Former NASA Astronaut Dr. Scott Parazynski to Present 54th Annual Hanify-Howland Memorial Lecture

Former NASA astronaut Dr. Scott Parazynski, veteran of five space shuttle missions and seven spacewalks, will deliver the 54th annual Hanify-Howland Memorial Lecture this October. 

Dr. Scott Parazynski is a highly decorated physician, astronaut and tech CEO, and was recently inducted into the US Astronaut Hall of Fame. He is a widely sought after keynote speaker on innovation, risk management, mentorship and leadership under extreme adversity.

The lecture will be given on October 29 at 8 p.m. in the Hogan Campus Center Ballroom at the College of the Holy Cross. The Hanify-Howland lecture series recognizes individuals who have distinguished themselves in the realm of public service in honor of Edward Hanify, a member of the graduating class of 1904, and Weston Howland.

Since 1965, the Hanify-Howland lecture series has brought a host of distinguished speakers to Holy Cross who have exemplified in their work the spirit of public service that the series was established to encourage. Past speakers include astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson; investigative journalist Bob Woodward; Steven D. Levitt, co-author of the bestselling books “Freakonomics” (Harper, 2009) and “Superfreakonomics” (Harper, 2011); Governor Jon Huntsman; Pulitzer Prize-winning couple Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn; and former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power.

In keeping with the traditional practice of the Hanify-Howland lecture series, Parazynski will conduct a seminar on campus prior to his lecture, which will allow students to interact with the speaker in an intimate and intellectually stimulating environment.

The event will be free and open to the public.

In 1992 Parazynski was selected to join NASA's Astronaut Corps and eventually flew five space shuttle missions and conducted seven spacewalks. He played a vital role during the construction of the International Space Station.

Highlights of Parazynski’s decorated NASA career include a global ozone mapping flight; leading the first joint US-Russian spacewalk while docked to the Russian space station Mir; serving as Sen. John Glenn's crewmate and "personal physician;" and assembly of the Canadian-built space station robotic arm.

In October 2007, Scott led the spacewalking team on STS-120, during which he performed four extravehicular activities. The final spacewalk is regarded by many as one of the most challenging and dangerous ever performed. An Aviation Week and Space Technology article likened the accomplishment to the Apollo 13 mission.

His 2017 memoir, “The Sky Below”, gives his first-hand account of how he has overcome extreme odds both in space and on earth.

Parazynski is a prolific inventor/product developer, and serves on the boards of several companies. He is the founder and current CEO of Fluidity Technologies, focused on the development of revolutionary input devices powered by machine learning to intuitively move through physical and virtual space.