NASA program manager to deliver Charter Lecture

UGA alumnus and great friend of the Franklin College Roger C. Hunter will speak on the Kepler Mission and small spacecraft technologies when he delivers the 2019 Charter Lecture in the Chapel on Wednesday March 20:

Hunter’s talk, titled “NASA’s Kepler Mission and Small Spacecraft Technologies: Today and Beyond,” will be held March 20 at 2:30 p.m. in the Chapel. The event is free and open to the public, and students are welcome.

“Roger Hunter is at the forefront of space exploration and is an inspiration to the growing number of STEM students at the University of Georgia,” said Interim Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Libby V. Morris. “He is a distinguished alumnus who embodies the ideals of the pioneering charter that made this university the birthplace of public higher education in America.”

Hunter currently serves as program manager for NASA Small Spacecraft Technology, where he identifies and supports the development of new subsystem technologies to expand the capabilities of small spacecrafts for NASA. He also is associate director of the NASA Ames Research Center and previously served for six years as program manager for NASA’s internationally acclaimed NASA Kepler Mission. The main focus of the Kepler Mission is to discover and locate Earth-like planets in habitable zones in the Milky Way galaxy.

Prior to working at NASA, Hunter served in the U.S. Air Force for 22 years on numerous assignments. After retiring from the Air Force as a colonel, he worked at the Boeing Co. as site manager in Colorado Springs, Colorado. In that position, he directed the efforts of over 250 Boeing engineers and technicians in sustaining the Global Positioning System satellite constellation and the Air Force’s GPS command and control system.

A real treat for the general public and a popular visitor for many students and faculty for whom Hunter is an inspiration. His unqualified encouragement and support for our Small Satellite research lab has UGA poised on the cusp of orbit in more ways than one. The research projects this 'cubesat' will serve and the broad impacts of the project on current and future students tell only parts of the story of Hunter's love for UGA. Welcome back to one our best.