Astronaut Don Pettit, an Oregon State University alumnus, will be the keynote speaker for the da Vinci Days festival at 7 p.m., Saturday, July 15, at OSU's LaSells Auditorium.

Da Vinci Days, an annual summer festival fostering the understanding and integration of art, science and technology through music, creative contests, exhibits and hands-on activities, is exploring "Tools for Change" this year. Pettit will deliver a presentation about his spaceflight experiences and tools that have enabled his learning about space and the world.

Selected by NASA in April 1996, Pettit reported to the Johnson Space Center in August 1996. Pettit was NASA International Space Station science officer from Nov. 23, 2002, to May 3, 2003, as a member of the sixth crew to live aboard the station. He logged more than 161 days in space, including more than 13 spacewalk hours. The Expedition 6 crew launched aboard space shuttle Endeavour on the STS-113 mission and returned to Earth aboard a Soyuz.

Pettit is available for media interviews after the event.

For more information or to schedule an interview, contact Chris Bell, OSU Associate Dean of Engineering, at 541-737-1598 or Sheena Oommen, NASA Johnson Space Center Astronaut Appearances Office, at 281-244-8116.

For more information about Pettit, visit:

http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/pettit.html

For more information about da Vinci Days, visit:

http://www.davinci-days.org/