Over billions of years of evolution, the human brain developed pursuant to nature and conditions on Earth. As our species prepares for the unprecedented challenge of exploring deep space, a series of hard questions emerge surrounding the psychological and neurobiological effects on humans. How will we respond to the profound isolation of deep space, the total separation from nature and the long-term influences of 0G (gravity)? Join an outstanding panel composed of space professionals, psychologists, and neuroscientists to discuss the potential multifaceted implications of deep space exploration on the human brain and mind.
PANELISTS:
PHILIP KRAEMER … recently retired from a 30-year career at the University of Kentucky where he most recently served as the Chellgren Endowed Chair for Undergraduate Excellence and Professor of Psychology. He previously served as Chair of the Psychology Department, Dean of Undergraduate Studies, and Associate Provost for Undergraduate Education. His most recent scholarly interests involve issues pertinent to cognitive science with a focus on the psychology of ideas and belief, the cognitive foundations of innovation, and the nature of virtual world psychology.
GREGORY SCHMIDT … Director of the Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute (SSERVI), located in the NASA Research Park at Ames Research Center. He was Co-founder of the NASA Ames Space Portal, an organization which promotes activities in Entrepreneurial Space and was one of the core team that developed the science of astrobiology in the late 1990s. Website: SSERVI Twitter: @NASA_Lunar
DIANE M. SNOW … earned a Ph.D. in Neuroscience (1990) from Case Western Reserve University with specialization in spinal cord injury (SCI) and neural regeneration. Snow served as Professor and Endowed Chair at The University of Kentucky in the Spinal Cord and Brain Injury Research Center and the Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology (1996-2016), and more recently as dean of the John V. Roach Honors College at TCU in Fort Worth, TX (2016-2021). Throughout her research Snow has maintained an interest on the role of the microgravity nervous system function…including work in collaboration with Space Tango, Inc. and the Exomedicine Institute in Lexington, KY.
ALEXANDRA (SANDRA) WHITMIRE … Deputy Element Scientist for HFBP, helping to manage an operationally-relevant science portfolio for mitigating risk for future spaceflight. Sandra’s background focuses on Experimental and Occupational Health Psychology, and she has been part of Human Health and Performance since 2006, when she began with Wyle as a research coordinator. Sandra has previously served as the Deputy Element Scientist for the Behavioral Health and Performance Element, and has worked in areas related to fatigue management, performance measurement, and behavioral countermeasures. Prior to working with NASA, she helped conduct research on projects for the State of Texas and MD Anderson.
MODERATOR:
Kris Kimel is the lead at Humanity in Deep Space and Co-founder of SpaceTango. Prior to this he started and led a range of entrepreneurial enterprises and initiatives.
