About twice a week a guest makes a presentation not directly related to the curriculum, followed by a reception, giving the students additional time for informal questions and open-ended discussions. Most guest speakers are prominent professors, researchers, or business leaders; some are also SSP alumni.

SSP's Guest Lecture series is underwritten by a grant from Lockheed Martin / Sandia National Laboratory.

Guest speakers at SSP / 2011 include:

SSP at Westmont College, CA Dr. Bryan Penprase Chair, Dept of Physics and Astronomy, Pomona College "Quasar Absorption Lines and how they Sample the Formation of Stars and Elements in the Early Universe" Dr. Warren Rogers '76 Prof. of Physics, Westmont College "Nuclear Astrophysics and the Origin of the Elements" Dr. Larry Sverdrup Senior Scientist, Trex Enterprises Corporation "Mad? Science!" Dr. Jonathan Coopersmith Assoc. Prof. of History, Texas A&M University "Why is Spaceflight Still So Expensive?" Dr. Sigrid Close Prof. of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Stanford "Asteroids and Space Situational Awareness" Dr. Paul Pottinger Asst. Prof. of Medicine and Infectious Diseases, Univ. of Washington Medical Center "Parasitic Infections: Impact, Neglect, and Opportunities" Dr. Cherie Briggs Prof. & Chair of Ecology, Evolution & Marine Biology, UC Santa Barbara "Fungal Disease in Frogs of the Sierra Nevada" Dr. Omer Blaes Prof. of Physics, UC Santa Barbara "Astrophysics of Black Holes" Mika McKinnon '00 Geodisaster Researcher, "Disaster Science Fiction"		Dr. 'Mad Scientist' Sverdrup hammers with a banana, frozen using liquid nitrogen.   Dr. Paul Butler SSP '77 describes planets outside of our solar system.
SSP at New Mexico Tech
John W. Briggs '76 Astronomer in Residence, HUT Observatory "Antarctic Odyssey: Winter-over at South Pole Station" Dr. Tyrone Hayes Prof. of Biology, UC Berkeley "From Silent Spring to Silent Night" Dr. Sherry Nelson Asst. Prof. of Anthropology, Univ. of New Mexico "What makes us human: Insights from the fossil record" Dr. Penelope Boston Director, Cave and Karst Studies, New Mexico Tech "Caves: Exploring Life Underground from Earth to Mars and Beyond"		Dr. Larry Sverdrup Senior Scientist, Trex Enterprises Corporation "Mad? Science!" Dr. Michael Dubson '73 Sr. Instructor, Assoc. Chair, Univ. of Colorado at Boulder "Physics vs. Lawyers: An Airline Crash Investigation" Dr. Eileen V. Ryan Director, 2.4-meter Telescope, Magdalena Ridge Observatory "Follow up and Characterization of Potentially Hazardous Asteroids using the MRO 2.4m Telescope" Dr. Henry Roe '91 Asst. Astronomer, Lowell Observatory "Titan's Methane Monsoon"