Jennifer Ouellette

ConDor XVII takes place in San Diego over the February 26-28 weekend. CJ Cherryh is the Guest of Honor.

This year’s theme is “Tripping the Past Fantastic” and James Hay, who always puts together an ingenious program, has been researching steampunk and other such things for many months.

He’s also been busy lining up guests who appeal to fans’ continuing interest in science and the future. A recent addition is Jennifer Ouellette of the Science and Entertainment Exchange, a program of the National Academy of Sciences.

She is the author of two popular science books, The Physics of the Buffyverse (2007) and Black Bodies and Quantum Cats: Tales from the Annals of Physics (2006).

The mission of the Exchange is to provide entertainment industry professionals with access to top scientists and engineers to help bring the reality of cutting-edge science to creative and engaging storylines. I wonder how easy it is for conventions to tap the Exchange for speakers, and how often they make use of this source? The Board of Advisors contains many familiar names, with Gregory Benford, Lawrence Kasdan, and Marvin Minsky having the most history in the genre.

[Via James Hay.]