Kevin Hand
![](../I/m/KevinHandAtJPL.jpg)
Kevin Hand is an astrobiologist and planetary scientist at JPL.[1][2] He is also the founder of Cosmos Education[1][2] and was its president until 2007.[3] He was working at NASA Ames when he was inspired to form Cosmos Education in 1999 after getting a grant from the Earth and Space Foundation to tour African schools to talk about how education relates to space research.[4][5]
Hand studied psychology and physics as an undergraduate at Dartmouth.[6] He earned a master's degree at Stanford University in mechanical engineering while also working as a public policy research associate at Stanford's Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC).[6][7] He chose the question of whether Europa's putative ocean could harbor life as his Geological & Environmental Sciences PhD dissertation topic, under the direction of Christopher Chyba,[7] earning the doctorate in 2007.[6]
While a PhD student, he was chosen by James Cameron to take marine biology samples from hydrothermal vents in subsea expeditions to the mid-Atlantic ridge and East Pacific Rise.[7] He was a featured scientist in Cameron's 2005 IMAX documentary, Aliens of the Deep.[8]
At a 2014 NASA panel discussion, Hand predicted that extraterrestrial life would be found within 20 years.[9][10]
References
- 1 2 "Kevin Hand, Planetary Scientist and Astrobiologist". Emerging Explorers. National Geographic. 2011. Retrieved 2011-08-11.
- 1 2 Bowermaster, Jon (July 27, 2011). "The five explorers of the future". GADLING. AOL.com. Retrieved 2011-08-11.
- ↑ Ravneet Sehmi (27 August 2008). "Bringing Science Education Down to the Grass Roots" (PDF). Nairobi Star; Star Life. Retrieved 2011-08-11.
- ↑ Charles Cockell; Don White; Douglas Messier; M. Dale Stokes (2002). "Fostering links between environmental and space exploration: the Earth and Space Foundation" (PDF). Space Policy. 18: 301–306. doi:10.1016/s0265-9646(02)00043-7. Retrieved 2011-08-11.
- ↑ "Earth and Space Awards 1999". Earth and Space Foundation. 1999. Retrieved 2011-08-13.
- 1 2 3 "Kevin Hand". JPL Science: Planetary Ices: People. JPL.
- 1 2 3 "Kevin Hand". Voices. Mountain View, CA: SETI Institute.
- ↑ "Kevin Hand". SETI Institute Explorer. SETI Institute. 2005.
- ↑ connecticut.cbslocal.com/2014/07/15/nasa-humans-will-prove-we-are-not-alone-in-the-universe-within-20-years/
- ↑ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/15/we-are-not-alone-in-universe-nasa-habitable-planets_n_5588455.html
Selected publications
- Hand, Kevin (May 12, 2005). "Cosmos Education: Engaging, Empowering, Inspiring". Cyberspeak. USA Today. Retrieved 2011-08-11.
- Kevin Hand (22 January 2009). "Is there life on Europa?". Nature. 457: 384–385. doi:10.1038/457384a., a review of Richard Greenberg (2008). Unmasking Europa: The Search for Life on Jupiter's Ocean Moon. Praxis/Springer. ISBN 0-387-47936-8.
External links
- Kevin Hand. "Antarctic Journal". spaceref.com. Retrieved 2011-08-13.
- Kevin Hand (February 9–13, 2009). "Report on the Europa Lander Workshop" (PDF). IKI, Space Research Institute, Moscow, Russia. Retrieved 2011-11-20.