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Embry-Riddle Speaker Series to Bring Heroic Pilot, Inventor, National Book Award Winner, and Technology Experts to Area

On Monday, Sept. 20, inventor Woody Norris will lead off the speaker series. Norris, founder and director of American Technology Corp., has 43 U.S. patents to his name and 100 patents pending. Among his inventions is HyperSonic Sound, a revolutionary amplifier that directs sound to a specific location, much as a laser beam directs light. The device won the Grand Award in 2002 from Popular Science as the “Best of What’s New.” His other inventions include Flashback, the first digital recording technology (also a “Best of What’s New” winner), and AirScooter, a single-person ultralight helicopter designed for recreational use.

On Monday, Oct. 18, retired United Airlines Captain Al Haynes will speak. Haynes was captain of the now legendary United Flight 232, which cartwheeled onto a cornfield near Sioux City, Iowa, on July 19, 1989, after losing all three of its hydraulic systems at 37,000 feet. Of the 296 people aboard, 184 survived. The “against all odds” tale that Haynes tells about the crash landing and the factors that led to its “miraculous” outcome is an important contribution to other pilots, air traffic controllers, flight attendants, emergency crews and emergency planners. In the aviation industry, Haynes remains a hero, and he has spoken to more than 1,000 audiences.

In late October or early November (date to be announced), James Fallows, national correspondent for The Atlantic Monthly and a two-time recipient of the National Book Award, will speak. James Fallows has worked for the magazine for more than twenty years. His previous books include Breaking the News: How the Media Undermine American Democracy; Free Flight: From Airline Hell to a New Age of Travel; Looking at the Sun: The Rise of the New East Asian Economic and Political System; More Like Us: An American Plan for an American Recovery; and National Defense, which won the American Book Award for nonfiction. His article about the consequences of victory in Iraq, “The Fifty-First State?,” won the 2003 National Magazine Award. Fallows has been an editor for the Washington Monthly and Texas Monthly magazines, and a columnist for the Industry Standard. He writes for Slate and the New York Review of Books and is chairman of the board of the New America Foundation. He has worked on a software-design team at Microsoft and as chief speechwriter for President Jimmy Carter.

On Monday, Jan. 24, Edward Tenner, author of the bestseller Why Things Bite Back: Technology and the Revenge of Unintended Consequences, will speak. The book examines the often ironic and unpredictable impact of technologies in our lives. He explains why professional race-car drivers have a higher rate of accidents driving ordinary cars than other people do, why the introduction of football helmets has resulted in more injuries, and why air-conditioned subway trains make platforms 10 degrees hotter than the air outside. This book has been among the required texts for the Technology and Modern Civilization course at Embry-Riddle. Tenner, formerly a professor at Princeton University, has written several other books on technology and culture. His most recent, Our Own Devices: The Past and Future of Body Technology, deals with the reciprocal relationship between everyday objects and our bodies. In it, he explores how things like footwear, keyboards and eyeglasses affect the lives of those who use them. For example, the use of cell phones to send text messages has become so popular in Asia and Europe that it has led to new uses for the thumb.

On Thursday, Feb. 24, Michael Adas, author of the now-classic Machines as the Measure of Men: Science, Technology and Ideologies of Western Dominance, will speak. A professor at Rutgers University, Adas was one of the first to closely document the development of technology and the rise of Western cultural and political dominance. In his book, he argues that European countries colonized Asia, Africa, and the Pacific largely due to the overwhelming superiority of their technology, and that Western notions of “civilized” and “advanced” have been tied to scientific knowledge and technological ability since the 18th century. In another book, Islamic and European Expansion: The Forging of a Global Order, he offers insights on how colonizers assimilated with indigenous peoples and what the ultimate effects were. He argues for a more all-inclusive approach for studying European history, including the woman’s role in societies. Adas is Abraham E. Voorhees professor of history at Rutgers, where he teaches Southeast Asian and world history. He is the author of numerous books and articles on global and comparative history.

The Distinguished Speakers Series is sponsored by Embry-Riddle’s Honors Program, which was established to attract and retain incoming students who have the highest academic qualifications and a strong record of leadership and service. For information about the Honors Program or the Distinguished Speakers Series, please contact Program Director Geoffrey Kain, professor of humanities and communication, at (386) 226-6650.

Embry-Riddle, the world’s largest, fully accredited university specializing in aviation and aerospace, offers more than 30 degree programs in its colleges of Arts and Sciences, Aviation, Business, and Engineering and meets the needs of students and industry through its educational, training, research, and consulting activities. Embry-Riddle educates more than 28,000 students annually in undergraduate and graduate programs at residential campuses in Prescott, Ariz., and Daytona Beach, Fla., through the Extended Campus at more than 130 teaching centers in the United States and Europe, and worldwide through distance learning.

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