Noted Science Fiction Writer Gregory Benford to Lecture at Foothill College

NOTE TO EDITORS AND NEWS DIRECTORS: Members of the news media and
public are invited to attend the final talk in this year’s 2001-2002
Silicon Valley Astronomy Lecture Series, to be held on Wednesday, May
1, at 7 p.m. PDT at Foothill College’s Smithwick Theater, Los Altos
Hills, Calif. More information is available by calling the series
hotline at 650/949-7888.

“Navigating the Gulf: The Borderline of Science and Fiction” will be
the topic of a free,
non-technical talk at 7 p.m. PDT on Wednesday, May 1, at Foothill
College in Los Altos Hills, Calif. The public is invited.

The talk will be delivered by Dr. Gregory Benford, who will discuss
how science fiction can help us understand the universe and
foreshadow events and technologies that may come to pass in the 21st
century. Benford is the author of 20 works of science fiction,
including the best-selling, “Timescape,” a classic tale of messages
across time that won the prestigious Nebula Award in 1980. Other
books by Benford include “Deep Time” and, most recently, “Eater,” a
book about black holes that has been adapted for an upcoming 4-hour
miniseries on the Fox network.

“The Silicon Valley Astronomy Lecture Series is a wonderful outreach
resource that brings the latest research in astrobiology and
astronomy to a wide audience,” said NASA Ames Center Director Dr.
Henry McDonald. “NASA Ames is proud to co-sponsor these efforts.”

Benford is currently a professor of physics and an expert in plasma
physics at the University of California, Irvine. Among his interests
are relativistic electron beams and solar sails powered by microwave
beams as a possible way to explore stars and planets.

This is the sixth and final talk in this year’s Silicon Valley
Astronomy Lecture Series, co-sponsored by NASA Ames, Foothill
College’s Division of Physical Science, Mathematics and Engineering,
the Astronomical Society of the Pacific and the SETI Institute.

The lecture series is held at Foothill College’s Smithwick Theater in
Los Altos Hills. From interstate 280, exit at El Monte Road and
travel west to the campus. Visitors must purchase a one-day
campus-parking permit for $2. Seating is on a first-come,
first-served basis. Children over the age of 13 are welcome. More
information is available by calling the series hotline at
650/949-7888.