Dr. Humberto Campins is an international expert on asteroids and comets. He attended the University of Kansas where he earned a bachelor’s degree in astronomy. He went onto the University of Arizona where he earned a master’s and Ph.D. in planetary sciences. As a graduate student he was named a representative to the Committee for Peaceful Uses of Outer Space of the General Assembly of the United Nations.
Always fascinated by the planets and answering the question of “where do we come from?” Campins has spent his entire career chasing asteroids, comets and other celestial bodies. He conducts research at observatories around the world, including Arizona, Chile, France, Hawaii, Spain and the Vatican.
In 2010 he discovered water ice and organic molecules on the asteroid 24 Themis and later on 65 Cybele adding weight to the growing theory that Earth’s water may have come from asteroids. His expertise have landed him on NASA and European Space Agency teams preparing interplanetary vehicles that will launch in the coming few years, including the OSIRIS-REx project and the Marco Polo-R mission.
Students at the University of Central Florida have benefited from Campins’ expertise and passion since 2002, and at the Universities of Arizona and Florida before that. He’s earned several prestigious awards including a Fullbright and the Don Quijote Award for his work. There’s even an asteroid, 3327 Campins, named after him.
An energetic and passionate speaker, Campins also gives talks around the world about asteroids as resources and hazards, the origin of life on Earth, space research and the future of space exploration. To arrange for a speaking engagement click on contact.