Dr. Clearwater/NASA: . . . . Wed, Oct 16, 2:04PM PDT (-0700 GMT). . . 
Hello! This is Dr. Yvonne Clearwater from NASA/Ames Research Center in
Mountain View, Calif. I hold a Ph.D. in psychology and have worked for
many years in various fields of design. Currently I am working as a
producer of video and multimedia informational products that describe and
demonstrate the advanced information technologies developed by NASA.
Prior this, I worked for many years in the research and design of complex
environments in which people live and work, especially in harsh and remote
places like space, underground, desert settings and very cold climates.
Let's chat.

Hello, Dr. Clearwater !! We are the grade 6 class from Gibbons School, in
Gibbons, Alberta, Canada. We are happy to meet you, especially, since you
have such a busy schedule. We used our science class to discuss your
projects, and have many questions to ask you. You have had such an
interesting life !! We would like to know more about you and your
projects. We are unable to make the chat today, and hope you might be able
to answer some of our questions by email. 

The Gibbons "Top Ten" list:[br]1. Where are you from, and do you have a
family ?[br]2. When did you first become
interested in designing habitats ?[br]3. How do you get the time to do all
of your work ?[br]4. Are any of your projects on the
internet ? (from Jenna)[br]5. Have you designed anything that has gone
into space ? (from Jodi)[br]6. Where do you get your
ideas from ?[br]7. How did you design that undewrground command center
?[br]8. What is / was your favorite project ?[br]9.
Have you ever designed a classroom ?[br]10. How did you become involved in
the Emmy's ?

*laughing* ... hello Dr. Clearwater ... This is Neela Bell, the grade 6
teacher from Gibbons School. I apologize for the formatting of the last
post ... I was trying to be creative ... we hope you are able to answer a
few of our questions, but we understand you are very busy. Thank you for
your time ! 

In Gibbons, the kids were just dismissed. They were very excited about
talking to you, but the time change didn't allow that, today.

What other kinds of confined space designs do you or have you worked on
besides space craft?

So, responding to question "What other kinds of confined space designs do
you or have you worked on besides space craft?" I have conducted pre- and
post-design research (i.e. before and after the actual design solution) on
many different types of settings, including offices, laboratories,
hospitals and specialized medical facilities, super-high rise buildings,
and underground habitats and command centers,.

We have actually tried to incorporate some of this design research into
our classrooms. Do you think soft lighting and music
helps kids learn better?

Depends on what you mean by "soft lighting and music." Abundant evidence
that lighting is critical to not only perception, but to sensation (i.e.
to not only what we see, but how we interpret and feel about what we see).
Lighting is also fundamentally related to the use of color and texure in
the surfaces of a setting. Music and other background sounds have been
used to both stimulate and produce calming effects for astronauts and
Cosmonauts aboard long duration space flights.

How much does the psychology background have to do with your career now?

A Ph.D. in psychology basically serves as a "license" to apply methods,
theory, etc. from behavioral sciences. A research orientation is useful in
any problem solving venture. What I have always been attracted to is the
design of things, places, and now information. So, I use my initial
training in psych in attempting to get my head around the problem before
we enter into the solution stage. 

Did you study art?

Did I study art. Yes. Still do. The more I have gotten involved in "hands
on" multimedia technology, the more I find that I
return to the basics of drawing with colored pencils, painting (with air
brush and bristle brushes), and even just sketching with
graphite pencils when I am sitting through a boring lecture!

How long have you been interested in space travel? 

I did not really get interested in space travel until the announcement in
Jan. 1984 by (then) President Ronald Reagan that the
U.S. would begin the design of an international space station. By the end
of that year, I was working for NASA on the Space
Station Design Team. In answer to earlier question, no I am not currently
working on the deisgn of space habitats. . . simply
because the U.S. is not planning to send humans to explore other planetary
surfaces for a long time. NASA intends to
continue space exploration in "the new millennium" by smart, fast,
autonomous machines (probes, orbitors, and landers).
People will follow later when the economic and international political
climate are supportive of the venture. 

How did you get into judging television from working at NASA?

Got into judging Emmys by being heavily involved with NATAS, the National
Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
Now serve as an elected member of the local Board of Governors. NASA
encourages its senior level professional to be
involved in professional societies and organizations -- esp. when such
orgs. are dedicated to improving the standards and the
"excellence" in a field. Most NASA people join engineering societies. I
branch out a bit further due to interests and work
focus.

Do you judge at the Emmy's now?

Yes, I serve as a panel leader for judging Emmy award competitions in the
various documentary categories. Most recently, for televised documentaries
of and educational programming for children and teens. I am currently
working with another producer to design and write TV series for teens to
explain/present some of the exciting science and technology inside of
NASA.

Did you work with the Russians for designing MIR?What kinds of space craft
environment help astronauts from not going crazy in space? 

No, I did not work on MIR. The former Soviet Union had a strong program in
what they called "technical Aesthetics," . . .similar to NASA's focus on
"Space Human Factors." They experimented in the use of color, light,
music/sound and other environmental factos in the continual redesign of
their many generations of the MIR space station. They were very
"pragmatic" (trail and error). If it worked and the Cosmonauts liked the
effect, they kept it in. If not, they changed it. Even at that, the MIR
environment is much more cramped, crowded and sterile than what most
people would feel comfortable living in, esp. when they are prvented from
"leaving" for long periods of time.

Do you watch a lot of movies - did you do any work on the Apollo movie?

Yes. I watch a lot of movies. I also watch educational programming. I am
working on the design of a national educational program through NATAS (the
National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences) to teach young people
about becoming "Critical Viewers" of what they see on television, esp. for
braodcast news and other informational programming. A
fundamental reason that much of what is offered on television is so
useless is that the buying public has not DEMANDED anything better. When
people vote by changing channels, believe me, the networks listen.

By the way, this "Creating Critical Viewers" program will be offered
on-line (www), hopefully sometime next year. I'll ask
NASA to add a link from one of the the NASA www pages. 

What type of calming music do they use for long flights?

Are you really designing interplanetary space habitats now?

Dr. Clearwater, my students were awed at your accomplishments ... They
were curious about the amount of time you have spent at your job, and
whether you do other things (like sports, or hobbies).

What kind of military command center did you work on?

What's the thing that's most fun about designing a space shuttle??

What kinds of designs do they make for underground command centers - is
that for wars?

Dr.Clearwater - How does the space craft environment affect the
astronauts. What colors do you mainly paint the insides of the rooms and
stuff? Why do you paint them in those colors?