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14 | September 7, 2017 | Malibu surfside news News malibusurfsidenews.com A journey into the great beyond with B. Gentry Lee Malibu Library Speakers Series features astronomer Barbara Burke Freelance Reporter Rare is the scientist who can communicate to laypersons the nuances and intricacies of his focused research, his life’s work, and his methodologies. Rarer yet is the scientist who can do so with a blend of humor, thought-provoking focus and storytelling acumen. When that happens, memorable moments follow. Malibu enjoyed such wonderful times at the Malibu Library Speakers Series on Aug. 29 when B. Gentry Lee (“Gentry”), the Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s Chief Engineer of Solar System Exploration who co-created “Cosmos,” the Emmy Award winning television series with Carl Sagan shared his knowledge, insights and predictions with the crowd. The iconic astronomer, thought leader and author had attendees at hello. “Just call me Gentry,” he said affably. “Tonight, we’re going to talk about the sense of wonder and excitement we all have for the exploration of the solar system and the universe. I think about it in a passionate way. We’ll focus on how what we’re learning transforms our image of ourselves and why we care.” The atmosphere was relaxed, fun and engaging. Clearly, this world needs more scientists like Gentry. Yet, such a matter-offact, conversational presentation belies his phenomenal curriculum vitae. He currently is in charge of JPL’s robotic planetary missions for NASA, led the Curiosity Rover Mission to Mars, the Dawn mission to asteroids Vesta and Ceres, the Juno Mission to Jupiter and the GRAIL missions to the moon. For a brilliant scientist who deals in interplanetary explorations, star system studies and robotic missions, Gentry is as down to earth as it gets. “I have had the great good fortune to be involved in every mission since Viking,” he said matter-of-factly. He was referring to the Viking Mission from 1968 to 1976 which engendered mankind’s first successful landing on another planet: Mars. Since then, he has been chief engineer for Galileo’s mission to study Jupiter and its moons, NA- SA’s comet missions, Deep Impact and Stardust, the Phoenix Mars Mission and the Twins Mars Exploration Rover mission. In short, he’s been guiding mankind’s efforts to delve deep into our local solar system and beyond for 50 years. “We’re Earth chauvinists,” he told the crowd. “For instance, in 1976, we sent instruments on Viking and tried to test samples on Mars. It was hard for us to acknowledge that we got ambiguous results because we simply did not know enough to be able to design proper experiments.” He told the crowd about the bru-ha-ha that resulted when one of the photographs from that mission seemed to show Roman letters inscribed on a rock. “We had to have a press conference about it,” he said. “We had to explain that shadows can do amazing things. “Ultimately, we had to convince them that first, it is not very likely that there is life on Mars, and if there is, it is highly unlikely that such life would choose to communicate using Latin letters.” The attendees hooted. There were obvious questions, most notably, the perennial human mystery: “Are we alone?” Gentry simply stated: “There is no incontrovertible proof that other life exists. Life is amazing and incredible. But, as far as we know we are the only ones.” However, he had a qualification. “But,” Gentry said, grinning like a mule eating briars.. The crowd leaned in. “Those of us who are looking, believe yes, there is other life,” he concluded. He shared bizarre tales, like the time he was on a panel at an alien abduction convention. Two panelists who shared that they consistently got briefly abducted by aliens got standing ovations. So did the Harvard psychologist who dazzled the crowd with formulas and concluded that there must be aliens because the similarities in those two people’s stories could be neither happenstance, nor contrived. “I was introduced as the ‘skeptical technocrat,’ and the crowd said ‘Boo! Hiss!’ to that,” Gentry said. The attendees laughed. Gentry uses a mesmerizing metaphorical pedagogical teaching method. That is to say, he can distill complicated scientific theories into easy-tounderstand examples. For instance, he shared, as he and Sagan had on Cosmos, that if one envisions all time from the Big Bang to now as a single calendar year, it helps to understand how the solar system developed. “Our Milky Way galaxy doesn’t exist until May of that hypothetical year,” said Gentry, pausing while attendees comprehended that concept. “It did not exist until one-third of the universe’s history had passed. One of the biggest intellectual puzzles of all time is the Cambrian Explosion, which in our hypothetical year happened on Dec. 14 or 15. “Before that, everything on Earth was unicellular based on the fossil record. There were several mass extinctions. If you’re keeping track of this model, one cosmic second on our hypothetical calendar is 400 years. Human history is so very nascent.” Gentry seems proudest of the Kepler mission because it opened mankind’s eyes to just how many other planetary systems there are orbiting stars quite similar to our Sun in environments where water could exist. Please see Series, 16 New assistant principal appointed at Malibu High Submitted by SMMUSD The SM- MUSD Board of Education approved the appointment of Nauman Zaidi Zaidi as the new assistant principal