NASA Astronaut to Speak April 14 at Colorado State University Global Climate Conference for High School Students

NASA astronaut Sally Ride will speak at the third annual Colorado Global Climate Conference for high school students – sponsored by the Colorado State University Center for Multiscale Modeling of Atmospheric Processes – on April 14 at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver.

The goal of the conference is to educate, inspire, and to empower students to be informed citizens on global climate issues.

In a letter welcoming participants, Gov. Bill Ritter said, "As the leaders of the future, it is imperative that they see firsthand the issues that will directly affect our state and nation in the coming years."

Each participant will attend three breakout sessions on such topics as:

-Acting It Out: Climate Change and Theater

-Colorado Carbon Fund

-How do People React to Climate Change?

-The Science of Climate Change

-Engines for Change: Envirofit

-Climate Change for All, More Pain for Some: Fairness in Climate Change

-Green Building

-Alternative Energy

Pre-registration is $15 per participant for students in grades 9-12 and their chaperones. Payments should be postmarked no later than April 8. Registration after April 8 is $20 at the event. For complete registration information, go to http://cmmap.colostate.edu/scienceEd/cgcc09/register.php.

Ride, a former NASA astronaut and the first American woman in space, is the president and CEO of Sally Ride Science, and a professor emeritus at the University of California, San Diego. Sally Ride Science is an innovative company dedicated to supporting girls’ and boys’ interests in math, science and technology, through their programs and publications.

The Colorado State conference is the third by the Center for Multiscale Modeling of Atmospheric Processes, a $19 million, National Science Foundation Science and Technology Center for cloud modeling based in the Department of Atmospheric Science. The center, which is directed by Professor David Randall, aims to build climate models that will more accurately depict cloud processes and improve climate and weather forecasting for scientists around the world. Last year’s event drew hundreds of high school students and featured a keynote speech by NASA astronaut Piers Sellers.

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