Dr. Jesco von Puttkamer
| Name: | Dr. Jesco von Puttkamer |
| Also Known As: | Jesco Von Puttkamer |
| Occupation: | very frequent Star Trek convention guest, aerospace scientist with NASA, an advisor for Star Trek: The Motion Picture |
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| Works: | |
| Official Website(s): | |
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| On Fanlore: | Related pages |
Dr. Jesco von Puttkamer was a very frequent guest of honor at many Star Trek conventions, and NASA's (official, unofficial?) Star Trek fan liaison.
He wrote a single piece of fanfic, a story called "The Sleeping God," for Star Trek: The New Voyages #2.
von Puttkamer was also an occasional contributor to fanzines as a columnist and answerer of questions about science and space travel. See Organian Questor #6 (1978), Inside Star Trek #25, #26, #27, #28, #29 (1978-1979), Orion Quadrant #1, #2 (1979, 1980), and Interstat #30 (1980).
The Beginning of the Star Trek Connection
From a Q&A in Inside Star Trek #29 (1979):
How did the "Great Bird” get you?"
That's simple. The "Great Bird”, of course, is Gene Roddenberry, and we have known each other since a number of years. In 1975, I attended the legendary Chicago Star Trek Convention as invited speaker from NASA and wrote an evaluation report of the convention for the Space Agency. Gene's cracker-jack assistant, Susan Sackett, published parts of it in her book, "Letters to Star Trek" and Gene called it "the best analysis of this subject that I have ever seen," in a letter to me. From that time on, between the two of us, the "space connection" between the fiction of Star Trek and the fact of the space program developed. When plans for a major Star Trek movie (or, alternately, a new TV series) started to coagulate, Gene was wise enough (unlike most other Science Fiction movie producers) to realize that good SF movies simply cannot be made without expert science advise. So then, he - through Paramount - wrote to NASA requesting my services as Science Advisor. And here I am, for the last 3-1/2 years.
Con Guest of Honor and/or Presenter
- Space-Con (1976)
- Toronto Star Trek '76 (1976)
- Star Trek: Houston (1976)
- Oakland Con (1976)
- Minicon II (1977)
- Star TreKon (1979)
- August Party (1978, 1979)
- Schuster Star Trek Conventions/1976 (January) New York City Schuster Star Trek Convention
- Schuster Star Trek Conventions/1976 Washington D.C. Schuster Star Trek Convention
- Schuster Star Trek Conventions/1977 (September) New York City Schuster Star Trek Convention
- Schuster Star Trek Conventions/1978 (February) New York City Schuster Star Trek Convention
- Schuster Star Trek Conventions/1979 (September) New York City Schuster Star Trek Convention
- Starcon Heights (1980)
- Shore Leave (1980, 1981, 2000)
- Starbase Baltimore (scene of an embarrassing fall) (1980)
- PhringeCon (1981)
- Galactic Enterprise (1982, 1983)
- Science Fiction Festival (SFF) (1980)
- Schuster Star Trek Conventions/1981 New Jersey Schuster Star Trek Convention (1981)
- Love of Trek (1983)
Jesco von Puttkamer, from the Schuster Star Trek Conventions/1976 (January) New York City Schuster Star Trek Convention program book
part of his lengthy bio, along with some fan art, in the second Shore Leave program book (1980, 1981)
part of his lengthy bio, along with some fan art, in the second Shore Leave program book (1980, 1981)
possibly at Love of Trek in 1983, photo printed in WKFS Journal (June 1983)
from the 2000 Shore Leave program book
