“Robert Goddard: A Vision. A Reality. A Hope” will be presented by Clark University alumnus and former NASA project manager John Emond ’74 at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 17, in Sackler Sciences Center’s Johnson Auditorium (Room S120).
The presentation will be a centerpiece in the celebration of the 100th anniversary of Goddard’s famed launch of the world’s first liquid-fueled rocket on March 16, 1926.
Emond will discuss how Robert Goddard’s early experiments were met with skepticism — yet through persistence and vision, he laid the groundwork for modern rocketry and helped spark the creation of NASA.
John Emond spent almost a decade working in social services before joining NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. He then moved to NASA HQ, where he served as a policy analyst, senior policy analyst, commercial space center program manager, and technology transfer collaboration program manager.
In his presentation, Emond will examine the challenges that Goddard surmounted and how the lessons he learned from his failures helped inform his ultimately successful rocketry experiments. Emond will connect Goddard’s pioneering work with NASA’s efforts to promote spaceflight and flight technology that offer potentially great benefits to humankind and is in keeping with the Clark scientist’s vision for the peaceful exploration of the cosmos.
Read more about Robert Goddard’s work and legacy on Clark’s Goddard Centennial Site
