Richard Garriott,
Space Explorer


Space explorer, award-winning computer game developer, entrepreneur, philanthropist, adventure traveler; they all describe the amazing career of Richard Garriott. The son of a NASA astronaut and a professional artist, Garriott's lifetime has been filled with adventure and success in nearly every corner of the Earth and beyond.

In October of 2008, Richard realized a lifelong dream to travel to space when he launched aboard a Russian Soyuz TMA-13 spacecraft to the International Space Station and became the sixth private citizen to fly in Earth's orbit. In doing so, Richard became the first second-generation American in space, following the same path of his father Owen Garriott, who completed two space missions in his NASA career.

Just this year, Richard, born in the United Kingdom, was awarded a Sir Arthur C. Clarke award for individual achievement. The prizes are set up to recognize UK achievements towards advancement in space exploration.

Having caught the space bug as a child from his father, Richard has held a passion towards the space industry and has invested in various related ventures such as the Zero-G Corporation, X-Prize, Spacehab, and is currently vice-chairman of Space Adventures. He has even participated in many space simulated training activities such as Zero-G parabolas, centrifuge simulations of Soyuz launches and landings, and Mig 25 flights to the edge of space.

Early in his career, Richard combined his leanings toward science and space with a creative intellect inherited from his mother, Helen Garriott, a professional artist. He began designing computer games while still in high school and turned his interest into a professional career that earned him legendary status in the video game industry. His Ultima series of role-playing games remains one of the most successful and longest running series in entertainment software history.

In 1983, Richard and his brother, Robert, established Origin Systems, Inc. The company, based in Austin, Texas, was recognized as one of the innovation leaders in the ever-changing world of entertainment software. In 1992, Origin was acquired by Electronic Arts (EA), a global leader in the entertainment software industry.

In 1997, Richard and his team created a new genre with the technologically groundbreaking title, Ultima Online. Ultima Online's continued success is measured by the hundreds of thousands of people who enjoy playing the game from all over the world, and by the explosion of online games that has followed since its release.

Richard retired from Origin in April of 2000 and formed Destination Games with his brother Robert. In 2001, Destination Games became part of NCsoft, where Richard continued to develop innovative new products.

Over his career as a computer game designer Richard has been honored with numerous awards including Entrepreneur of the Year from Inc. magazine and Computer Gaming World's 15 Most Influential Industry Players. In 2006 Richard was awarded with two industry honors for his work in the games business: selection into The Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame and the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Game Developers Choice Awards.

In the Austin community, Richard participates in various philanthropies with the earth and performance arts in mind. He regularly hosts the Austin Shakespeare Festival on his estate with his creation of a Shakespeare's Globe replica. Richard has also sponsored haunted trails and hosts a yearly concert and fund raiser on the behalf of the Wild Basin Preserve, has supported the Bat Conservation International group along with the Nature Conservancy.

Besides being a video game mogul, Richard has also maintained a thirst for adventure and exploration. Not only is he active in the adventure sports of scuba diving, hang gliding, sky diving, caving, and rappelling in addition to other water and winter sports, but Richard also enjoys taking his love of adventure to the next level. He has participated in two expeditions in search of meteorites on the continent of Antarctica during which he was able to witness spectacular views of the continent he still describes as the most beautiful place on earth. His other travels have taken him to the bottom of the Atlantic to see the Titanic, Rwanda to observe mountain gorillas and a canoe trip down the Amazon River.

To read more about Richard's space mission, check out Richard In Space

Greg Olsen,
President, GHO Ventures

Greg Olsen was the third private citizen to orbit the earth on the International Space Station (ISS). After training for five months (900 hours) at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Moscow, he launched on a Russian Soyuz rocket TMA-7 on October 1, 2005 with Cosmonaut Valeri Tokarev and Astronaut Bill McArthur (Expedition 12). He then docked to the ISS on October 3, and returned to earth on Soyuz TMA-6 on October 11 with Cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev and Astronaut John Phillips (Expedition 11). He performed more than 150 orbits of the earth and logged almost 4 million miles of weightless travel during his 10 days in space.

After an illustrious career as a research scientist and entrepreneur, Greg is now president of GHO Ventures in Princeton, NJ where he manages his “angel” investments, South African winery, Montana ranch, and performs numerous speaking engagements to encourage children – especially minorities and females- to consider careers in science and engineering. He is active in the New Jersey Technology Counsel (NJTC), NJTC Venture Fund, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and the NJ Commission on Science and Technology.

Greg received a BS Physics (1966), a BSEE and MS Physics (1968) from Fairleigh Dickinson University, then was awarded a Ph.D. in Materials Science from the University of Virginia (1971). He performed post-doctoral studies at the University of Port Elizabeth (South Africa), taught elementary physics classes, and then worked as a research scientist at RCA Labs (Sarnoff Center) from 1972 to 1983. He developed vapor phase epitaxial crystal growth of optoelectronic devices, including laser diodes and photodetectors for fiber optic applications based on the material indium gallium arsenide (InGaAs). He was awarded 12 patents, wrote more than 100 technical papers, co-authored several book chapters and has given numerous invited lectures to both technical and trade journal audiences. Greg is an IEEE LEOS Fellow and the first recipient of the prestigious IEEE Aron Kressel Award.

