Langley Research Center's Colloquium series turns 30 this month. It's a
bit ironic, given that the idea for the series was borne of an
initiative called the "Under 30 Panel."
In April of 1971, then Center Director Ed Cortright invited several
young employees - hence the name "Under 30 Panel" - to an off-Center
retreat to brainstorm ideas on how to improve the Center. Sheila
Thibeault, who worked in the Environmental and Space Sciences Division,
suggested a lecture series in a modest little talk entitled "Our Little
Corner of the World."
"The idea was to bring in speakers who could give us insights into
exciting research taking place in other laboratories," said Thibeault,
who now works in Langley's Advanced Materials and Processing Branch.
Cortright liked the idea. He called Thibeault himself to tell her he
appointed a committee and wanted her to run the first meeting. Six
months later, on Oct. 18, the Center hosted its first Colloquium
lecture: Wernher von Braun speaking about "The U.S. Space Program
Through the '70s."
The lecture, which was held in the Activities Building (which is now the
H.J.E. Reid Conference Center), drew a standing-room-only crowd, even
after Cortright ruled that only non-supervisory personnel could attend.
More lectures followed: Barry Bruce-Briggs of Hudson Institute spoke in
November on "The Year 2000," and Massachusetts Institute of Technology
professor Marvin Minsky spoke in December on "Artificial Intelligence."
With only a few interruptions - including last month's lecture, which
was to have taken place on Sept. 11, the day of the terrorist attacks in
New York and Washington, D.C. - the lectures have continued once a month
for 30 years.
"Sometimes," Thibeault said, "we have squeaked in an extra one or two."
The list of Colloquium speakers is impressive, to say the least. In
addition to the dozens of scientific "experts," the series has attracted
household names like Carl Sagan, Isaac Asimov, James Michener, R.
Buckminster Fuller, Jacques Yves Cousteau, William F. Buckley, Vice Adm.
James Stockdale, Alex Haley, Mary Leakey, Arthur C. Clarke and Edwin
"Buzz" Aldrin. (For a complete list of lecturers, visit the Colloquium
Web site at http://shemesh.larc.nasa.gov/Lectures/.)
All of the lectures are funded by Langley's Employee Development Branch.
"For 30 years," Thibeault said, "we have operated with funding provided
by that branch, and for 30 years Millie Boone has processed the
paperwork for our speakers. It is virtually unchanged."
Two things have changed: The committee that plans the lectures has grown
to 18 members to reflect Langley's more diverse workforce, and an
evening lecture series was added, cancelled and added again to make
lectures that are of interest to the general public accessible
off-Center.
The first public lecture series, "Our Future in the Cosmos," began in
1974 and ran for 10 years. Co-sponsored by the College of William and
Mary, the lectures took place in the evening at Hampton Coliseum. A few,
including Cousteau's 1979 lecture, drew full houses to the 13,800-seat
venue.
Budget cuts forced "Our Future in the Cosmos" to stop in 1984, but the
public lectures reappeared a few years later under the name "Sigma
Series." The Sigma lectures, which are funded by Langley's Office of
External Affairs, continue to this day and are co-sponsored the Daily
Press and the Virginia Air and Space Center, which hosts the lectures in
its 400-seat IMAX theater. (Due to heightened security on-Center,
retirees who have attended the daytime lectures now are encouraged to
attend the Sigma lectures instead.)
Although Thibeault has served on the Colloquium Committee since its
inception, she has not been to every lecture. Her favorite was
Cousteau's lecture on "Space and the Oceans." "It was probably the most
dynamic," she said. "It brought tears to my eyes."
She also recalled that Cousteau was "very hard" to get and that he
didn't accept a lecturer's fee.
"However," she said, "the first program was hard to beat."
Dana Dunham, the assistant director of Langley's Airborne Systems
Competency, has served on the Colloquium Committee for 10 years. (She
also was among those fortunate enough to see von Braun's inaugural
lecture.) This month, after fulfilling a two-year term as Chair of the
Colloquium Committee, she turns over the position to Arlene Levine.
Dunham's most memorable lecture was Carleen Hutchins' presentation on
"Acoustics and the Violin - Past, Present and Future" in 1999. She
remembers it because it was very long - possibly the longest - and one
of the hardest to plan: Arrangements had to be made to transport six of
Hutchins' stringed instruments from New Jersey, and three members of the
Williamsburg Symphonia were commissioned to perform at the lecture.
(Incidentally, videotapes of the Colloquium lectures are available in
the Technical Library; Hutchins' lecture is one of the most requested.)
Susan Palmer of Langley's Model Systems Branch, who also has served on
the Colloquium Committee for 10 years and is the immediate past Chair,
has especially fond memories of two lecturers that she hosted: Bradford
W. Parkinson and W. David Lewis. She remembers succeeding in getting
Parkinson "the father of GPS," to speak about "The Origins, Evolution
and Future of Satellite Navigation" in 1997. She also remembers Lewis,
who spoke about "The Disappearance and Rescue of Eddie Rickenbacker in
World War II" in 1999, because she and her husband, Mike Palmer of
Langley's Crew Systems and Operations Branch, met as students in one of
Lewis' classes at Auburn University. (Mike was never an official member
of the Colloquium Committee, but he created the Web site in 1994 and
maintained it for several years before Susan took over.)
Thibeault, Dunham and Palmer all claim that the best part of serving on
the Colloquium Committee is meeting the lecturers. "They've all been
down to earth, humble and personable," Thibeault said. "It's been a true
pleasure."
Langley employee Joel S. Levine will deliver the 30th anniversary
lecture, "Mars: A Strange and Complex Planet," on Oct. 15. The
Colloquium Committee also has more special events planned for next year.
Beginning in January, the committee will bring back three former
lecturers: Minsky will speak in January, Phillip Morrison will speak in
February, and Ray Bradbury will speak in March.
The Colloquium Committee welcomes employees' suggestions for lecturers
and/or topics. To make a suggestion, contact one of the committee
members listed online at http://shemesh.larc.nasa.gov/Lectures/members.htm.