HOUSTON, May 29, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NASA astronaut and New York native Mike Massimino will return to his alma mater Columbia University June 2 as part of the Dean's Day Public Intellectual Lectures.
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20081007/38461LOGO)
The joint presentation with Janna Levin, associate professor of physics and astronomy at Columbia's Barnard College, entitled "Why Explore Space?" will begin at 10:30 a.m. EDT in the Davis Auditorium at the Schapiro Center for Engineering and Physical Science Research on Columbia's Morningside Heights campus at Broadway and 116th Street in Manhattan, N.Y.
During the presentation, Massimino and Levin will discuss various aspects of space exploration from the most practical to the unimaginable. The presentation is open to Columbia alumni and their guests. Media are invited to attend.
Massimino is a 1984 graduate of Columbia University where he received a Bachelor of Science in industrial engineering. He continued his studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he received three master's degrees and a doctorate.
In 1996, Massimino was selected as an astronaut candidate by NASA. The two-time spaceflight veteran has logged 571 hours and 47 minutes in space and accumulated 30 hours and 4 minutes during four spacewalks.
For more information about this appearance or to schedule an interview with Massimino, contact Brenda Cabaniss, publicist, Astronaut Appearances Office, at 281-244-8860 or Jennifer Freely, Columbia Alumni Affairs, at 212-851-7438.
For more about Massimino, visit:
http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/massimin.html
For more about Columbia's Dean's Day 2012 activities, visit:
https://alumni.college.columbia.edu/deansday/
SOURCE NASA
