Speaker: Steve Murray – NASA Solar System Ambassador
Topic: New Concepts in Astrobiology (Biosignature and Tech Signature Methods)
Abstract: Dr. Murray discusses new techniques for finding signatures of exoplanet life
An SDAA member and popular speaker, Steve Murray, a NASA Solar System Ambassador, has been a space enthusiast since the Apollo era, and counted several Space Shuttle astronauts as friends during his years flying in Navy fighters. His interests in science later carried him to an engineering PhD and a research career in government, where he studied human decision-making, team processes, and stress. He wound up his career as a visiting professor, teaching systems engineering, system modeling, and human factors. Steve is currently a freelance science writer and science blogger. Throughout his life, Steve kept an eye on space – literally – as an amateur astronomer and space buff. He’s been to Iceland and Alaska in search of the aurora borealis, and traveled to Chile’s Atacama Desert to tour some of the world’s biggest telescopes.