Hal Clement (Harry Stubbs) was a fixture on the Boskone Program from the first Boskone until his death in 2003 — forty consecutive conventions (and that doesn't count the Boskones he attended in the 1940s). He combined a deep knowledge of science blended with wonder and he combined joy in the learning of it with joy in the teaching of it.
After his death, NESFA decided to honor him by establishing the Hal Clement Science Speaker as a memorial. Each year we bring someone who shares his wide interest in science combined with a love of science fiction to speak at Boskone.
2007's Hal Clement Science Speaker was Richard Binzel, Professor of Planetary Sciences at M.I.T. His major areas of interest are the Pluto-Charon system and asteroid impacts. He was a member of the Planet Definition Committee that reported to the 2006 IAU meeting in Prague. Their report was modified at that meeting resulting in the reclassification of Pluto as a dwarf planet.
He is credited with the discovery of three asteroids-11868, 13064, and 29196.
He invented the Torino Impact Hazard Scale-a measurement of the probability of impacts from Near Earth Objects (from 0-no problem up to 10-global catastrophe). Interested parties should see http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/torino_scale.html for more details.
Awards
1991 H. C. Urey Prize, American Astronomical Society
1994 MacVicar Fellowship for teaching excellence at M.I.T.
Previous Hal Clement Science Speakers
| Hal Clement Science Speakers | ||
| Boskone 43, 2006 | William K. Hartmann | |
| Boskone 42, 2005 | Alastair Reynolds | |
| Boskone 41, 2004 | John Cramer | |