In the September 2023 edition of the President’s Page, I shared the theme for the 2024 Annual Scientific Meeting: “Honoring the Past—Preparing for the Future”. The theme emphasized the historic and future aspects of aviation, aerospace medicine, human spaceflight, and space exploration.
During the upcoming Annual Scientific Meeting, three main keynote events for the entire assembly include the Bauer Lecture, the Reinartz Plenary Session, and the Armstrong Lecture. The Bauer Lecture is delivered during the Opening Ceremonies on the first day of the meeting. On Tuesday morning the Reinartz Plenary Session takes place, and the Armstrong Lecture is slated for Thursday morning. I wish to share some brief background on each designated event so you can appreciate their historic nature, as well as introduce our illustrious presenters.
Dr. Louis H. Bauer was truly a luminary in the field of aviation and aerospace medicine. He served as the first Commandant of the Army School of Aviation Medicine from 1919–1925. He subsequently established a medical section in the Aeronautics Branch of the Department of Commerce, which would eventually become the Federal Aviation Administration. In 1929 he founded the Aviation Medical Association, now known as the Aerospace Medical Association. He established the Journal of Aviation Medicine, now entitled Aerospace Medicine and Human Performance. He also served as Secretary General of the World Medical Association and President of the American Medical Association.
We are very honored that Astronaut and Senator Harrison Schmitt will deliver the prestigious Bauer Lecture during the Opening Ceremonies. Dr. Schmitt served on the final Apollo mission, Apollo 17, as Lunar Module Pilot, along with mission Commander Eugene Cernan and Command Module Pilot Ronald Evans. A graduate of the California Institute of Technology, he received a Ph.D. in Geology from Harvard University and was the only geologist to explore the lunar surface during the six Apollo lunar landings. He and Cernan were the last two astronauts to have explored the surface of the Moon, during which they performed three EVAs (extravehicular activity) totaling over 22 hours. His post-NASA career included service as a U.S. Senator from New Mexico from 1977–1983. He has been involved with numerous leadership, business, science, public policy, and education activities. This included serving as Chair of the NASA Advisory Council.
Citation: Aerospace Medicine and Human Performance 95, 3; 10.3357/AMHP.953PP.2024
The Reinartz Plenary Session on Tuesday morning was established by AsMA via an endowed gift from the family of Dr. Eugen Reinartz. He served in the U.S. Army Medical Corps during WWI, with subsequent tours as a Flight Surgeon. He served as director of the Department of Neuropsychiatry at the School of Aviation Medicine, Randolph Field, TX, and later as Commandant of the School, retiring with the rank of Brigadier General. The 2024 Reinartz Plenary Session will be a moderated panel of distinguished astronauts. Panelists will include: CAPT Joe Kerwin, USN (Skylab, and first U.S. physician in space); Col. Robert Cabana, USMC (veteran Space Shuttle pilot astronaut and Commander of the first assembly mission of the ISS (STS-88) who recently retired as NASA Associate Administrator); Joan Higginbotham (electrical engineer and Space Shuttle mission specialist); and Dr. Serena Auñón-Chancellor (former NASA Flight Surgeon and long-duration ISS crewmember).The discussion will include a mosaic view across the eras of Skylab, Space Shuttle, and the International Space Station. A look at the challenges of long-duration flight, International Partner cooperation, Commercial Crew programs, and future exploration missions will be highlighted. The personal stories from the astronauts should be especially enjoyable.
Citation: Aerospace Medicine and Human Performance 95, 3; 10.3357/AMHP.953PP.2024 Citation: Aerospace Medicine and Human Performance 95, 3; 10.3357/AMHP.953PP.2024 Citation: Aerospace Medicine and Human Performance 95, 3; 10.3357/AMHP.953PP.2024
The Armstrong Lecture Thursday morning is named after Major General Harry G. Armstrong, recognized as a pioneer in the field of aviation and aerospace medicine. He founded the Aeromedical Research Laboratory at Wright Field, Dayton, OH, and is especially known for advancements in aircrew protection from temperature extremes and high-altitude hypoxia. He founded the Department of Space Medicine at Randolph Field, TX, and served as the Surgeon General of the Air Force (1949–1954). The “Armstrong limit” (aka line) is named after him, which is the altitude above which atmospheric pressure is sufficiently low such that water boils at the normal temperature of the human body.
Citation: Aerospace Medicine and Human Performance 95, 3; 10.3357/AMHP.953PP.2024 Citation: Aerospace Medicine and Human Performance 95, 3; 10.3357/AMHP.953PP.2024
The Armstrong Lecture this year will be delivered by Dr. Lisa Kaltenegger, Director of the Carl Sagan Institute at Cornell University. The institute was founded based on the pioneering work of the legendary Carl Sagan to find life in the universe. The institute incorporates an “interdisciplinary team in developing the scientific forensic toolkit to find life inside the Solar System and outside of it, on planets and moons orbiting other stars”. Dr. Kaltenegger received her Ph.D. in astrophysics from the Karl Franzens University in Graz, Austria. She held positions at the Max Planck Institute of Astronomy in Heidelberg, Germany, and the Center for Astrophysics at Harvard/Smithsonian in Cambridge, MA. She is currently an Associate Professor of Astronomy at Cornell.
Unquestionably, attendees of the Annual Scientific Meeting in Chicago are in store for an outstanding set of keynote presentations! I truly hope you may be present in person to hear our esteemed guests as they grace our stage.
All the best.
Keep ‘em flying…and Full Steam Ahead.
