{"59989":{"#nid":"59989","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Tech Alumnus Selected for NASA\u0027s Astronaut Class of 2004","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ENow that NASA has set its sights on sending a manned mission to Mars, Shane Kimbrough is hoping he\u0027ll be blasting off to the red planet. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EA Georgia Tech alumnus and Atlanta-native, Kimbrough was named today as one of 11 astronauts tapped to be part of NASA\u0027s Astronaut Class of 2004. The astronauts will be NASA\u0027s first since President George Bush announced its new vision for space exploration in January.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Once I finish my first year of astronaut training, I hope to be assigned to several technical jobs so I can improve myself, professionally,.\u0022 he said. \u0022But then I\u0027d be thrilled to take on any space mission * even to the moon or Mars.\u0022 \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EKimbrough, 36, will serve as a mission specialist. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EKimbrough is an Army major and currently works for NASA as a flight simulation engineer on the Shuttle Training Aircraft at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. A graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Kimbrough graduated from Georgia Tech with a master\u0027s degree in Operations Research in 1998. He also graduated from The Lovett School in Atlanta. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAs an Army pilot, he was trained to fly both airplanes and helicopters but was assigned to helicopters. He served in the Gulf War as a platoon leader. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EKimbrough also taught math at West Point, including calculus and statistics. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThough his career has been focused on serving his country, Kimbrough says the opportunity to serve as an astronaut fulfills a childhood dream. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022I have been fascinated by space travel since I was a kid. I want to explore the unknown,\u0022 Kimbrough said. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EKimbrough and the other 10 candidates will report to NASA\u0027s Johnson Space Center this summer to begin their training. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EOther candidates chosen to be included in NASA\u0027s astronaut class of 2004:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cblockquote\u003E* Joe Acaba, a mission specialist-educator, 36, is a science and math teacher at Dunnellon Middle School in Dunnellon, Fla. \n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E* Ricky Arnold II, mission specialist-educator, 41, is a science and math teacher at the American International School in Bucharest, Romania. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E* Randy Bresnik, pilot, 36, is a Marine Corps major from the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego, Calif., where he served as an operations officer and F\/A-18 pilot. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E* Chris Cassidy, mission specialist, 34, a Navy lieutenant commander, is an oceanographer. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E* Jim Dutton, pilot, 35, is an Air Force major and F\/A-22 test pilot based at Edwards Air Force Base in California. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E* Jose Hernandez, mission specialist, 41, is an electrical engineer at NASA\u0027s Johnson Space Center in Houston. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E* Tom Mashburn, mission specialist, 43, is a flight surgeon at Johnson Space Center. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E* Dottie Metcalf-Lindenburger, mission specialist-educator, 29, is a science teacher and coach at Fort Collins High School in Fort Collins, Colo. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E* Bobby Satcher Jr., mission specialist, 38, is an assistant professor at Northwestern University\u0027s Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E* Shannon Walker, mission specialist, 38, is an engineer at Johnson Space Center. \u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech has a proud history in space exploration. Ten astronauts have earned degrees from Georgia Tech, another three graduates have been selected as candidates for future missions and another astronaut is a former Tech faculty member.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/vision\/space\/preparingtravel\/ascan2004.html\u0022\u003EMore information can be found at the NASA website.\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"27279","created_gmt":"2004-05-07 00:00:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:07:08","author":"Barbara Christopher","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2004-05-07T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2004-05-07T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"1242","name":"School of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISYE)"}],"categories":[{"id":"145","name":"Engineering"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cstrong\u003EBarbara Christopher\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIndustrial and Systems Engineering\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.gatech.edu\/contact\/index.html?id=bt3\u0022\u003EContact Barbara Christopher\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E404.385.3102\u003C\/strong\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["bchristopher@isye.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}