Jeffrey A. Carver—and twelve other sf/f writers—recently attended the first annual Launch Pad Astronomy Workshop, a NASA-funded educational program for established writers. The workshop was held at the University of Wyoming in Laramie from 15 to 22 July.
Carver told SFScope: “Workshop director, astronomer, and SF writer Mike Brotherton, and instructors Jerry Oltion and Jim Verley spent a week covering a myriad of astronomical topics ranging from stellar evolution and cosmology to back-of-the-envelope orbit calculations for writers. Visits to Red Buttes Observatory and the Wyoming Infrared Observatory (WIRO) capped a fascinating and enjoyable week for the writers in attendance. It was all part of a NASA program seeking to improve science literacy in the public by first improving science literacy among those who write stories that the public reads. A second workshop is planned for the summer of 2008.”
For more information, including application details when they’re available, see www.launchpadworkshop.org.
The photo below is by Jeremiah Tolbert, and shows the workshop participants. Front (left to right): K. Tempest Bradford, Josepha Sherman, Samantha Henderson, Jeffrey A. Carver, Michael Livingston, Vylar Kaftan, and Gerald M. Weinberg. Middle (left to right): Alaya Dawn Johnson, Vonda N. McIntyre, F. Brett Cox, Lori Ann White, Eugie Foster, and Mike Brotherton. Back (left to right): Scott Humphries and Jerry Oltion.

More photos of the workshop and participants are available online at Carver’s site: www.starrigger.net/launchpad.html and in a group album on Flickr at www.flickr.com/groups/launchpadworkshop.