National Geographic's The Definitive Guide to the Milky Way Galaxy  This 80 minute video is an experiment for Farpoint – it kicks the science track off by providing a great overview of the Galaxy as we currently understand it.  We hope it serves as background review that could deepen your appreciation of some of our astronomy talks.  After you attend, feel free to let the Science Track person, Tom Donnelly, know what you think of using background videos to supplement live presentations.

The History of the Universe in 60 Minutes or Less with Eric Schulman:  Astronomer Eric Schulman will be your guide on a journey from the Big Bang 14 billion years ago to today in a presentation based on his science humor book, A Briefer History of Time.

Science Humor with Eric Schulman: Annals of Improbable Research editorial board member and contributor Dr Eric Schulman and Dr. Caroline Cox (AIR contributor) will present excerpts of their science humor book and describe the Ig Nobel Awards, which are presented by AIR each year to honor achievements that first make people laugh and then make them think.

NASA Now: Fostering Near Earth Orbital Space Commercialization with Mary Louise Davie: Discussed will be the contracts with commercial companies and the breakthroughs being made while NASA concentrates on other activities. How will this affect other space missions, manufacturing, and what hurdles still need to be overcome.

Bringing SF Products to Reality: Recent Developments & Remaining Prerequisites with Mary Louise Davie:  This talk is an experiment for Farpoint.  We hope to foster something like a seminar: an interactive discussion with the audience where the audience contributes as much as the presenter does.  We want to discuss technologies, recent developments, and specific products that illustrate cases where scientists, engineers, and companies have recently brought science fiction to reality.  It will go where the discussion leads, but we are prepared to discuss areas such as Faster Travel, Reliable Communications, Comfort, Safety, Weaponry and Energy.  Near term and longer term possibilities will be explored and expectations will be reviewed. After the panel, feel free to let the Science Track person, Tom Donnelly, know what you think about the idea of holding seminars at Farpoint.

Silicon-based life from Isaac Asimov to Star Trek and Beyond with Dr. David A. Batchelor:  Should NASA search for Si-based life in the solar system? My novel The Metalmark Contract describes a possible life form, but not life "as we know it."

What's Next for NASA with Dr. David A. Batchelor: The space agency's recent achievements,
such as landing the Mars Curiosity rover on the red planet, the
discoveries of hundreds of planets orbiting other stars are discussed.
A NASA astrophysicist comments on the future path of space exploration.

Computer Forensics (I know what you did last Summer) with David Sanders:  Ever wonder how investigators knew exactly who, where, how, when and why a suspect committed a crime with a computer?  Unbeknownst to most,  a user's digital fingerprints are all over everything he does with his computer and it can usually be traced directly back to him.  Computer Forensics is the method (and some would argue art) for the reconstruction of user activities based on digital evidence from computers, smart phones, tablets, iPods, and the like.  This presentation will give you some ideas of what is there and how law enforcement finds it.  Digital Forensics is a fascinating and growing profession!  Come see how it is done.

Internet Traces - What Other People Know About YOU! With David Sanders:  Are you worried about privacy?  Wherever we go on the Internet, we leave little bits of information about ourselves.  Some folks call that digital exhaust, and it is most useful for finding out about you and what you are doing.  Most use it for benign purposes such as picking advertising to show you.  But criminals and hackers can use it in very damaging ways such as identity theft.   Come learn what sorts of things companies, governments, and criminals know about you and how they use it so you can be knowledgeable, responsible, and safe when you use your computer.

How Star Trek Got Me Started with NASA with Dr. Patricia Cowings and Dr. Bill Toscano:  Dr Cowings is an early NASA superstar scientist and a great role model for women and minorities.  She and her husband Bill will talk about their their lives and remarkable achievements, including among other things how her interest in Star Star Trek led her to join NASA and the great things that resulted from that career choice.

Between Heaven and Earth, Between Gamma Ray and Radio Waves: Astronomical Observatory Collaborations Create New  Possibilities with Dr. Inge Heyer:  Astronomical observatories have existed since antiquity. Until fairly recently, most observing was done by visiting a given facility. In this modern space age of high tech electronic connectivity, many observing programs use multiple observatories and instruments to obtain information about the objects being studied. Observatories are linked to observe in multiple wavelengths, to increase the size of the “light-bucket”, and to take advantage of differing strengths of Earth-based and space-based platforms. We will look at a few spectacular results of these modern collaborations.

An Overview of the Cassini/Huygens Mission to Saturn and Titan with Inge Heyer:  Launched in Oct 1997, Cassini toured much of the inner Solar System as it gained enough energy to get to Saturn.  After arriving at Saturn in June of 2004, Cassini has produced one amazing discovery after another! Here, Inge recaps the grand Cassini Mission, its observations, and the Huygens probe landing on Titan.

Years of Planning, Seven Minutes of Terror: Landing Big Rovers On Mars with Dwayne Day:  Landing anything on Mars is particularly difficult.  It must be approached at interplanetary speeds that must be eliminated, and it has almost no atmosphere to help you slow down.  It is big enough that it has a lot of gravity, so you have to have a lot of fuel to fight against it and get down in a controlled way, and that means much more weight you have to fire out of Earth's gravity well in the first place.  In this talk you will hear some very entertaining stories about planning robotic missions, how much work it is, and what some of the challenges are.  Can you imagine putting years of your life into something like this?  And then it all comes down to 7 critical minutes.  Did it work or did your baby come crashing down?