Humans Vs Robots #386
September 09, 2016
This week we're airing a recorded panel, moderated by Desiree Schell, from the recent Skepchickcon track at CONvergence 2016 in Bloomington, Minnesota. Human spaceflight captures the imagination like nothing else, but robotic probes have explored the Solar System with relative ease. We'll weigh the costs and benefits of sending humans to other planets versus sending our robotic proxies. Panelists include Amy Shira Teitel, space flight historian and author; blogger and podcaster Jim Tigwell; astronomer Nicole Gugliucci; and Jason Thibeault, I.T. systems engineer and space nerd.
Special thanks to Kevin Eldridge and The Flopcast, who helped us record panels when our equipment failed!
Guests:
- Amy Shira Teitel
- Jim Tigwell
- Nicole Gugliucci
- Jason Thibeault
Guest Bios
Amy Shira Teitel
Amy Shira Teitel is a space flight historian, blogger, YouTuber, and all-around professional space history nerd. She is the author of the book "Breaking the Chains of Gravity: The Story of Spaceflight Before NASA", and the upcoming book "Apollo Pilot: The Memoir of Astronaut Donn Eisel".
Jim Tigwell
Jim Tigwell writes for Mad Art Lab, and is the survivor of two philosophy degrees. He spends his days solving interesting problems in software. By night he can be found at poetry slams and whatever art opening has the strangest cheese selection. Host of the biweekly Concept Crucible podcast and occasional blogger, Jim is also a juggler, musician, magician, and maker of digital things. If the software and internet game doesn’t pan out, he’s determined to be a great Canadian vampire hunter.
Nicole Gugliucci
Nicole Gugliucci is an assistant professor of physics and astronomy at Saint Anselm College in New Hampshire. Her research interests include extragalactic radio astronomy, instrumentation, citizen science, and science education. She loves to teach, both in a classroom setting and informally. She also blogs as the Noisy Astronomer.
Jason Thibeault
Jason Thibeault is a computer nerd and amateur space and science lover. His day job as systems engineer for a website hosting company involves automating hundreds of servers. He blogs as the Lousy Canuck at The Orbit.
