Join us for our Monthly NSS North Houston Space Society (http://NorthHoustonSpace.org) meeting.
This will be a hybrid meeting. Come in person at Barbara Bush Library (6817 Cypresswood Drive, Spring, TX 77379) or join us online using Zoom (updated): https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86974913400
The meeting will be on Saturday, June 14, 2024 at 2PM (US Central Time).
2:00 PM – Opening Remarks
2:10 PM – Space News – Greg Stanley
3:40 PM – NSS Education Now and Future – Xavier H. Gonzales, NSS VP of Education
4:00 PM – End of Meeting at the Library
(as soon as we can get there)
5:00 PM – Informal get together at PJ’s Coffee near the library
About our Featured Topic: NSS Education Now and Future
Xavier H. Gonzales, NSS Vice President of Education, will discuss the current and future direction of the National Space Society’s education outreach efforts. His talk will cover initiatives to support teachers in bringing space topics into the classroom, inspire students through the Space Settlement Design Competition, and expand access to space education through the NSS SpaceEdge platform.
About our Featured Speaker: Xavier H. Gonzales, NSS VP of Education
Xavier H. Gonzales brings a remarkable blend of experience across science, education, defense, and industry. With undergraduate degrees in Applied Mathematics and Biology and a graduate degree in Computer Science Engineering, his interdisciplinary expertise has fueled a dynamic career spanning more than three decades.
A published researcher on Kemp’s Ridley sea turtles and a former Field Biologist with U.S. Fish and Wildlife, Xavier’s early scientific work extended to the cloud forests of Mexico. His later contributions to U.S. intelligence were instrumental in compelling Russia to sign the Medium Range Nuclear Weapons Ban Treaty. A disabled Air Force veteran, he served as a Field Intelligence Analyst before transitioning to education and leadership.
Over 33 years, Xavier taught math, science, computer science, and cybersecurity at both high school and university levels. In the corporate world, he held leadership roles with Texas Instruments—where he managed education operations and finances for half of Texas—and CASIO USA, overseeing the western U.S. territory. As a consultant, he’s advised Texas Instruments, low-performing schools, the UT Charles Dana Center, and Spaceport MX.
Xavier is a frequent speaker at national and international conferences, with keynotes in mathematics, science, and space. He sits on the board of the ESCDC analog for Lunar and Mars habitats and contributes to national security and forward defense think tanks. A dedicated mentor, he also volunteers as a judge and Red Team advisor for the Space Settlement Design Competitions.
His career exemplifies the fusion of technical mastery, educational leadership, and visionary thinking in service of humanity’s future in space.
About the Meeting
Meetings are open to all age groups and interest levels. Come explore with us the potential that developing and exploring space has to better life here on earth and to open up new frontiers creating new perspectives that can help enrich the human experience.
The Vision of NSS is people living and working in thriving communities beyond the Earth, and the use of the vast resources of space for the dramatic betterment of humanity.
The Mission of NSS is to promote social, economic, technological, and political change in order to expand civilization beyond Earth, to settle space and to use the resulting resources to build a hopeful and prosperous future for humanity. Accordingly, we support steps toward this goal, including human spaceflight, commercial space development, space exploration, space applications, space resource utilization, robotic precursors, defense against asteroids, relevant science, and space settlement oriented education.
Website: http://NorthHoustonSpace.org
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NssNorthHoustonSpaceSociety/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/nss-north-houston-space-society/
Barbara Bush Library: https://hcpl.bibliocommons.com/v2/events?series=6765e65bfea9b97171fc2ac1
About Us
NSS North Houston Space Society is a chapter of the National Space Society (NSS) and is governed by the chapter bylaws. Our vision is “People living and working in thriving communities beyond the Earth, and the use of the vast resources of space for the dramatic betterment of humanity.” If you share this vision, please join us. (If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to our chapter president Nathan Price by email at Nathan.Price@gmail.com or phone 832-620-6385.
We are working to achieve this vision through our monthly meetings where we seek to educate the community about the potential of space, the current activities going on to achieve the promise of space, and to inspire people of all ages. Our meetings are usually the second Saturday of each month at 2 PM at the Barbara Bush Library.
NSS North Houston Space Society had its first meeting in January 2018 at the home of Nathan Price who serves as the chapter president. The chapter has had meetings every month since then except one.
In 2018, our chapter was recognized as the “Outstanding New Chapter USA 2018”.
Over the months our meeting attendance has fluctuated, but generally it has grown.
Starting with our May 2019 meeting, we moved to the Barbara Bush Library which has given us a room with the capacity for 70 people.
We have had engineers, scientists, space lawyers, space investors, visionaries, entrepreneurs, and others speak at our meetings discussing all aspects of space.
Our group includes people from a wide variety of fields including engineers, programmers, scientists, writers, and people in all sorts of fields. It is a friendly, welcoming group. And we look forward to seeing you at our next meeting.