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Sky Rider: Park Van Tassel and the Rise of Ballooning in the West

Sky Rider: Park Van Tassel and the Rise of Ballooning in the West Online

*This event will be livestreamed via Zoom. Registration is required. See below for details.

Balloon Fiesta will be here soon! Join us for a virtual author talk with Dr. Gary B. Fogel and learn about how the fascinating legacy of ballooning in the American West links back to the 1880s and a man by the name of Park Van Tassel. Through his pioneering flight, Van Tassel not only opened the skies to future generations across New Mexico—he also opened minds throughout his extensive travels to the possibility of manned flight. Learn more about this fascinating P. T. Barnum–like showman who—in addition to co-inventing the parachute—took his concept of aerial exhibition on the road and set the stage for one of New Mexico's favorite annual events. 

Dr. Fogel is CEO of Natural Selection, Inc. in San Diego, focusing on broad applications of machine learning. With a diverse background in biology and earth science as well as aerospace, Dr. Fogel has many interests including the evolution of flight, the use of biomimicry for aerospace engineering, and the history of motorless aviation. He has established 12 world records and over 60 national records for aeromodels. His Altostratus I radio-controlled model sailplane is on exhibit at the National Aerospace Museum's Udvar-Hazy Center in Virginia as an example of rapid low-cost, low-risk prototyping. He has also authored several books on the history of aviation. As Adjunct Faculty at San Diego State University, he teaches a freshman introductory course on aerospace engineering in the Fall semester. He is a Fellow of the IEEE, an Associate Fellow of the AIAA, and Fellow of the Academy of Model Aeronautics. He enjoys volunteering on the AIAA History Committee.

Registration Information: 

This event is free to the public and will take place online via the Zoom platform. Registration is required to attend. Please click the blue "Begin Registration" button below to get started. Upon completing registration, you will immediately receive an email from "LibCal" that will contain a Zoom link and passcode to join the event. You will also recieve subsequent reminders as the event date gets closer. Do you have questions or need help with registration? Please call (505) 662-8257.

Date:
Thursday, August 25, 2022
Time:
7:00pm - 8:00pm
Time Zone:
Mountain Time - US & Canada (change)
Branch:
Mesa Public Library
Online:
This is an online event. Event URL will be sent via registration email.
Audience:
  adults     seniors (55+)  
Categories:
  adult     registration required     virtual- streaming  
Registration has closed.

Event Organizer

Eva Jacobson

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