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OSSC January Meeting: Cutting Difficult Materials
Registration is required
Registration cancellations will be accepted until Tuesday, January 7, 2020 at 12:00 AM
Wednesday 8 January
A complete review of past/ present telescopes & the exotic materials used in them
Abstract: Astronomy is taking off with many discoveries! From black holes, to gravitational waves our scientific instruments are pushing new boundaries, but do we pay them enough attention? With a desire to get more people to follow the real stars rather than the Kardashians, we’ll review a wide variety of telescopes and draw some interesting threads thru time. As Hubble turns 30 years old in April and Spitzer Space Telescope will end its mission on 30th January, we’ll provide some humorous comparisons to what is important in our twitter feed. Join us as we anticipate the release of the decadal survey coming in mid-2020, and we’ll look at new materials which help push the limits of these telescopes. Materials like Titanium Zirconium Molybdenum (TZM) and new ways to cut Silicon Carbide or Boron Carbide with electrical discharge machining.
About Our Speaker: Kurt Ponsor has a Mechanical Engineering degree from the University of Virginia, served in the USAF as a helicopter pilot for 12 years and then returned to lead the family business at Mindrum Precision. He is proud of the Mindrum Family legacy which provided components for Apollo, Voyager and Gemini. He continues the dream of space exploration with current projects onboard the International Space Station, Mars Rover 2020, Juno, MAVEN, and WFIRST. Kurt believes the best way to push the limits of science is to combine new and old methods and minds. He wishes to travel into space himself one day and wants to increase the quantity and quality of eyes searching the stars for discoveries. He often quotes Newton, “If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.”
Reception: 6:00pm
Dinner: 7:00pm
Members: $35 Non-Members: $40
OSSC Student Members: $10
Presentation: 8:00pm