NWF State College to launch Science Seminar Series on ‘Rocket Science’

Florida State College’s Spring 2015 Science Seminar Series, “This is Rocket Science,” blasts off Jan. 23 with a presentation by 2004 Collegiate High School graduate Ben Corbin, a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 

Corbin, a Niceville native who is writing his doctoral dissertation in Space Systems Engineering, will speak on “Constellations, Hobos, and Penetrators: Using the Emergent Capabilities of Distributed Satellite Systems to Achieve Advanced Planetary Science Goals.” In this seminar, four science mission concepts will be presented that show how the emergent capabilities of distributed satellites can achieve big-picture science goals that single-satellite missions cannot, no matter how capable their science instrument packages are.

After graduating from the NWF State College Collegiate High School, Corbin earned his B.S. in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Central Florida and two master’s degrees from MIT in Aeronautics and Astronautics and Earth and Planetary Sciences. He was recognized with the 2010 Northwest Florida State College Rising Star Distinguished Alumni Award by the Florida Association of Community Colleges.

The Jan. 23 seminar takes place in the Student Services Center on the Niceville campus, Room 133, from 11 a.m. to noon. The event is free and open to the public. This will be the first of four seminars this semester focusing on the theme of rocket science, with the others scheduled for Feb. 20, March 20 and April 17.