them.

Scott Tibbits

Michael Hannigan

Dr. Hannigan is the Chair of the Mechanical Engineering department at CU Boulder. Focusing on air quality, Dr. Hannigan's research addresses the characterization and abatement of air pollution, the impact of air quality on health, and the energy links to air quality. In addition to his research, professor Hannigan works to  provide air-quality based outreach programs for first and developing worlds. 

Image of Micheal Hannigan

Bruce Jakosky - Mars Exploration: 2021 and Beyond

Dr. Jakosky's research focuses on understanding the nature of planetary surfaces and atmospheres and the possibility for the existence of life in the universe.  He is Principal Investigator on the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) mission, orbiting Mars since 2014 and focused on studying the loss of Mars' atmosphere to space. His department topic areas are in Cosmochemistry & Planetary Geology as well as Astrobiology. HisPh.D. and training was received at Caltech in 1982.

bruce

Dr. Dennis McCarthy

 Dr. Dennis McCarthy is a former Director of Time at the United States Naval Observatory. Originally, hired as an astronomer, Dr. McCarthy has held a multitude of various roles at the U.S. Naval Observatory as well as serving as editor for “Time and the Earth’s Rotation” and “Variation in Earth’s Rotation.” Dr. McCarthy also works for the International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service.