Join the AIAA San Diego Section for our first in-person event since the COVID shut down for a night out with fantastic food and hand-crafted beverages while hearing from our own Gary Fogel as he highlights his new book!
Helix Brewery with God Save The Cuisine Food Truck
8101 Commercial St, La Mesa, CA 91942
Monday Nov 15th 2021
Social Mixer 5:30pm - 6:30pm
Book Highlights & Presentation 6:30pm - 7:30pm
Wrap-Up / Optional Book Signing 7:30pm - 8:00pm
RSVP at https://forms.gle/oxrTdy7BBXXq3bff6
Learn more about Park Van Tassel & Author Gary Fogel
Gary Fogel’s SKY RIDER, The Story of Park Van Tassel, and the Rise of Ballooning in the West.
With a reputation as the hot-air balloon capital of the world and the home of the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta®, the southwestern desert city of Albuquerque frequently showcases the magic and adventure of ballooning. This legacy links back to the 1880s and a man by the name of Park Van Tassel. Through his pioneering flight, Van Tassel not only opened the skies to future generations across New Mexico, but he also opened minds to the possibility of manned flight throughout the American West.
A charismatic, P. T. Barnum–like showman, Van Tassel rose from obscurity to introduce the new science of ballooning and parachuting throughout the West. Van Tassel toured extensively—from California to Utah, Colorado, and Louisiana and later embarking on an international journey that took him to Hawaii, Australia, Southeast Asia, India, Africa, and beyond. This journey also for the first time included women as a part of the show, especially important during the women’s rights movement of the late nineteenth century. Sky Rider weaves together the many threads of Van Tassel’s extraordinary life journey, situating him at last in his rightful place among the prominent aerial exhibitionists of his time.
Meet the author at Helix Brewery!
Gary Fogel Gary Fogel serves as Chief Executive Officer of Natural Selection, Inc., a privately held machine learning company in San Diego, California. He serves on the board of advisors for a variety of tech start-ups making use of AI in novel ways. He received a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of California, Santa Cruz and received a Ph.D. in biology from the University of California, Los Angeles focusing on molecular evolution.
Gary is also adjunct faculty at San Diego State University and serves as a lecturer in the Department of Aerospace Engineering and is an AIAA Associate Fellow.
Help honor Van Tassel’s legacy by donating funds to mark Van Tassel’s resting site.