IPOH: American astronaut Dr Catherine Cady Coleman will be one of the main speakers at the Pangkor Dialogue 2017, which will be held from Sept 11 to 12.
Coleman, who is also a chemist, will recount her experience of living in space for about six months, which saw her circling the earth 256 times – a distance of a million kilometres.
Institute Darul Ridzuan Chief Scientist Dr Mazalan Kamis said that when he invited Coleman, 57, to the conference, she had expressed excitement about sharing her experiences, and added that it will be her first time in the region.
“She had spoken of her experience in handling a small spacecraft and how she would look out the window and see the earth looking so small and floating like another spaceship,” he said at a press conference here yesterday.
Dr Mazalan said other speakers include neurology expert and Paralympic marathon record holder Dr William Tan from Singapore, who has inspired many from the disabled community; and former Ecuadorian President Jorje Jamil Mahuat Witt.
Other luminaries scheduled to speak include Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin; Oklahoma City mayor Mick Cornett, who succeeded in transforming the city of Oklahoma to attract the young; and founder of Honeybee Network India, Professor Dr Anil K Gupta.
Mazalan said 80 papers will be tabled, involving 10 sub-themes on the economy, human development, the environment, innovation and entrepreneurship, housing, youth, aging and development, wakaf, and women and regional development.
He said the Dialogue is themed “Driving the Future: Innovative Path Toward Sustainable Development”, which is expected to attract 1,200 people from more than 30 countries.