From Advances in Health Care Tech to Touching the Sun, APL Experts Bring Innovation to 2018 South by Southwest

Engineers and scientists from Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) will discuss their innovative work on NASA’s Parker Solar Probe and health care technology advances at 2018’s South by Southwest Interactive Festival, held March 9–18 in Austin, Texas.

Parker Solar Probe project scientist Nicola Fox and thermal protection system lead engineer Elizabeth Congdon will present “Touch the Sun: NASA’s First Mission to Our Star,” an in-depth look at the pioneering mission to fly through the Sun’s corona. Scheduled to launch in late July 2018, the spacecraft will revolutionize our understanding of our star. Held at 12 p.m. EST on Friday, March 9, Fox and Congdon will discuss how the mission will unlock many mysteries about stars like our Sun, and will explain the revolutionary thermal protection system (the heat shield) that makes the mission possible. APL was recently named one of Fast Company’s Top 10 Most Innovative Companies in Space for 2018, for its innovative work on Parker Solar Probe.

“The Cure: Hospital Technologies That Work Together” will be presented by Vice Admiral Raquel Bono, Director of the Defense Health Agency, and Sezin Palmer, mission area executive for National Health at APL. At 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, March 10, the two will discuss their organizations’ experiences tackling one of the biggest issues in health care — hospital technologies that don’t work together and can’t integrate information. Combining the resources of the military health system and the systems engineering expertise of APL, Vice Adm. Bono and Palmer will share their vision to improve health care’s costly challenge of interoperability.

Johns Hopkins APL is a university affiliated research center, an independent, nonprofit organization that conducts essential research, development and systems engineering to support national security needs. The Laboratory’s scientists, engineers and analysts serve as trusted advisors and technical experts to the government, ensuring the reliability of complex technologies that safeguard our nation’s security and advance the frontiers of space. We also maintain independent research and development programs that pioneer and explore emerging technologies and concepts to address future national priorities.