February 17, 2000
For Immediate Release
Media Contact: Evelyne Girardet

                         (312) 573-4646

                             Mars Explorer to Speak at Latin

CHICAGO – Donna Shirley, former manager of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Mars Exploration Program and one of the world's leading aerospace engineers, will visit The Latin School of Chicago on Tuesday, February 22.

            Shirley made her most recent mark on space exploration by leading the team that designed and built Sojourner—the solar-powered, self-guided, microwave-oven-sized rover that became the first vehicle to roam another planet when Pathfinder landed on Mars in 1997. She will be in Chicago to accept the prestigious Western Society of Engineer's Washington Award in "recognition of devoted, unselfish and pre-eminent service in advancing human progress." Previous recipients include Orville Wright, Henry Ford, and Neil Armstrong.  

            During three separate presentations on February 22 at Latin, Shirley will tell the story of her life, talk about the state of Mars exploration, and answer questions in an informal forum.

            From her unusual urge at age 10 to build aircraft, to abandoning high school home economics in favor of mechanical drawing—and at 16—becoming a licensed pilot, Shirley defied expectations from the beginning. The only female engineering student in her class, Shirley

earned a degree in aerospace/mechanical engineering (picking up a beauty contest title along the way). In 1966, she began a career at the NASA-funded Jet Propulsion Laboratory that spanned 24 different projects, including Mariner 10's trip to Venus and Mercury and a 1991 assignment as chief engineer of a $1.6 billion project to explore asteroids, a comet, and Saturn. Shirley retired from JPL in 1998.

Recent failures of three high profile projects—the Mars Climate Orbiter, the Mars Polar Lander and Deep Space 2—have brought the Mars Exploration Program under scrutiny. During a Breakfast lecture (8:30-9:30 a.m. in the library) Shirley will present an insider's view of the problems and issues currently facing NASA's Mars program and discuss its future. 

Directly afterward, at 9:40 a.m. in the Wrigley Theatre, Shirley will give a presentation titled "Managing Martians: The Donna Shirley Story." She will take questions during an open forum at 11:10 a.m. in the library.  

For more information call Matthew McCutcheon, director of Math Science and Technology, (312) 274-5533.