of Malibu High School, working with the middle school program, at its regular board meeting on Aug. 30. Zaidi has been the assistant principal of Joshua Hills Elementary School since 2013 and was the assistant principal of Cactus Intermediate School from 2011 to 2013, both in the Palmdale School District. He served as the assistant principal and athletic director at Alder Creek Middle School in the Truckee School District from 2008- 2011 and assistant principal at North Tahoe Middle School from 2007-2008. Zaidi began his teaching career in LAUSD, teaching pre-algebra and algebra and taught math and science in the Coachella Valley Unified School District prior to promoting to an administrator position. In his past assistant principal positions, Zaidi has mentored teachers, implemented anti-bullying programs, served as testing coordinator, provided curriculum development and improvement, increased parent involvement, provided technology support and worked on closing the achievement gap, to name some of his competencies and experience. Zaidi earned his bachelor of science in biological science from University of California, Riverside and his master of arts in education with an administrative credential from Cal State San Bernardino. He holds a teaching credential in mathematics from UCLA. Zaida replaces Patrick Miller, who is now the principal of Webster Elementary School. “Mr. Zaidi will be a valuable addition to our district leadership team,” Superintendent Dr. Ben Drati said. “I would like to congratulate him on his new position.” “It is truly a blessing and an honor to be joining the team of educators in SM- MUSD,” Zaidi said. “I look forward to working collaboratively with all members of the Malibu Middle/High School community. Go Sharks!”
malibusurfsidenews.com news Malibu surfside news | September 7, 2017 | 15 Education foundation presents check to SMMUSD Photo Op Malibu resident Elissa Hoye submitted this photo of a lone fishing boat on the sea. Donations of nearly $2.5 million to back district’s art programs, more Submitted by Santa Monica-Malibu Education Foundation The Santa Monica-Malibu Education Foundation has granted the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District just under $2.5 million for programs during the 2017-2018 school year. The grant will support a variety of programs for students at all 16 SMMUSD schools in Santa Monica and Malibu. “We are thrilled to present these funds to the school district,” said David Vukadinovich, president of the Ed Foundation’s Board of Directors. “Each dollar was contributed by a parent, business or other member of our community who believes in the promise of public education and wants to ensure that every child in our district has access to outstanding programs throughout their education. Thank you to all 3,094 donors who made this possible!” Representatives from the Ed Foundation presented a check and the results of their fundraising campaign to the SMMUSD Board of Education at the board’s Aug. 30 meeting. “We are so grateful for these funds,” said Laurie Lieberman, president of the SMMUSD Board of Education. “The grant from the Ed Foundation allows us to provide crucial programs for students, above and beyond what is provided by state and local TK-12 education funding. It is not the norm to have the tremendous arts programs, science programs and additional staff that our students benefit from every day. We are fortunate to be part of a community so dedicated to education.” $2,010,102 of the grant comes from annual donations to the foundation during its 2016-2017 annual campaign. These donations will fund P.S. ARTS, the district-contracted elementary arts program; instructional assistants in classrooms; ballroom dance for fifth-graders and a stretch grant for each school. Each school’s site council determines how to spend their stretch grant. Most use the funds for STEM, arts or student health and well-being programs. $471,400 of the grant comes from the Ed Foundation’s endowments and scholarship programs. These funds support recorders for all third-graders as they are starting their music education, music lessons and instruments for qualifying students, music teaching assistants at Title I schools, middle and high school drama programs, middle school dance programs, library support, secondary visual arts supplies, scholarships, and more. For more information, or to donate, go to smmef.org. Want your photo to appear in our newspaper? Email news@ malibusurfsidenews.com. Families United for Recovery teaches parents and families how to quickly regain connection with their loved ones and become their best chance for addiction recovery. Members of the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District Board of Education received a check for $2.48 million from the Santa Monica-Malibu Education Foundation. The funds, donated by parents, local businesses and community members, will support arts programs, instructional assistants, grants for each school and more during the 2017-2018 school year. Photo Submitted WEEKLY MEETINGS Learn alternative approaches for families to use where connection rather than detachment is emphasized. Wednesday's from 6:30PM - 8PM MONTHLY WORKSHOPS These 1 day workshops focus on learning the most powerful tools and keys to Family Recovery. VISIT OUR WEBSITE OR CALL! familiesunitedforrecovery.com (424) 203-4569 MEETING SPACE PROVIDED BY 28955 Pacific Coast Highway, Suite 200 Malibu, CA 90265
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