Centennial Lecture Series: Conversations with a Geologist and a Historian — NASA's OSIRIS-REx Mission

Join Rowan University professors Harold C. Connolly Jr. and William D. Carrigan for a discussion about NASA's OSIRIS-REx Mission and the history of space exploration. As OSIRIS-REx mission sample scientist, Connolly will explain the mission, its importance and his role studying and testing asteroid samples.

While the lecture begins at 7 p.m., enjoy a tabling session in the Eynon Ballroom foyer starting at 6:30 p.m. Immediately following the event, attendees can visit the Science Hall Observatory (weather permitting) which will be open for additional space exploration from 8 to 10 p.m. *If inclement weather inhibits visibility, the Science Hall Observatory will close and the Edelman Planetarium will provide two presentations at 8:30 and 9 p.m.

Please use this campus map to walk from the Chamberlain Student Center to Science Hall. For additional information about the event and to register, please visit the School of Earth & Environment website. 

About the speakers

Professor Harold C. Connolly Jr.
Dr. Harold C. Connolly Jr. is founding chair and professor within the Department of Geology in the School of Earth & Environment at Rowan University. He also holds the titles of mission sample scientist (MSS) and co-investigator for NASA’s New Frontiers 3 asteroid sample return mission, OSIRIS-REx. As the MSS, he is responsible for coordinating and conducting a global team of scientists who test hypotheses designed to constrain the origin and evolution of asteroid Bennu through analyses of the sample delivered to Earth by the spacecraft on Sept. 24, 2023.

Professor William D. Carrigan
Dr. William D. Carrigan is professor of History at Rowan University. A native Texan, he graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 1993. In 1999, he earned his Ph.D. in American history from Emory University and joined the faculty in the Department of History at Rowan. A former chair of the Department, he is currently the Graduate Program Coordinator, the History Department Alumni Liaison, and the editor of Project 100.