Royal Caribbean Explorer of the Seas  Miami to Rome – April-May 2023

 Sapphire Princess  15 day Hawaii Oct 2023  

Celebrity Eclipse  Dec 2023

1.  2023 & 2024 Solar Eclipses across U.S. 

2.  Astronomy Part 1 – the Big Galactic Picture

3.  Astronomy Part 2 – Inside the Milky Way

4.  Big Bend National Park of Far West Texas

5.  Costa Rica – Pacific Coastline

6.   Panama Canal – the dramatic origins, history, and current operations of the original and recently expanded canal.

7.  Climate Change Explored

8.  American Founders & the 1st Amendment to U.S. Constitution

8.  Einstein’s Special and General Relativity Explored

10..  Evolving Electric Grid – Foundation of Modern Civilization

11.  Forests for the Trees – Intelligent Communities of Biodiversity

12.  German Immigration to Texas – Cultural Exchange

13.  Grand Canyon National Park – Earth History Exposed

14.  Great Galveston Hurricane of 1900

15.  Iceland – Tectonic Land of Fire and Ice

16.  New England Winter – Coastal Nor’easters to Boston

17.  Race for the South Pole – Norwegians vs British – 1911-1912

18.  Romans-Celts-Druids-Germanic Tribes – Collision of Cultures

19.  Texas Hill Country History, Geology, and Wildflowers

20.  Texas Tumultuous Political History – 1800s – present

21.  U.S.-Russian Space Race: Competition & Cooperation

For Hawaii 2023

Astronomy Part 1 – Large Scale Galactic Picture

Extend your mind’s eye into the deep cosmos through spectacular images of galaxies gathered by the Hubble Space Telescope and the new James Webb Space Telescope. Understand the role that information-rich light from stars plays in unraveling the mysteries of the universe, and gain a better understanding of our place in the cosmos.

Astronomy Part 2 – Inside Our Milky Way

Examine star formation, evolution, and disintegration occurring over time throughout the Milky Way. Learn how massive hydrogen clouds known as nebulae produce stars, and how stars in turn fuse protons in their core into the heavier chemical elements found on the Periodic Table that form next-generation solar systems and, under the right conditions, life.

Geology of Hawaiian Islands

Riding over thin ocean-floor hotspots, the basaltic Hawaiian Islands lumber northwest in the Pacific Ocean, like gigantic mountains in motion. Mauna Kea – home to one of the world’s great telescope complexes – rises 13,796 feet above sea level. Yet measured from the ocean floor, its summit towers 33,500 feet (10,200 meters), higher than Mt. Everest. This presentation examines this phenomenal tectonic region that supports a spectacular array of flora and fauna.

Einstein’s Special and General Relativity Explored

Your smart phone, aircraft and marine navigation systems, use calculations specified in Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity to maintain GPS locational accuracy. Nuclear power plants apply the concept of Einstein’s equation E=MC² to produce electricity. This presentation examines the fascinating path of 19^th century scientific discovery that led to Einstein’s conclusions and allows for 21^stcentury civilization.

21st Century Space Age

Representing the dawn of a new Space Age, this presentation examines private entrepreneurial companies such as SpaceX, Blue Horizon, United Launch Alliance, Sierra Nevada, Virgin Galactic, and many others that are partnering with – and pressing – NASA and the European Space Agency to expand human presence and exploration farther into the solar system.

Evolving Electric Grid – Foundation of Modern Civilization

Tracing the steps from the Michael Faraday’s first electromagnetic generator in the early 19^th century to the “greatest engineering feat of the 21^st century” – the global electric grid – this presentation takes the audience on a whirlwind tour of scientific discovery, competition, and application.

Romans-Celts-Druids-Germanic Tribes Slide Presentation – A Collision of Cultures

As Roman expanded north of the Alps into Europe, it encountered widespread Celtic tribes, some led by Druid chieftains, who were scattered across what is now France, Spain, and Switzerland. Those Celtic tribes were, in turn, being pressed by Germanic tribes migrating east. This presentation examines the dramatic events that unfolded as these various cultures collided in the mountains and plains of Europe and across the English Channel into Briton.

2023 & 2024 U.S. Solar Eclipses

On October 14, 2023, and again on April 8, 2024, the moon will pass between the Earth and Sun, casting a shadow along a relatively narrow “path of totality” across America. This presentation will highlight events during the August 2017 total eclipse of the sun across America, and project what we can expect in these coming two celestial events.

Forests for the Trees – Intelligent Communities of Biodiversity

Groundbreaking botanical and arboreal research have rewritten our understanding of how trees interconnect and communicate through fungal networks to share information and resources in forests. This presentation examines the work of leading researchers in the field and the implications for human interdependence with the larger biosphere we share with all species on the planet.

Alternate talk

Climate Change Explored

Using NASA, NOAA, and ESA satellite imagery and data – and highlighting reports by the U.S. military, insurance companies, and global investment firms – this presentation examines warming atmospheric and oceanic conditions that are triggering dramatic and expensive changes in climatic and weather patterns. Alternative energy and policy solutions in progress are examined.