Dr. John Bacon, the systems integration engineer for NASA's International Space Station Program, will speak at 8 p.m. Friday [OCT. 30] at East Central University as part of the Homecoming Physics Reunion celebrating 100 years of physics at ECU.
Bacon will present "The Physics of Space Flight" in the Estep Multimedia Center in the University Center. His lecture is open to the public. He will discuss the simple rule of space travel, why it costs so much, what we've learned and where we're going, and how the International Space Station is teaching the world many new things about the high frontier.
His current assignment is leading the Space Environments team of the Vehicle Integrated Performance, Environments and Resources (VIPER) team in the International Space Station Program Office. He also holds a seat on the ISS Executive International Mission Management Team.
Bacon has been at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston since 1990 with numerous assignments in the integration of all United States and international systems contributions to the ISS program. He was the U.S. lead systems integrator of the Zarya, the jointly built spacecraft that forms the central bridge and adapter between all American and Russian technologies on the space station.
He is the author of numerous technical papers and three popular books addressing technology, its pace of development and its impact on society. He has appeared on several radio and television programs and documentaries and is a motivational speaker on the topics of technology and its impacts on society. He has spoken in more than 38 countries.
Bacon's numerous awards include NASA's Exceptional Achievement Medal, the Silver Snoopy Award, a Johnson Space Center Certificate of Commendation and two NASA Outstanding Speaker awards.
He holds a bachelor's degree in engineering from the California Institute of Technology, a master's degree in engineering applied science from the University of Rochester and a Ph.D. in engineering & applied science from the University of Rochester.
Before joining NASA, Bacon was a systems engineer at Xerox Corporation, heavily involved in copier design, fluid mechanics, deployment of artificial intelligence systems, office automation, intercontinental and interoffice networking, CAD/CAM, and quality management practices.
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