Greg founded EPITAXX, a fiber-optic detector manufacturer in 1984 together with Vladimir Ban. It was sold in 1990 for $12 million. He then founded Sensors Unlimited, a near-infrared camera manufacturer in 1992 with Marshall Cohen. Sensors was sold to Finisar Corp. for $600 million in 2000, repurchased by the management team in 2002 for $6 million, then sold again to Goodrich, Corp. in 2005 for $60 million.

Greg is active in many civic organizations including Trenton Big Brothers and Sisters, Trenton Boys and Girls Club, Trenton Soup Kitchen, Princeton Historical Society, Custer Battlefield Preservation Committee and Fairleigh Dickinson University and University of Virginia Alumni Associations. In his spare time he enjoys golf, country and western music and dancing, opera and horseback riding.

Lorie Karnath,
President, The Explorers Club

Lorie Karnath is the President of The Explorers Club, a club devoted to preserving and promoting exploration and field science. She is also a fellow, chapter chair, and member of the board of directors and chair of the scientific advisory board, for The Explorers Club. She is involved in numerous philanthropic activities, focusing much of these efforts on the realm of science and education. She has conceived and implemented many programs around the world, which foster creativity, discovery and the sciences. Lorie also participates on numerous international scientific and educational boards. An explorer, she has traveled the world in search of answers to some of the planet’s most elusive questions.

She is also a fellow of the Royal Geographic Society and a founding member of the RGS Hong Kong branch. She has led several Explorers Club flag expeditions, including one that followed the migration of the white storks, and following this helped to establish a sanctuary for these birds in Northern Germany. Lorie and her husband, Robert Roethenmund, a long time Explorers Club member, have helped to foster schools and orphanages in Myanmar and a hospital in northern China. In addition Lorie is a lecturer and author of many international articles and books, including "Nobel Journey", the children’s book on science "Wohin geht die Sonne, wenn ich schlafe?"(Where Does the Sun Go While I Sleep?), "Eine kurze Geschichte des Vermessens" (A Short Story on Measurement) and "The Return of the Storks". She received her MBA from INSEAD as well as was conferred an honorary Ph.D. She resides in Germany and the US.

Lorie Karnath is also serving as Chair of the 2009 Explorers Club Annual Dinner, scheduled for March 21, after which she will begin her term as President on March 22.

Lawrence Millman
Travel Author

Lawrence Millman is the author of 11 books, including such titles as Last Places, Our Like Will Not Be There Again, Northern Latitudes, and Lost in the Arctic. He is a Fellow of the Explorers Club and has a mountain named after him in East Greenland. He has traveled to Greenland 14 times, Labrador 9 times, and Hudson Bay 7 times, but he's never been to Paris, France (he's been twice to Paris, Maine, however)."

According to Lawrence, "I practice what I call 'creative ineptitude.' I habitually misread my compass. I take wrong turns. I fall through ice or plummet down mountains. But if everything went well, the trip would be totally boring, and I wouldn't have a thing to write about..."

THE TWINS AND THE FROG: A FAIRY TALE

by Lawrence Millman

Once upon a time a queen named Ephemera gave birth to Siamese twin princesses. The moment she saw the girls, Ephemera exclaimed: "Horrors! I've spawned a pair of bloody freaks." Whereupon she died from acute embarrassment. Their father King Peter named his daughters Annabelle and Claribelle, which also happened to be the names of his favorite courtesans. A more tolerant person than the Queen, he was likewise more mercenary, so he tried to capitalize on the girls' unusual physique.

Annabelle and Claribelle possessed a hump, which in those dark and superstitious times was considered a sure sign of God's grace. So it was that the King set up a concession for his daughters outside the royal palace. Soon peasants were coming from far and wide to feel the girls' hump, by which they hoped to be cured of their various afflictions. The King charged three splondurs a feel.

Over the years, so many peasants felt the hump that it wore down, then vanished altogether. The King called upon Merlin, but despite the magician's incantations the girls remained humpless. This was not a good sign. For if a hump indicated God's grace, the disappearance of a hump meant, well, anyone can do the arithmetic. Soon one of the King's knights reported a high fever, the swelling of his lymph nodes, and red spots on his skin.

"It's the Plague," declared Merlin, and he told the knight to take 30mgs of Streptomycin twice daily for a week. Unfortunately, Streptomycin hadn't been invented yet, and the knight ended up at the Great Roundtable in the Sky. That was just the beginning. The Plague ran rampant throughout the land, killing young and old, rich and poor, but mostly young and poor. In an effort to stamp it out, people tried stamping on each other, but to no avail.

As for King Peter, he attempted to fight off a short life expectancy with alchemy and cheap whores. One morning Merlin burst into his bedchamber while he was carousing with a girl named Tammi.

"Pardon me, my liege," said the magician, "but I've just had a symbolic dream."

