After more than 48 years of introducing the wonders of the night skies and heavenly bodies to thousands of students and local residents, Santa Barbara City College Earth and Planetary Science Professor Fred Marschak is getting ready to pack up his telescopes, retire and move with his wife Nancy back to their home state of Pennsylvania.

Mr. Marschak, who has taught at SBCC for 37 years, has been not only a long-term fixture on the college campus but is widely known as an astronomy education ambassador for the entire Santa Barbara community.

To honor his contributions, SBCC, the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, and the Dorothy Largay and Wayne Rosing Foundation will sponsor a free public lecture by David Seidel, Deputy Education Director at Jet Propulsion Laboratory, on Saturday, May 3 from 7:15 to 8:30 p.m. at the Natural History Museum’s Fleischmann Auditorium, 2559 Puesta del Sol, in Santa Barbara.

Titled “48 Years of Astronomy & Space Exploration – in Honor of Fred Marschak’s Life-Long Commitment to Teaching,” Mr. Seidel will present an overview of the advances made in the field in the last half century and during the course of Mr. Marschak’s teaching career. The two men have been professional colleagues and friends for the past 35 years.

While the lecture is free of charge, reservations for ticket pickup are required by going to: http://www.sbnature.org/tickets/eventdetail.php?eventid=155

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