LPSC: Shot five times, Enceladus still a priority
The poster was just one among hundreds, an analysis of craters bigger than 2.2 kilometres on the surface of Saturn's moon Enceladus. But the author, Brian Karpes, was a bit more unusual.
On 14 February, Karpes, a geology graduate student at Northern Illinois University, was taking notes in a crowded lecture hall when a gunman burst in and began firing randomly with a shotgun and three handguns. The gunman, a former sociology student, killed five people before turning the gun on himself. Karpes was shot five times, including once in the head, and was taken by helicopter to the intensive care unit of a nearby hospital.
The LPSC poster was unattended, but dozens of colleagues had signed its border, wishing him well. There was a note in the middle of the poster: “Despite being shot FIVE times, Brian finished his LPSC poster Friday afternoon March 7, 2008. Because one bullet penetrated his skull and this wound has not yet fully healed, his doctors will not let him fly. He gets shot FIVE times and he still turns in his homework!!”
Comments
Now, that's dedication!
It's wonderful to hear that his colleagues are throwing their support behind him even though he's not there.
Posted by: Louise Valmoria | March 16, 2008 05:27 AM