MBARI President Marcia McNutt invited speaker at White House Millennium Lecture

Noted Earth scientist and MBARI President Marcia McNutt will speak at the White House about ocean exploration during the Ninth Millennium Evening lecture, "Exploration Under the Sea, Beyond the Stars." Hosted by the President and First Lady, this lecture will be broadcast live on June 12 at 2:30 pm Eastern Time (11:30 am Pacific Time) on CSPAN, NASA-TV, and the Discovery Science Channel. It will be cybercast via the Internet on the Sun Microsystems and Executive Branch Television websites.   

The depths of the ocean and the outer reaches of space are the final frontiers for human exploration. Scientific studies of these frontiers, enabled by innovations in technology, continue to contribute to our overall understanding of the Earth. Joining Dr. McNutt at the lecture, scientist Neil de Grasse Tyson, Director of the Hayden Planetarium in New York City, will address recent advances in space science. 

Dr. McNutt will share her experience with the challenges of conducting research in the deep ocean. "The deep-sea's extreme pressures, barriers to communication frequencies, and corrosive environment are obstacles to the ocean explorer," said McNutt, "but new technology is addressing these challenges, allowing scientists to observe and describe this water planet as never before."

Schools and communities across the country can downlink the lecture's satellite broadcast and the White House audience will include local students. "This is an unparalleled opportunity to communicate the excitement of ocean sciences to the President, First Lady, and America's children," said McNutt. 

For more information about this and other lectures in the White House Millennium Evenings series, see the White House Millennium Council website. Cybercast viewers can email questions about ocean and space research to the President, First Lady, and the speakers from this website prior to and during the lecture.

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