On May 21, 2013, Mr. Tom Pfitzer, APT President, presented a keynote address at the International Association for the Advancement of Space Safety (IAASS) Conference. Mr. Pfitzer dedicated his keynote address to Mr. Pat Clemens, his friend and professional colleague who passed away on May 11th. The title of the address was, “What would Pascal think about Space Safety?”
Over 450 years ago, Blaise Pascal, the father of modern risk assessment, wrote extensively on the preferred methods, techniques, and approaches to assess risks. The keynote address explored how these concepts and precepts apply today. The research supporting the paper was conducted by Mr. Pat Clemens and other APT employees. A complete version of the speech with associated sides can be found here (“What would Pascal think about Space Safety”).
The keynote address was one of several topics presented at the 6th Conference of the IAASS. This year, the conference was held in Montreal, Canada hosted by McGill University. For more information, see the IAASS web site and Space Safety Magazine.