Space shuttle astronaut to speak at U of M Oct. 28
Contacts:
Rhonda Zurn, College of Science and Engineering, rzurn@umn.edu, (612) 626-7959
Preston Smith, University News Service, smith@umn.edu, (612) 625-0552
Capt. Daniel Brandenstein to present two U of M students with $10,000 scholarships
MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL (10/26/2010) — Space shuttle astronaut Capt. Daniel Brandenstein will give a free public talk and present two University of Minnesota College of Science and Engineering students with $10,000 scholarships at a special event 12:35-1:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 28, in Coffman Memorial Union, Mississippi Room, 300 Washington Ave., S.E., Minneapolis. The lecture, sponsored by the University Honors Program, is free and open to the public.
Capt. Brandenstein, who has flown four shuttle missions, logged more than 780 hours in space and commanded the maiden voyage of Endeavour.
Brandenstein was born and grew up in Watertown, Wisc. After graduating from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls in 1965, he entered active duty with the U.S. Navy. Brandenstein flew 192 combat missions in the Vietnam War.
He was serving as an A-6 flight instructor when NASA tapped him to become an astronaut in 1978. Brandenstein's first shuttle mission was as pilot aboard Challenger during the first-ever nighttime launch and landing mission. He served as shuttle commander for three subsequent missions, including the maiden voyage of Space Shuttle Endeavour.
Brandenstein served as chief of NASA's Astronaut Office from 1987-1992. He was inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame in 2003 and currently serves on the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation's Board of Directors.
In addition to the public talk, Brandenstein will present two University of Minnesota College of Science and Engineering students each with a $10,000 scholarship. Half of the $20,000 in scholarship funds is from the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation (ASF), and the university's Office of the President matched the funding to provide two scholarships. The scholarship recipients are Matthew Coudron, majoring in mathematics and physics, and Scott Isaacson, majoring in chemical engineering. Both students are enrolled in the University Honors Program.
The Astronaut Scholarship is the largest monetary award given in the United States to science and engineering undergraduate students based solely on merit.