NASA astronaut Piers Sellers will discuss "What It Is Like to Be in Space" in a UC Irvine lecture presented by The Newkirk Center for Science and Society and the Institute for Geophysics and Planetary Physics.

WHEN:
2 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 16

WHERE:
Howard Schneiderman Lecture Hall, UCI campus. Map: www.uci.edu/campusmap

INFORMATION:
Free and open to the public. Parking is available in the Mesa structure on Mesa Road near University Drive. For more information, contact 949-824-9336 or newkirk@uci.edu.

BACKGROUND:
An astronaut since 1996, Sellers has logged more than three weeks in space, having traveled to the International Space Station aboard Atlantis in October 2002 and aboard Discovery in July 2006. Before he became an astronaut, Sellers conducted scientific research into how the Earth's biosphere and atmosphere interact to influence climate. He has been honored for his many scientific achievements, including election as a fellow of the American Geophysical Union and the American Meteorological Society. Sellers, born in the United Kingdom, received his bachelor's in ecological science from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland and his doctorate in biometeorology from the University of Leeds in England.

The Newkirk Center for Science and Society was established in 2001 with a generous endowment by Martha and James Newkirk, frequent benefactors to the University of California. The center's goals are to improve science's response to community needs and to increase the effective uses of scientific results for the benefit of society.

The Institute for Geophysics and Planetary Physics is a research unit of the University of California with branches at several campuses, including UCI, and two national laboratories. The institute aims to promote and coordinate basic research on the understanding of the origin, structure and evolution of the Earth, solar system and universe.