At the 2017 Hinman Dental Meeting, Dr. Scott Parazynski, astronaut and physician, addressed an enthusiastic crowd. A veteran of 5 space flights, Parazynski has spent 8 weeks in space and 47 hours on space walks. His physician experience has also been put to use outside of Earth—he has served as chief medical officer on multiple expeditions and space flights.
Parazynski was introduced to the Hinman meeting by his friend and fellow speaker Mr. Imtiaz Manji. Parazynski’s belief in risk management lends itself to dentistry, as was seen in today’s presentation, entitled, "Risk Is an Essential Part of Success."
"People see me as a risk-taker," Parazynski said after his talk on Thursday. "But with risk management, you can maximize success."
This daring-yet-sensible outlook has earned him the unique honor of being the only person to have flown in space and summited Mount Everest. In addition, he is a 2016 inductee of the US Astronaut Hall of Fame. Parazynski continues to invent devices for use in space as well as everyday medical technologies.
