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Jordin Kare
Jordin Kare is a lapsed astrophysicist, an ex-Star Warrior, and a former freelance rocket scientist. He's proposed two different novel systems for practical, no-warp-drives interstellar propulsion. He's the designer of the Photonic Fence, which shoots down mosquitoes with laser beams (really; it's been built and works). He was founder and technical lead for Team LaserMotive, which won a $900,000 NASA prize by powering a robot up a kilometer-long cable with a laser, and is now acting CTO of LaserMotive Inc., a startup company which is commercializing laser power beaming.
In his day job, he's a senior inventor and program manager at Intellectual Ventures, and he is sole or co-inventor on over 300 patent applications.
He's a filker, though rarely an active one these days, and a regular con-goer since 1975. He's also the Chief Astrophysicist of the Royal Manticoran Astrophysics Investigation Agency, a one-time regular at Callahan's Bar, and an occasional denizen of several other fictional universes, a circumstance which he attributes to having had Ferdinand Feghoot as a thesis advisor.
Programming for Jordin Kare
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| Fri | 16:00 | (A02) | 1 hr |
Laser Launch Systems
What comes after the Shuttle? Chemical rockets may have reached their limits, but there are other ways to get to space. In laser launch, small single-stage rockets, powered from the ground by an array of high-power lasers, can go directly from the ground to low Earth orbit -- and proving the technology takes millions, not billions, of dollars. Beamed energy propulsion is heating up (as it were) with serious NASA interest for the first time in many years. Come hear how it works, and how it might be built. |
| Sat | 14:00 | (A16) | 1 hr |
After the Shuttle: Our Next Spacecraft
The Space Shuttle Program is preparing for its last flights - what will replace it? And what other spacecraft and launch mechanisms are on the horizon? |
| Sat | 16:00 | (A10) | 1 hr |
Poul Anderson: A Retrospective on His Life and Works
Poul Anderson was one of our greatest writers, producing numerous classics in both SF and fantasy. He also contributed to fandom in many ways, writing filk songs, helping to found the SCA, and being a well-remembered convention attendee. The panel looks back on all of Anderson's contributions. |