Gerard Kitchen O'Neill

Gerard Kitchen O'Neill (1927 – 1992) was a U.S. physicist and space pioneer.

Whilst lecturing at Stanford University he posed the question to his students: "Is the surface of a planet really the right place for an expanding technological civilization?", to which the answer appeared to be no.

In 1977 he founded the Space Studies Institute at Princeton University. His research included inventing particle storage rings, worked on mass drivers, research and design concepts for space stations, Space colonization, solar power satellites, and lunar and asteroid mining. He authored the book "The High Frontier: Human Colonies in Space" which inspired a generation of space exploration advocates.

External Link

• "Is the surface of a planet really the right place for an expanding technological civilization?" Interviewing Gerard O'Neill