NASA Biographical Data
NAME:
Ronald A. Parise (Ph.D.)
Payload Specialist
BIRTHPLACE AND DATE:
Born May 24, 1951, in Warren, Ohio. He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Parise of
Warren, Ohio.
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION:
Black hair; brown eyes; 6 feet; 175 pounds.
EDUCATION:
Received his bachelor of science degree in physics, with minors in mathematics, astronomy, and
geology, Youngstown State University, Ohio, 1973; and a master of science degree and a doctor of
philosophy degree in astronomy, University of Florida, 1977 and 1979, respectively.
MARITAL STATUS:
Married to the former Cecelia M. Sokol of Youngstown, Ohio. Her parents, Mr. and Mrs.
Joseph Sokol, reside in Youngstown, Ohio.
CHILDREN:
Nicholas, August 19, 1982 and Katherine, December 30, 1984.
RECREATIONAL INTERESTS:
He enjoys amateur radio, flying, scuba diving, sailing, hiking, and camping.
PROFESSION:
Dr. Parise is a senior scientist in the Space Observatories department, Computer Sciences
Corporation, in Silver Spring, Maryland. He is a member of the research team for the Ultraviolet Imaging
Telescope, one of the instruments that flew on STS 35 as part of the Astro payload.
ORGANIZATIONS:
American Astronomical Society, Astronomical Society of the Pacific, Association of
Space
Explorers, and Sigma Xi.
EXPERIENCE:
Dr. Parise has been involved in flight hardware development, electronic system design, and
mission
planning activities for the Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope project. He has studied the circumsteller material
in binary star systems and is currently studying the evolutionary status of stars in globular clusters. He has
logged over 215 hours in space as a member of the crew of Space Shuttle Columbia for the STS 35
mission.
CURRENT ASSIGNMENT:
Dr. Parise is located at the Goddard Space Flight Center Laboratory for Astronomy
and
Solar Physics in Greenbelt, Maryland. He is a member of the research team analyzing ultraviolet images
returned from STS 35 ASTRO 1 space shuttle flight and is currently scheduled to fly on STS 67, the second
flight of the ASTRO experiment.
FEBRUARY 1994