Carl Sagan |
February 8, 1985
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Carl Sagan
Astrophysicist; David Duncan Professor, Cornell University; Founder, The Planetary Society; Author, The Dragons of Eden, Cosmos
Club Introduction
Our speaker for today is recently quoted as having called for a joint program to put an American and a Russian on Mars by the year 2003, to mark both the 500th anniversary of Columbus's discovery of America and the 75th anniversary of the Bolshevik revolution. Carl Sagan is the David Duncan Professor of Astronomy and Space Sciences and Director of the Laboratory for Planetary Studies at Cornell University. He has played a leading role in the Mariner, Viking and Voyager expeditions to the planets, for which he received the NASA Medal for Exceptional Scientific Achievement, the Prix Galabert International Astronautics prize, the NASA Medal for Distinguished Public Service, twice, the John F. Kennedy Astronautics Award of the American Astronautical Society, and many other awards.
His scientific research has enhanced our understanding of the greenhouse effect on Venus, dust storms on Mars, the organic clouds of Titan, the origin of life, and the search for life elsewhere. Dr. Sagan has served as the chairman of the Division of Planetary Sciences of the American Astronomical Society, as president of the Planetary Section of the American Geophysical Union, and as chairman of the Astronomy Section of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. For 12 years, he was the editor-in-chief of Icarus, the leading professional journal devoted to planetary research. He is the president of the Planetary Society, a 130,000-member organization, which is the largest space interest group in the world.
In addition to more than 400 published scientific papers and popular articles, Dr. Sagan is the author, co-author or co-editor of more than a dozen books including The Dragons of Eden for which he received the Pulitzer Prize. His Emmy and Peabody Award-winning television series "Cosmos" became the most widely watched series in the history of American public television and has now been viewed in more than 60 countries by almost 200 million people. The accompanying book, also called Cosmos, is the best-selling science book ever published in the English language.
Dr. Sagan also received the Explorers Club 75th anniversary award for achievements in furthering the spirit of exploration, and the Joseph Priestly Award for distinguished contributions to the welfare of mankind. He was responsible for the Pioneer 10 and 11 plaques and the Voyager 1 and 2 interstellar records, containing messages about ourselves, sent to other civilizations in space.
In recent years, Dr. Sagan has been engaged in research on the long-term consequences of nuclear war. Dr. Sagan's topic for today is "Nuclear War and Nuclear Winter." Please join me in welcoming astronaut Carl Sagan.
Generously funded by:
Tom Campbell
Dee Dee Myers