Escape Velocity 2017

Arthur C. Clarke, famed for co-writing “2001: A Space Odyssey,” based on one of his own much earlier short stories, was above all else an optimist who eagerly embraced not only what was coming next but what was coming after that. While his own long life story featured heavy involvement in the Second World War, where he was close to the cutting edge of implementing a new key technology, radar, he remained an optimist about technology helping to make life better for humankind both on earth and among the stars. His dreams were not founded on fantasy but on science, science just over the edge into the nearly impossible. Who else but Clarke could have taken the swords of the war just ended and propose using those technologies to envision global television using geosynchronous satellites? This panel will explore the fascinating life and works of Sir Arthur Clarke as the anniversary of his birth 100 years ago approaches.