| Broadcast
730 (Special Edition) |  Listen to the show! | | Aired on June 12th, 2007 | | Guests: Jessy Cowan-Sharp, Andrew Hoppin, Robbie Schingler |
| Andrew Hoppin, Robbie Schingler, and Jessy Cowan-Sharp joined The Space Show for this program which focused on the innovative NASA Ames CoLab (Collaborative Space Exploration Laboratory) project. To follow this discussion and to learn more about CoLab, including subscribing to the CoLab newsletter, visit http://colab.arc.nasa.gov. We started this program with Andrew giving us a comprehensive introduction and description for the CoLab program, the need and purpose for virtual and open source projects and Second Life. The three guests then described the current projects CoLab is undertaking, including CosmosCode which will build a core offering of free and open source space software through an independent project hosting website, and the development and management of a free software community specific to the challenges and opportunities afforded by space. They also have the Project Collaboration Software program which is open-source software to help mixed teams of NASA and non-NASA participants brainstorm, create and execute new CoLab projects. CoLab also forges international partnerships and we talked about international participation during the program. Several listener questions were directed at why NASA Ames was supporting a program like CoLab and the virtual participation in Second Life and wanted to know if other NASA centers were involved along with their center directors. Also, a few listeners wanted to know if NASA Administrator Dr. Griffin had provided feedback or participation in the virtual efforts of CoLab. Listen to what our guest say about this. Questions about the participation and support level for CoLab by Ames Administrator General Pete Worden came up and we learned that General Worden delivered a talk about CoLab in the virtual world of Second Life, including avatars, at the ISDC conference. You can see this speech from the CoLab website, the specific link is http://colab.arc.nasa.gov/node/59 which then plays the video from Google video. You can also go directly to Google video and search for it or use http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6450672975119560695&hl=en. I suggest listeners see this video and hear what Ames Director Pete Worden has to say about CoLab which is partnering with various technologies and the entrepreneurial community.
As each of our guests pointed out, there is substantial collaboration with the San Francisco Bay Area entrepreneurial community and other communities can certainly model similar relationships for partnering efforts around the country. Listeners seemed to grasp the potential of this collaborative virtual project for modeling Mars projects, lunar settlement projects and much more, even for science learning and for school outreach to help inspire kids to study math, science, and more. You will want to learn about this potential and the way CoLab is bringing this to our reality right now. CoLab also sponsors events and we talked about the specific event, Luna Philosophie. This is held each month in San Francisco and features a NASA scientist speaking on a topic of interest to a group representative of the dynamic communities in the Bay Area at the entrepreneurial center Citizenspace. This event, while in the Bay Area once a month on the full moon, can easily be replicated in other cities with NASA centers or even colleges, universities, museums, or where there are interesting speakers for the program. Check out projects at the CoLab website. In conjunction with a question that I asked Andrew, Jessy, and Robbie, then with a question from listener Carl, each was asked for their sense and perception of how their involvement in CoLab and bringing the virtual and future open-source worlds to our reality now was in fact helping to change the world, just as TV and the internet did for previous generations. You will want to hear each guest respond to these questions which is actually more comprehensive than I am including in this short show description. This theme is picked up by each guest when each provides us with a concluding statement at the end of the program. Jessy, Andrew, and Robbie told us about the weekly CoLab meetings in Second Life that are open to everyone. These meetings take place at 1PM Pacific Time and you will learn how to attend and participate during the show as our guests frequently mention the meetings and their availability for us all. If you have any questions or comments or want to learn more about how to attend the Tuesday meetings, there is a feedback form on the CoLab website, http://colab.arc.nasa.gov/feedback and you can use it. Mention The Space Show up front in your message. Andrew also provides an email address on the CoLab website so you can contact Andrew Hoppin, ahoppin@arc.nasa.gov. As always, you can send your comments to our guests through me at drspace@thespaceshow.com and I will forward to each of them. |
| About our guests... |
Jessy Cowan-Sharp
Jessy Cowan-Sharp has a background in math and physics. She worked for several years on space security policy and has been at NASA Ames working on CoLab since June, 2006. Her focus within the NASA CoLab project is on technology platforms needed to implement participatory exploration-- in particular, managing the CosmosCode project and working with virtual worlds as a way to enable "everyone to go to space". Andrew Hoppin
Andrew Hoppin is one of the co-founders of the http://colab.arc.nasa.gov CoLab project at NASA Ames Research Center, where he focuses on forging partnerships between NASA and external communities such as the entrepreneurial community of the San Francisco Bay Area, the global open-source software movement, and space advocates in the virtual world http://www.secondlife.com Second Life. Previously, he co-founded and directed business development for GoodStorm, a progressive eCommerce venture that helps organizations raise money to support themselves, and directed business strategy for CivicSpace Labs, a developer of software and communities for online organizing and advocacy. Andrew has also co-founded an open-source software consulting firm for political campaigns and non-profit organizations Trellon and a geographic information firm N Space Labs, and an aerospace consulting firm MoonFront . In 2003, Andrew founded New York for Clark and later joined the staff to help manage the campaign's voter data and the nation's first open-source campaign software volunteer program . Andrew serves on the Advisory Boards of the Space Generation Foundation , The Yearly Kos Convention , Yenza and the New Organizing Institute. Andrew is a graduate of the NASA Academy and the International Space University and holds bachelor's and master's degrees from Brown University and Berkeley in Planetary Sciences , Environmental Science, Policy, and Management Robbie Schingler
Robbie Schingler is one of the co-founders of the CoLab project at NASA Ames Research Center, where he focuses on creating the internal NASA stakeholders and developing fiscal, programmatic, and legal mechanisms for the CoLab project to thrive. Robbie is the special assistant to Pete Worden, the NASA Ames Research Center Director, and works on a number of key initiatives to create systemic progress for NASA, such as non-traditional partnerships and developing a small spacecraft capability for the space program. Previously, he has worked at NASA in three different positions: program and policy analysis in the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters, research scientist in nano technology at NASA Ames Research Center, and as a student scientist in cosmochemistry at NASA Ames Research Center. Robbie has also worked as an independent consultant for space security research and as a mechanical engineer and project manager at an engineering consulting firm. Robbie has been actively involved in international advocacy of space activities, long-term systems thinking, and encouragement of individuals to perform their life's work through the Space Generation Foundation, Space Generation Advisory Council, 4D Network, Angel Ideas, and La Choza del Mundo. Robbie holds bachelor's and two master's degrees from Santa Clara University, the International Space University, and Georgetown University in Engineering Physics with and emphasis in Aeronautics and Astronautics, Space Studies, and Business Administration with a Certificate in International Business Diplomacy respectively.
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