NAME:  Bonnie J. Dunbar (Ph.D.)
      NASA Astronaut
 
BIRTHPLACE AND DATE:  Born March 3, 1949, in Sunnyside, Washington.  Her
parents, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Dunbar, reside in Outlook, Washington.
 
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION:  Brown hair; hazel eyes; 5 feet 5-1/2 inches; 117 pounds.
 
EDUCATION:  Graduated from Sunnyside High School, Sunnyside, Washington, in
1967; received bachelor of science and master of science degrees in ceramic
engineering from the University of Washington in 1971 and 1975, respectively;
and a doctorate in biomedical engineering from the University of Houston, 1983.
 
MARITAL STATUS:  Married to Dr. Ronald M. Sega of Monument, Colorado.  His
parents, Mr. & Mrs. John Sega, reside in Arvada, Colorado.
 
RECREATIONAL INTERESTS:  She enjoys flying, running, softball, squash, and
sailing.
 
ORGANIZATIONS:  Member of the American Ceramic Society (ACS), the National
Institute of Ceramic Engineers (NICE), Keramos Honorary, the Society of
Biomedical Engineering, American Association for the Advancement of Science,
Tau Beta Pi, Materials Research Society (MRS); Board of Directors, Arnold Air
Society and Angel Flight.
 
SPECIAL HONORS:  Graduated Cum Laude from the University of Washington in 1975;
awarded a NASA graduate research grant in 1973 and 1974; named Rockwell
International Engineer of the Year in 1978, Group Achievement Award, Skylab
Reentry, 1979.  Recipient of NASA Space Flight Medal, 1985, American Ceramic
Society (ACS) Greaves-Walker Award, 1985; Evergreen Safety Council Public
Service in Space Award, 1986; General Jimmy Doolittle Fellow of the Aerospace
Education , 1986; ACS Life Membership, 1986; NASA Exceptional Service Medal,
1988; Georgia Tech Peter B. Sherry Memorial Lecture in Chemistry, 1988; ACS
Schwalt Zwalder P.A.C.E. Award, 1990, NASA Exceptional Service Award, 1991;
University of Houston Distinguished Engineering Alumna, 1991; AAES National
Engineering Award, 1992.
 
EXPERIENCE:  Following graduation in 1971, Dr. Dunbar worked for Boeing
Computer Services for 2 years as a systems analyst.  In 1973, she started
research for her master's thesis in the field of mechanisms and kinetics of
ionic diffusion in sodium beta-alumina.  In 1975, Dunbar was invited to
participate in research at Harwell Laboratories in Oxford, England, as a
visiting scientist.  Her work there involved the wetting behavior of liquids on
solid substrates.  Following her work in England, she accepted a senior
research engineer position with Rockwell International Space Division in
Downey, California.  Her responsibilities there included developing equipment
and process for the manufacture of the Space Shuttle thermal protection system
in Palmdale, California.  She also represented Rockwell International as a
member of the Dr. Kraft Ehricke evaluation committee on prospective space
industrialization concepts.  Dr. Dunbar completed her doctorate at the
University of Houston in Houston, Texas.  Her multidisciplinary dissertation
(materials science and physiology) involved evaluating the effects of simulated
space flight (antiorthostatic hypokinesia) on bone strength and fracture
toughness using an animal model.  These results were correlated to alterations
in hormonal and metabolic activity.  She is currently an adjunct assistant
professor in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Houston and serves on
the Bioengineering Advisory Group.
 
She is a private pilot with over 200 hours in single engine land aircraft, and
has logged more than 700 hours flying time in T-38 jets as Co-pilot.
 
NASA EXPERIENCE:  Dr. Dunbar accepted a position as a payload officer/flight
controller at the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in 1978.  She served as a
guidance and navigation officer/flight controller for the Skylab reentry
mission in 1979 and was subsequently designated project officer/payload officer
for the integration of several Space Shuttle payloads.
 
Dr. Dunbar became a NASA astronaut in August 1981.  Her technical assignments
have included assisting in the verification of Shuttle flight software at the
Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory (SAIL), serving as a member of the
Flight Crew Equipment Control Board, participation as a member of the Astronaut
Office Science Support Group, supporting operational development of the Remote
Manipulator System (RMS), and Chief of the Mission Development Branch.  Her
current technical assignments include Astronaut Office interface for
"secondary" payloads and Lead for the Science Support Group.
 
Dr. Dunbar was a mission specialist on the crew of STS-61A, the West German D-1
Spacelab mission which launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on October
30, 1985.  This mission was the first to carry eight crew members, the largest
to fly in space, and was also the first in which payload activities were
controlled from outside the United States.  More than 75 scientific experiments
were completed in the areas of physiological sciences, materials science,
biology, and navigation.  During the seven day mission, Dr. Dunbar was
responsible for operating Spacelab and its subsystems and performing a variety
of experiments.  Her mission training included 6 months of experiment training
in Germany, France, Switzerland, and the Netherlands.   After completing 111
orbits of the earth in 169 hours, Challenger landed at Edwards Air Force Base,
California, on November 6, 1985.
 
Dr. Dunbar next served as a mission specialist on the crew of STS-32 which
launched from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on January 9, 1990.  In the
longest Shuttle mission to date, crew members on board the Orbiter Columbia
successfully deployed the Syncom IV-F5 satellite, and retrieved the 21,400 lb
Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) using the Remote Manipulator System
(RMS).  They also operated a variety of middeck experiments including the
Microgravity Disturbance Experiment (MDE) using the Fluids Experiment Apparatus
(FEA), Protein Crystal Growth (PCG), American Flight Echocardiograph (AFE),
Latitude/Longitude Locator (L3), Mesoscale Lightning Experiment (MLE),
Characterization of Neurospora Circadian Rhythms (CNCR), and the IMAX Camera.
Dr. Dunbar was Principal Investigator for the MDE/FEA Experiment.
Additionally, numerous medical test objectives, including inflight Lower Body
Negative Pressure (LBNP), inflight aerobic exercise and muscle performance were
conducted to evaluate human adaptation to extended duration missions.
Following 173 orbits of the earth in 261 hours, Columbia returned with a night
landing at Edwards Air Force Base, California, on January 20, 1990. 
 
With the completion of her second flight she has logged a total of 430 hours in
space.
 
CURRENT ASSIGNMENT:  Dr. Dunbar is assigned as payload commander on the crew of
STS-50, scheduled for launch in June 1992 aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia.
STS-50 will be the first flight of the United States Microgravity Laboratory.
Over a two week period the STS-50 crew members will conduct a wide variety of
experiments relating to microgravity materials science and fluid physics.  Dr.
Dunbar is a co-investigator on one experiment, and sponsor for two operational
test objectives.
 
FEBRUARY 1992