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Astrogeologist and Inventor/Talk Show Host to Speak at Graduation

Carolyn S. Shoemaker

Carolyn Spellman Shoemaker is the leading comet discoverer of the 20th century. She has achieved worldwide recognition in her field as a planetary astronomer with the discovery of 800 asteroids and 32 comets, more than twice as many as any other woman in the history of astronomy.

After attending Chico High, she attended Chico State College, graduating cum laude with a degree in history. A year later, she received a master's and a teaching credential from Chico State.

Shoemaker has been a visiting scientist at the Branch of Astrogeology at the U.S. Geological Survey in Flagstaff, Arizona, since 1980. She received an honorary doctorate of science from Northern Arizona University, where she is now a research professor of astronomy. She is also a staff member at Lowell Observatory. She developed photographic techniques for use with the Palomar Schmidt telescope that greatly facilitate the detection of fast-moving asteroids.

Her most significant discovery (with husband, Eugene, and David Levy) was of the Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9, which collided with Jupiter in 1994.

Bill Wattenburg

Willard "Bill" Wattenburg is an inventor, consultant, researcher, best-selling author, and talk show host on KGO Newstalk Radio. Wattenburg's show focuses on issues that affect everyone, such as deter-mining practical sources of alternative energy.

Wattenburg earned his B.S. in electrical engineering and mathematics from CSU, Chico in 1958 and later received his M.S. in electrical engineering and his Ph.D. in electrical engineering and physics from the University of California at Berkeley. He spent five years on the faculty at UC Berkeley and has founded three successful high-tech companies in the Bay Area.

Over the course of his career, Wattenburg has done extensive research for the government. He was instrumental in designing the guidance computers for NASA's Apollo moon missions.