Dr. Donald A. Thomas
Director
The Hackerman Academy of Mathematics and Science
Towson University
Dr. Don Thomas was born in Cleveland, Ohio, where he received his undergraduate degree in physics from Case Western Reserve University. He holds a master of science degree and a doctorate in materials science and engineering from Cornell University.
From 1982-87 Dr. Thomas was a senior member of the technical staff at Bell Laboratories in Princeton, New Jersey. From there he went on to work for NASA as a materials engineer at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. In 1990 he was selected in NASA 13th group of astronauts. During his career at NASA he flew as a mission specialist on four different Space Shuttle missions, completing nearly 700 orbits of the Earth and traveling some 17 million miles. From 2003-2006, Dr. Thomas was the International Space Station (ISS) Program Scientist and was responsible for the planning and scheduling of science activities aboard the ISS.
In August 2007 Dr. Thomas joined Towson University where he is the director of the newly formed Hackerman Academy of Mathematics and Science. This academy focuses on outreach programs for middle and high school students to increase their interest in pursuing careers in math and science.
SPACE FLIGHT EXPERIENCE:
STS-65 Columbia (July 8-23, 1994) set a new flight duration record for the Space Shuttle program. The mission flew the second International Microgravity Laboratory (IML-2). During the 15-day flight the crew conducted more than 80 experiments focusing on materials and life sciences research in microgravity. The mission was accomplished in 236 orbits of the Earth, traveling 6.1 million miles in 353 hours and 55 minutes.
STS-70 Discovery (July 13-22, 1995). During the STS-70 mission, Dr. Thomas was responsible for the deployment of the sixth and final Tracking and Data Relay Satellite from the Space Shuttle. Mission duration was 214 hours and 20 minutes, traveling 3.7 million miles in 142 orbits of the Earth.
STS-83 Columbia (April 4-8, 1997). The STS-83 Microgravity Science Laboratory ( MSL-1) Spacelab mission, was cut short because of problems with one of the Shuttle’s three fuel cell power generation units. Mission duration was 95 hours and 12 minutes, traveling 1.5 million miles in 63 orbits of the Earth.
STS-94 Columbia (July 1-17, 1997), was a re-flight of the Microgravity Science Laboratory ( MSL-1) Spacelab mission, and focused on materials and combustion science research in microgravity. Mission duration was 376 hours and 45 minutes, traveling 6.3 million miles in 251 orbits of the Earth.