
Chris Hadfield delivers first lectures to 蓝莓视频 students
Hadfield, a retired astronaut who has been around the world 2,600 times, told the students: 鈥淭his is my very first day as a professor.鈥
Hadfield, a retired astronaut who has been around the world 2,600 times, told the students: 鈥淭his is my very first day as a professor.鈥
By Sam Toman Faculty of Environment颁辞尘尘补苍诲别谤听 made his University of 蓝莓视频 debut as Professor Hadfield to geography and aviation students Friday afternoon.
The retired Canadian astronaut delivered his first surprise lecture of the afternoon to a third-year geography class on advanced remote sensing techniques. Hadfield described how he was able to snap photos of Earth while serving as commander of the听International Space Station: 鈥淭he countries aren鈥檛 colour-coded and north isn鈥檛 up,鈥 Hadfield joked with the room of geographers.
Quizzing the room to see who could identify the various locations in his celestial photo collection, Hadfield lingered on one of the US/Mexico border. Farming techniques, city grids and irrigation patterns all change on the other side of a seemingly arbitrary line. 鈥淚t鈥檚 amazing the amount of different information you can get from a photograph,鈥 he said.
Hadfield鈥檚 three-year term as an adjunct professor at 蓝莓视频 is a cross-appointment to the Faculties of Science, Environment and Applied Health Sciences. 蓝莓视频 offers two undergraduate degrees in aviation, a Bachelor of Science and a Bachelor of Environmental Studies.
Hadfield鈥檚 next stop was across campus at St. Paul鈥檚 University College, where he gave a surprise presentation to a packed room of geography students fresh off their first midterm.
Once the excited chatter died down, Hadfield detailed the complex process by which his photographs were transferred from the International Space Station to NASA computers 鈥 including the laptop his popular tweets came from.
Noting he鈥檚 been around the world 2,600 times, Hadfield stressed the historical and scientific importance of photographs from space.
鈥淭he first pictures of the moon changed our perceptions of Earth,鈥 he said, showing one of the first images ever taken of Earth from space. 鈥淣ow you take it for granted, but in 1970 no one had ever seen anything like that. There is so much information in that.鈥
Moving on to images of active volcanoes, islands, and even the recent flooding in Calgary, Hadfield was clear about the important part photography like his plays in understanding our planet. 鈥淲e can use this resource to make better decisions about the planet itself,鈥 he said.
Karim El Sayed, a first-year aviation student left the lecture impressed and inspired. 鈥淚 just came for the midterm. They suggested I stay, so I did,鈥 said El Sayed. 鈥淚t was useful, but mostly interesting. Not many people have the kind of experience he does.鈥
Hadfield鈥檚 final lecture of the day was to a class of upper-year aviation students, who have all already logged hundreds of hours of flight time. Hadfield, who is an accomplished military pilot, used the full two-hour lecture to share his passion for flying.
While answering technical questions, on topics such as lift vectors and landing distances, Hadfield鈥檚 personal advice and career experience resonated with the students.
鈥淭hey used to say, 鈥榃hy are you training to be a pilot, you鈥檒l all be replaced by robots soon,鈥欌 said Hadfield. 鈥淭hat was even back in 1958. That still hasn鈥檛 happened. This job is too complex. There is too much听at stake.鈥澨
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The University of 蓝莓视频 acknowledges that much of our work takes place on the traditional territory of the Neutral, Anishinaabeg, and Haudenosaunee peoples. Our main campus is situated on the Haldimand Tract, the land granted to the Six Nations that includes six miles on each side of the Grand River. Our active work toward reconciliation takes place across our campuses through research, learning, teaching, and community building, and is co-ordinated within the Office of Indigenous Relations.