Mountain View, CA, - The Mars Institute today announced that David G. Jankowski, Ph.D., will be joining the Institute's Board of Directors, bringing the number of Directors to four.

Dr. Jankowski is an Associate with the Orange County office of Knobbe, Martens, Olson & Bear, LLP, one of the largest intellectual property law firms in the United States. Dr. Jankowski specializes in representing clients in a variety of intellectual property matters, including patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets.

Prior to practicing law, Dr. Jankowski was an Assistant Professor of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire. His research involved computer modeling of solid planetary bodies, digital image processing and analysis. He has nine peer-reviewed publications in physics and planetary science.

Dr. Jankowski holds a B.A. (1985) in Physics from the University of California, San Diego, and a M.S. (1989) and Ph.D. (1994) in Astronomy and Space Sciences from Cornell University. His Ph.D. dissertation was entitled "Rheology and Structure of Planetary Near-Surface Materials From Landform Topography." Dr. Jankowski's thesis research included investigating the Martian subsurface through the analysis and modeling of crater profiles derived from Viking Orbiter images. He turned to law in 1996 and graduated from Stanford Law School in 1999.

"David is a great addition to the Mars Institute's Board and we are very happy to have him," said Marc Boucher, the Institute's CEO. "David is uniquely qualified, as he is a practicing attorney with a solid background in science and has expertise in Mars research, all of which the Mars Institute can now draw upon as we grow during the coming years."

"I am very happy to be joining the Mars Institute Board," said Dr. Jankowski. "I received tremendous satisfaction from my past work in Mars exploration and public education. My position with the Mars Institute will allow me to contribute in these areas in a new way, using my experience from law and business."

Dr. Jankowski lives in Yorba Linda, California with his wife and three children.

Dr. Jankowski joins the Mars Institute's current Directors: Marc Boucher, CEO of the Mars Institute, CEO of SpaceRef Interactive and CEO of aTerra Technologies; Dr. Pascal Lee, Chairman of the Mars Institute and Principal Investigator at the SETI Institute; and Dr. Charles Cockell, Vice-President of the Mars Institute, and a Research Scientist at both the British Antarctic Survey and the SETI Institute.

About the Mars Institute

The Mars Institute is a non-profit public benefit corporation registered and incorporated in both the United States and Canada whose purpose is to further the scientific study, exploration, and public understanding of Mars. The Institute:

• develops, implements and supports high quality peer-reviewed scientific research about the planet Mars, its present nature, and its climatic, geologic and possibly biologic evolution, including through analog studies (investigations of similarities and differences between the Earth, Mars and other planets);

• analyzes, develops and implements concepts, technologies and strategies for the exploration of Mars, by robotic systems and humans;

• informs the public on the results, progress, and benefits to humankind of Mars exploration through the development and implementation of educational and public outreach activities.

For more information, please contact:

Marc Boucher, CEO (Email)
NASA Research Park
Moffett Field, CA 94035-0006
Tel.: 1+ (250) 380-4614
http://www.marsinstitute.info