Alann Lopes:  

Life Most of my time is spent on an educational project (EarthKAM) designed for middle school students. The project is headed by former astronaut, Dr. Sally Ride. EarthKAM makes it possible for middle school students to use the Internet to take pictures of the Earth with a digital camera we have in the International Space Station. The process and pictures are used in classrooms to teach young scientists about the Earth, Space and orbital mechanics. I'm also a co-founder of Sally Ride Science. A company dedicated to the production of various educational science materials including books, Science Camps, the TOYChallenge contest, and Science Festivals for middle school girls. These science festivals are typically held at university campuses across the country. In my copious spare time, I bike, peak-bag, orienteer and do lots of running. This year (2007) I've had several PRs at various distances, but the one I'm most proud of is a 3:16:38 in the marathon. This time qualifies me to run the Boston marathon in April of 2008. ---------------------- It’s been about 15 years since I updated my profile. Well, life has been decent although certainly not void of sad moments. Especially the death of my parents and of Dr. Sally Ride at such a young age. It’s wonderful that our government has honored Sally with a coin, a stamp and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. She was a remarkable human being and an inspiration to us all. Fortunately, my health continues to be good, and I’ve managed to enjoy little adventures that have yielded much happiness. Summiting Colorado’s 5 tallest peaks and running the Grand Canyon (R2R2R) from north rim to south rim and then back to the north rim a couple of times in my late 50s were memorable events. As was summiting Death Valley's Telescope Peak (elevation 11,043 feet) from Badwater (282 feet below sea level), also a couple of times. Finally, at age 60 I was fortunate to complete a 126-mile ultra marathon. U...Expand for more