
Dr. Gary Fogel, author of ‘Sky Rider: Park Van Tassel and the Rise of Ballooning in the West’, will give a virtual talk in a Mesa Public Library program slated for Aug. 25. Photo Courtesy LAC
COUNTY NEWS RELEASE
Balloon Fiesta is only five weeks away, and the staff at Mesa Public Library is excited to welcome Dr. Gary Fogel for the occasion! On Thursday, Aug. 25 from 7 to 8 p.m. Dr. Fogel will give a virtual author talk about his latest book, Sky Rider: Park Van Tassel and the Rise of Ballooning in the West. Attendees will learn the fascinating legacy of the P.T. Barnum-like character who—in addition to co-inventing the parachute—took his concept of aerial exhibition on the road and set the stage for one of New Mexico’s most beloved events.
Fogel teaches aerospace engineering at San Diego State University and holds 12 world records and over 60 national records for aeromodels. His Altostratus I radio-controlled model sailplane is on exhibit at the National Aerospace Museum’s Udvar-Hazy Center in Virginia as an example of rapid, low-cost, low-risk prototyping. He has many interests including the evolution of flight, the use of biomimicry for aerospace engineering, and has authored several books on the history of aviation. In addition to serving as CEO of Natural Selection, Inc., a company focused on broad applications of machine learning, he is a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and the Academy of Model Aeronautics. He is also an associate fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
This free public program is made possible by Friends of Los Alamos County Libraries and will be livestreamed via Zoom. Registration is required to attend. Please visit the library’s event calendar for more information. Questions? Please contact Mesa Public Library’s Program Specialist, Jessica Jenkins at jessica.jenkins@lacnm.us or (505) 662-8257.