McIver Series 2024/2025: Near Earth Asteroids with Dr Carrie Nugent

An asteroid impact is the only natural disaster we have the technology to prevent. But prevention takes time, meaning we need to discover and track near‐Earth asteroids now. This talk will give an introduction to asteroids, including a few notable asteroid impacts. Carrie Nugent is a planetary scientist and a professor at Olin College, whose research applies new computational techniques to asteroid detection. She is a science communicator, who has published a book, Asteroid Hunters, presented a TED Talk, and hosts Spacepod, a podcast offering an inside look into space exploration.

This program is part of the 2024/25 McIver series. The Series is named in honor of Vivian McIver, longtime director of the library. All presentations are free and accessible to the public.