Wi-Fi Innovator Alex Hills to Help Radio Free Palmer Celebrate its First Months on the Air
The man most responsible for Wireless computing will be the keynote speaker at the Radio Free Palmer Annual Meeting on May 20 at 2:00 PM at Turkey Red Restaurant in downtown Palmer. Renowned percussionist Meggie Aube will perform after the talk. He will be introduced by Lieutenant Governor Mead Treadwell.
This is an exciting annual meeting for Radio Free Palmer members, many of whom have been involved for the six years it took to put the fledgling community radio station on the air. Volunteers applied for and received a coveted Federal Communications Commission license. They found locations for both a main antenna and a secondary “translator” antenna. They built the station with help from a wide range of donations and grants.
The station already offers a breadth of locally produced programming, including various music shows, a mushing show, a technology show, and health show – all available on the web and on the radio at 89.5 FM. More programming is on the way, all produced by enthusiastic and knowledgeable local volunteers. In addition, Radio Free Palmer streams Borough Assembly and School Board meetings through its radiofreepalmer.orgwebsite.
Dr. Alex Hills is Distinguished Service Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering and Engineering & Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University. At Carnegie Mellon, Professor Hills conceived and built the world’s first Wi-Fi network. He tells the story in his new book,Wi-Fi and the Bad Boys of Radio.
The title of his talk will be “Wi-Fi and the Alaska Connection.”
Meggie Aube, born and raised in Alaska, graduated from the University of Alaska, Anchorage with a bachelor’s degree in percussion performance in 2006. While in Alaska, she distinguished herself as a performer and educator, performing recitals and teaching throughout the state. She completed her Master’s degree in 2008 and earned her Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Percussion Performance and Pedagogy in May 2011. She actively performed throughout the Midwest in numerous professional and university ensembles. Dr. Aube has had the pleasure of teaching and performing at the Amman National Music Conservatory in Amman, Jordan. She was also the founder and artistic director of the Palmer Arts Council Summer Percussion Camp; and this summer will be the percussion instructor at the Lutheran Summer Music Festival in Decorah, Iowa.
