FROM ROCKS TO ROCKETS: The Evolution of space-borne remote sensing in defining Asia‘s most important river sources

FROM ROCKS TO ROCKETS: The Evolution of space-borne remote sensing in defining Asia‘s most important river sources Fountainside Chat with Martin Ruzek From a farm boy in Wisconsin to degrees in Geology and Geochemistry at Caltech, Martin Ruzek joined NASA Jet Propulsion Lab Shuttle Imaging Radar Group as an experiemnt scientist in the 1980s. He used the then lastest remote sensing technology to assist How Man reached a new source of the Yangtze in his 1985 National Geographic Expedition. In this Fountainside chat, Martin will explain the evolution of space-borne remote sensing, applying it in defining Asia’s most important river sources, the Yangtze (2005), Mekong (2007) and Yellow (2008). Martin joined How Man’s multiple river source expeditions and provided geo-referenced Lanset and topography base maps of the regions with real-time GPS tracking, bringing the reality of boots on the ground to pixels on the screen and experiencing the uniqueness of the place that is the source of the river, long before the age of phone-based Google Earth. Speaker: Martin Ruzek Former scientist at NASA Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL) Retired Director of Program Developemnt, Universities Space Research Association Dr. Wong How Man Chair Explorer, WHMCfE, HKU Founder & President, China Exploration & Research Society Date: Sept 27, 2024 (Fri) Time: 6:00-7:30pm 6:00pm Chit-chat @Fountain outside MB119, Main Building 6:30pm Sharing @MB150, Main buiding Language: English Fee: Free of charge Registration not required; All are welocme Enquiry: lorshan@hku.hk