Dec 31, 2005 - Claremont, Calif. -

Looking Back and Looking Ahead

Dr. Bruce J. Nelson '74 Distinguished Speaker Series Spring 2006

Wednesday, January 25, 7 p.m.

Galileo Hall

Harvey Mudd College

"Education Reform as Social Engineering"

George "Pinky" Nelson '72

Director of Science, Mathematics, and Technology Education at Western Washington University and former NASA Astronaut

George "Pinky" Nelson '72, has transformed from astronomer to astronaut to educator to education reformer/social scientist to his current incarnation as a social engineer.

He says, "While we do an OK job at teaching science to the 'best' students -- those that go to HMC for example -- we do a pitiful job of teaching much at all about science beyond a few big words that float in students' minds like raisins, unconnected to each other or any other ideas."

The negative consequences of universal science ignorance are profound for the nation and the planet, but "fixing" science education is a complex challenge. According to Nelson, a systems engineering perspective has the best potential for proposing, testing and implementing real changes.

After graduating from HMC in 1972 with a bachelor's degree in physics, Nelson earned his master's and doctoral degrees in astronomy from the University of Washington. Later, he was assistant provost and professor of astronomy at the university from 1989 to 1996. As a NASA astronaut, Nelson flew on three shuttle missions in 1984, 1986 and 1988, logging a total of 411 hours of space flight time.

Live webcast

You can also view the lecture live on our webcast:

http://www.hmc.edu/fifty/webcast/index.html

Remote Q and A

Remote viewers can ask the speaker a question by sending an e-mail to:

hmcnews@hmc.edu

Your question will be read to the speaker during the question-and-answer portion of the program. Please send your question any time prior to the event, but no later that 7:30 p.m. PST, and identify yourself in your message by name, city and state, affiliation with the college and class year (if applicable). Because of the number of questions we might receive and possible delays in receiving your message, we cannot guarantee your question will be included in the program.

The Spring 2006 Dr. Bruce J. Nelson '74 Distinguished Speaker Series highlights Harvey Mudd College alumni and their cutting-edge work in engineering, science and mathematics. The lectures are free and open to the public and are held in Galileo Hall on the Harvey Mudd College campus, 301 Platt Boulevard, Claremont, Calif. All lectures are held at 7 p.m. and will be followed by a dessert reception. For more information, call 909/607-7924 or visit the series Web site: http://www.hmc.edu/fifty/events.html#nelson.