Candidate for
Board of Trustees Member; Altadena Library

Dr. Steve Saunders has been an Altadena resident and a scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) for 32 years. He is married to the former Susan Larson, a retired 12th grade English teacher.

He attended the University of Wisconsin, Madison (BSc, geology), and Brown University, Providence, RI (PhD, geology). He was member of the U. S. Peace Corps, and served as a geologist in Ghana, Africa. His primary professional interest in planetary geology has led him to extensive study of the geological processes of the Moon, Venus and Mars.

In the '90s Steve was Project Scientist of the Magellan Mission that mapped Venus. He was the first Director of the NASA Office of Space Science Solar System Exploration Education and Outreach Forum. He is a recipient of the NASA Exceptional Service Medal (1988) and the NASA Exceptional Scientific Achievement medal (1991). He has more than 50 scientific publications in the field of planetary geology and comparative planetology.

In addition to his planetary research activities, he has been involved in maintaining NASA's planetary data in a form available to the public and for researchers throughout the world, as Project Scientist for the Planetary Data System and Director of the JPL Regional Planetary Data Facility. Steve Saunders brings his broad experience in management of people, scientific research, space exploration and electronic information to the Altadena Library Board of Trustees.

At the present time he is Project Scientist of the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission. This mission will arrive at Mars on October 23rd , 2001, to map the planet's minerals and search for water.

Steve is involved in community affairs. He is past President and a current member of the Altadena Library Board of Trustees, past President of the Friends of the Altadena Library Board, past President of the Rotary Club of Altadena, and serves on the Medical Ethics Board and Institutional Review Board of St. Luke Hospital in Pasadena.