TedxClevelandStateUniversity

GIANT LEAP

James Free, director of the NASA Glenn Research Center, knows a thing or two about innovation. He is, after all, a NASA lifer with 24 years under his belt. On Oct. 24, he'll be sharing that innovative spirit during a talk at TedxClevelandStateUniversity. Here's a sneak peek at what he'll have to say.

"The person who's going to be the first boots on Mars is probably just starting middle school. That's a pretty weighty thought: That person exists today. So they're out there, they could be a relative of somebody in the audience, they could be in the audience, they could be in one of my kids' classes. I would love to say that when that person lands on Mars, they think, Hey, I heard Jim Free talk one time and that got me interested in NASA." — as told to Sheehan Hannan