Dr. Penelope Boston is the director of NASA’s Astrobiology Institute. Prior to joining NASA, Boston founded and directed the Cave and Karst Studies Program at New Mexico Tech, where she also served as a professor and led their Earth and environmental sciences department as chair. She also served from 2002 to 2016 as associate director of the National Cave and Karst Research Institute, a congressionally mandated institute in Carlsbad, New Mexico.

The event is free and open to the public. A reserved ticket is required. Contact the Box Office at 815-226-4100 or boxoffice@rockford.edu to reserve your free ticket. The Clark Arts Center is accessible.