MEDIA REMINDER: UND Aerospace to host NASA rocket scientist Jack Bacon as part of North Dakota Space Grant Consortium’s ‘Visiting Scientist Series’

This in-person event is open to the public and will also be livestreamed

Who: Dr. Jack Bacon, NASA scientist

What: “Engineering Better Worlds”

Where: UND Campus, Clifford Hall, Room 210; also broadcasting via Zoom

When: Monday, Nov. 15, 2-3 p.m.

Background

The University of North Dakota will host veteran NASA rocket scientist Jack Bacon for a visit to UND Aerospace on Monday, Nov. 15. Bacon’s visit is supported by the North Dakota Space Grant Consortium and the Visiting Scientists Series out of Bismarck.

Bacon will be speaking from 2 to 3 p.m. in Clifford Hall, Room 210. The event, open to the public, will also be livestreamed. A link is available to tune into the Zoom broadcast: https://tinyurl.com/JackBacon11-15.

The Visiting Scientist Series is a partnership of Bismarck State College, Bismarck Public Schools, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, North Dakota’s Gateway to Science, ND Society of Professional Engineers (Chapter 3), State Historical Society of North Dakota, University of Mary, and United Tribes Technical College.

About Dr. Bacon

A 31-year veteran of the space agency, Bacon is presenting his talk “Engineering Better Worlds,” where he’ll address a wide range of topics that touch on space history, the International Space Station, commercial space flight, the growing orbital debris problem, improving life on Earth and more.

Bacon previously served as the U.S. Technical Integration Lead during the construction and launch of Zarya, the first module of the International Space Station, bridging all U.S. and Russian technologies and standards, according to NASA. His history with this International Space Station spanned more than 26 years, across all of its partners and systems, including projects such as EarlyComm, drag reduction concepts as well as the station’s end-of-life planning.

He is currently the safety lead for the Orbital Debris Program Office at Johnson Space Center.

For the past six years, Bacon has been coordinating national and global practices to reduce the production of orbital debris – the waste and remains of past space launches and orbiting objects such as satellites. Between his international space activities and work within Engineers Without Borders, Bacon has been in 51 countries to date – working in every facet of his career to improve life on Earth.

Bacon’s stop at UND will cap the first day of a week-long tour of North Dakota, during which the NASA scientist will speak to students of all ages, from Grand Forks to Tioga. Before his visit to UND Aerospace on Monday, Bacon will be speaking to students at Ben Franklin, Century and Discovery Elementary Schools in Grand Forks.

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