He went on to describe this dream: There was a chorus line of giant rats, all holding hands, in the middle of which was the King himself. They were performing hits from the Dark Ages, including that old favorite, "I Got Superstition." At last the ensemble left the stage, but only the rats returned for a curtain call.

"Read your dream," said the King.

"Not to be pessimistic, sire, but it says that you will soon by carried off by the Plague."

"Rubbish!" laughed the King. For twelve of his royal forebears had died of syphilis, and he was not one to break with tradition.

"Dreams don't lie," said Merlin.

A fortnight later the King died of tertiary syphilis, thus proving that heredity doth make a mockery of our dreams. Now Annabelle and Claribelle ascended to the throne. They were eighteen years old, and they'd been in a peevish mood ever since they lost their hump. Their new position of power gave them the chance to turn this mood into political action. First they imprisoned anarchists, atheists, and asthmatics in dank dungeons, then they made literacy a crime second only to high treason.

One day Claribelle tripped over an elf, fell down, and broke her hip. The hip in question happened to be the same one she shared with Annabelle. Lying in traction, the twins swore vengeance on all elves. "Wipe out the little buggers!" they told their knights. Soon knights were roaming the countryside and spearing elves en brochette. Those they didn't spear, they squashed. Those they didn't squash, they dropkicked into the nearest sewage ditch. The remaining elves needed help, and they needed it fast, so they paid a visit to Merlin.

"Soften their heart, Merlin," the elves said.

"I'm too senile."

"But you were once a great magician."

"Those girls don't need magic," Merlin said. "They need sex..."

But what man would be willing to risk life and limb for a tumble with the twins? the elves wondered. The Black Knight, of course! For he'd always said he wanted to sleep with two honkies at once.

"You gotta be shittin' me, man," said the Black Knight. "I ain't sleepin' with them chicks."

Well, that's it for us, thought the elves. We're going to join gnomes, hobbits, and pixies on the list of extinct species. Then they had an idea. They headed down to the nearest swamp and began kissing frogs. Most of the frogs they kissed just hopped away with disgusted looks on their faces, but one of them turned into a handsome, well-hung prince named Charming.

"How long were you a frog, Charming?" the elves asked.

"312 goddamn years!"

"Wow!" exclaimed the elves. "Bet you're pretty horny, huh?"

"Horny ain't the word for it. You ever screwed a frog? I mean, I still had the brain of a prince..."

"Say no more, friend. We've got just the broad for you."

The elves led Charming to the royal palace. He still hopped a little, and he still had a few warts. Otherwise, he was a real hunk. The twins instantly fell for him.

"Hey, Big Boy," said Annabelle. "Why don't you join us?"

"I just love that stale, swampy smell in a man," remarked Claribelle.

After 312 goddamn years, Charming was only too glad to comply. He climbed into traction with the twins, and soon all three were making the beast with two backs. All of a sudden Charming turned back into a frog. For the elves hadn't realized that you have to kiss a frog fully on the lips, not give it a quick peck on the cheek, if you want an irrevocable Prince.

Now the twins were stunned at the sight of a little green amphibian squatting where a virile young man had been only a moment before...and not only stunned, but furious. They called a meeting of knights and demanded that every frog in the kingdom be summarily executed. "And don't forget the tadpoles!" they added.

But our fairy tale ends on an upbeat note. With all the knights wallowing around in swamps and the twins stuck in traction, the elves took over the kingdom. Right away they passed a law banning syphilis and peevish moods. Merlin died. Ordinary hygiene and weekly visits from a cleaning woman cured the Plague. Merlin died yet again. And everyone -- or at least every elf -- lived happily ever after.

Michael Unthank,
Executive Director, Harlem Arts Alliance

In addition to his work with the Harlem Arts Alliance, Mr. Unthank serves as an arts management and planning consultant and advisor to clients in and beyond New York City. From 1990 through 2004 he was head of State/Local Partnerships for the New York State Council on the Arts, (NYSCA), where he was responsible for policy development and oversight of the agency’s decentralized grants program, and where he initiated development and leadership training programs for artists and arts administrators. Prior to working at NYSCA, he served as Special Assistant for Programs and, later, as Director of Public Events at the New York Department of Cultural Affairs. He has also worked at Just Us and The Peoples Survival Theatre companies of Atlanta, and with the Billie Holiday Theatre in Bedford Stuyvesant.

Unthank has served as advisory panelist for the Louisiana Division of the Arts, the South Carolina Arts Commission, the National Endowment for the Arts, and as a trustee of the Children’s Art Carnival of Harlem. In addition, he served as Chair for the Community Development Interest Area and as a member of the Policy Committee for the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies. He is currently working on several documentary film projects including as executive producer for Dancing Like Home, a film focusing on dance traditions of Senegal. A native of Philadelphia, Unthank holds a Bachelor of Arts, (BA), in Journalism from Hampton University and studied at the New School University, Master of Arts Program in Media Studies. He currently resides in Harlem.

Michael Unthank can be contacted at michael@harlemaa.org