Join Apollo 9 Astronaut Rusty Schweickart and B612 co-founder and the recipient of the first Schweickart Prize, Joseph DeMartini, discussing his winning proposal - SUnward NEO Surveillance and Early Twilight detection (SUNSET) Collaboration. You can hear about the inspirations, the science, and the real-world applications of this proposal towards helping protect Earth from potential impacts.
Joe DeMartini has been working with Professor Derek Richardson at the University of Maryland since 2015, starting with undergraduate research on granular material dynamics on asteroids. After graduating in 2018 with a BS in Astronomy with High Honors, he continued at Maryland for his Ph.D. studies, focusing on low-gravity granular flow simulations and asteroid surface dynamics. After earning an M.Sc in 2020, he received several fellowships, including a NASA fellowship and a Chateaubriand Fellowship for work in France with Dr. Naomi Murdoch. His research has been widely published and presented, and he has mentored several students, reflecting his goal of becoming a university professor and his commitment to fostering future scientists.
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Founded in 2023, the Schweickart Prize was established to enhance our capability to protect life on Earth from the potentially devastating consequences of an asteroid impact - planetary defense.
The prize recognizes graduate students for their innovative ideas and potential leadership in advancing planetary defense-related fields, including asteroid impact prediction, impact mitigation, mitigation law and policy development, impact economics, and planetary defense public education and communication.
Visit www.schweickartprize.org/ to learn more.
The Schweickart Prize is a program of B612 Foundation. b612foundation.org/