Page 8 - CSA Speaker Bulletin March 2019

Page 8 - CSA Speaker Bulletin March 2019 | CSA Celebrity Speakers

P. 8

CSA SPEAKER BULLETIN TOUCH OF HOLLYWOOD

Star Trek’s

LEGACY OF INSPIRATION

Robert Picardo is a globally capacity to learn and adapt and like Star Trek. Science fiction “dreams
known actor having played extend its own usefulness well beyond the dream” and helps to inspire real
roles in many TV series, the original intention of the engineer scientists and engineers to “make it
most famously on seven who created it. If that sounds like so”.
seasons of Star Trek as the fodder for stories funny, sad, heroic
Holographic Doctor. Robert has and cautionary, it was. Star Trek offered me the opportunity
a lifelong interest in science to become an advocate for space
and exploration. He talks to “Star Trek constantly science. The Planetary Society was
corporate audiences today reinvents itself - cofounded by Carl Sagan. I was
about science fiction versus reinvigorates its brand asked to serve on the Advisory
today’s new technologies, - to stay current in Council and later the Executive
space exploration, robotics and the marketplace: Board. The Planetary Society is
artificial intelligence. what every actor, now the largest independent voice
leader and business for space exploration in the world,
My early success on Broadway must do.” advocating for planetary exploration,
led me to Hollywood, to the search for life on other worlds and
Because of this role, I suddenly found defending the earth from asteroid
recreate my stage role myself sitting on a stage with five men impact.
who had walked on the moon! I felt
opposite legendary movie star Jack silly, of course. What was an actor I have had the opportunity to visit
from a make-believe starship doing with members of Congress and
Lemmon as his loving but contentious next to the heroes of early human encourage them to join the newly
exploration of space? But, over time formed Planetary Science Caucus, a
son. A Hollywood star for decades, I began to understand that I had bipartisan coalition of congressional
unwittingly become a part of a legacy members pledged to support the
Mr. Lemmon’s humanity, kindness and of inspiration. Many of the astronauts, advancement of space science and
astrophysicists, mathematicians and exploration. A common interest in
modest take on celebrity made him engineers who do the real work of space brings out the best in all of us.
space exploration were inspired in Globally, NASA is one of our country’s
a mentor and inspiration. Because their youth by shows and literature most respected “name brands “ and
the cooperation between NASA and
life is always the unexpected, what the space agencies of Europe, Russia,
Japan, Canada and other countries is
was meant to be a 12-week theater a model for what we can accomplish
when we emulate Star Trek’s
gig in Los Angeles morphed into humanistic vision. Every successful
actor is his or her own brand. The
over 30 years of film and TV roles in product for sale is a unique blend

Hollywood, playing everything from

a psychotic murderer to a rabbi. And

of course, many doctors. When I

was chosen to play The Emergency

Medical Hologram -- a futuristic

medical technology on Star Trek:

Voyager -- my life changed overnight.

Science-fiction fans around the world

embraced the character of a nascent

medical AI, programmed with the

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