The Mississippi State University Student Association is hosting in Buzz Aldrin to be the keynote speaker for the 2016 Global Lecture Series.  This event will be held on Feb. 9 in the Bettersworth Auditorium of Lee Hall at 7 p.m., doors opening at 6:30 p.m.
The Global Lecture Series  (GLS) is an annual organized lecture event organized by the Student Association. 
 JoJo Dodd, SA President, said the purpose of this series is to create opportunities for students to hear from people who have helped shape the world.
Audrey Anne Estes, GLS director of special events said the SA makes this event free so that every student has the opportunity to experience it.  
“My goal for the Global Lecture was to provide Mississippi State students with an experience that they would never forget, and that they could not get anywhere else,” Estes said.
Mississippi State students with an experience that they would never forget, and that they could not get anywhere else,” Estes said.
The GLS is primarily planned and organized by students.  The speakers are chosen by the SA who desires to get someone who the other students are interested in.  The past three Global Lecture Series speakers have been Condoleezza Rice in 2013, who was the 66th Secretary of State, Dan Rather in 2014, who was a CBS Evening News anchor, and Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican Nominee for President.
Buzz Aldrin is different because he is not a political figure as many of the past featured GLS speakers have been.
“This year we wanted to bring in someone whose work in the STEM fields has made a lasting and world-shaping impact,” Dodd said.  “It’s hard to imagine a more iconic person alive today who fits that description than Buzz Aldrin.”
Buzz Aldrin created history by being one of the first men to walk on the moon on July 20, 1969, along with his partner, Neil Armstrong.  Aldrin and Armstrong with Michael Collins were apart of the Apollo 11 mission whose purpose was to land men on the moon and return them safely to earth.  The mission lasted for eight days.  The walk on the moon was broadcasted to a world-wide audience on live TV.
Aldrin was born Edwin Eugene Aldrin, Jr. on Jan. 20, 1930.  Aldrin made Buzz his legal first name in 1988 after his two older sisters called him “buzzer” instead of brother, which was then later shortened into Buzz.  Aldrin attended the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York graduating 3rd in his class in 1951 with a degree in Mechanical Engineering.  
After his mission to the moon, Aldrin was assigned as the Commandant of the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base.  He retired in March 1972 after 21 years of service.  In 1987, Aldrin founded the Space Studies graduate program at the University of North Dakota.  He has also written nine books including his biography Magnificent Desolation, which was a New York Times Bestseller and his recent children’s book, Welcome to Mars: Making a Home on the Red Planet.  Aldrin received numerous awards including the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal.  
Aldrin currently resides in Satellite Beach, Florida.  He started the Buzz Aldrin Space Institute at Florida Tech in 2015.  He now spends his time lecturing throughout the world to promote his vision for our role in the future regarding space. 
The GLS funding is set aside each year in the MSU general fund.  This money is managed by students in the SA. For it to be possible for Aldrin to come to MSU, the SA partnered with the College of Arts & Sciences and the College of Engineering.  With their financial support, this year’s event was made possible.
Natalie Jones, director of programing and on the Executive with the SA, said  the SA is very excited to host Aldrin.
“The Student Association is extremely excited to have a man who has contributed so much to the advancement of science and space exploration.  Buzz Aldrin is an American icon, and his life and contributions to the fields of engineering and science have defined him as a legend in history,” Jones said.  “His bravery and passion for exploration is inspiring and we couldn’t be prouder or more excited to have him coming to campus!  All in all, we can’t wait to hear his amazing story and we look forward to his visit to campus!”