Roberta Bondar

Roberta Bondar
Born	(1945-12-04) December 4, 1945 Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
Nationality	Canadian
Occupation(s)	Neurologist, Scientist, Educator, Author, Photographer, Astronaut
Space career
NRC/CSA Astronaut
Time in space	8 days, 1 hour, 44 minutes
Selection	1983 NRC Group
Missions	STS-42
Mission insignia

Roberta Bondar, OC, O.Ont, FRCP(C), FRSC (born December 4, 1945, in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario) is Canada's first female astronaut and the first neurologist in space. Following more than a decade as NASA's head of space medicine, Bondar became a consultant and speaker in the business, scientific and medical communities.

Education

Bondar holds a B.Sc in zoology, agriculture from the University of Guelph (1968), an M.Sc in experimental pathology from the University of Western Ontario (1971), a Ph.D in neuroscience from the University of Toronto (1974), an MD from McMaster University (1977), and is a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada in neurology (1981). She graduated from Sir James Dunn High School in Sault Ste. Marie and completed sub-speciality neurology training in neuro-ophthalmology at Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston. Bondar has completed the National Disaster Life Support Instructor course. A celebrated landscape photographer, Bondar studied professional nature photography at the Brooks Institute of Photography, Santa Barbara, California

Bondar began astronaut training in 1984, and in 1992 was designated a prime Payload Specialist for the first International Microgravity Laboratory Mission (IML-1). Bondar flew on the NASA Space Shuttle Discovery during Mission STS-42, January 22–30, 1992, during which she performed experiments in the Spacelab. Back on Earth, Bondar led an international team of researchers at NASA for more than a decade,examining data obtained from astronauts on 24 space missions to better understand the mechanisms underlying the body's ability to recover from exposure to space.

Post-NASA career

File:Roberta Bondar TO.jpg

Bondar giving a 2007 presentation on environmentalism

Consultant, public speaker and spokesperson

Bondar has consulted organizations such as Pfizer, Oracle and the FBI.

Respected for her expertise and animated commentary, Bondar has been a guest of television and radio networks such as CNN, BBC, PBS and CBC throughout the U.S. and Canada. She is featured in the IMAX movie Destiny in Space, and appeared for Disney at the opening of the new technology theme ride Mission Space. Bondar has also co-anchored the Discovery Channel's coverage of space shuttle launches at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral.

Legacy

In her hometown of Sault Ste. Marie, the Roberta Bondar Park and tent pavilion bear her name as does the Ontario government building at 70 Foster Drive. The marina beside the park is also named in her honour.

Bondar has also been honoured with a marker on Sault Ste. Marie's Walk of Fame.

In 1996, the Dr. Roberta Bondar Public School was opened in Ajax, Ontario and Roberta Bondar Public School was opened in Ottawa, Ontario. In 2005, a second public school named Roberta Bondar Public School opened in Brampton, Ontario. Dr. Roberta Bondar Elementary School in Abbotsford, British Columbia is also named after Bondar. A fourth public school to be named after Bondar was scheduled to open in Vaughan, Ontario in September 2008.

Bondar stepped down as the Chancellor of Trent University on June 30, 2009, after serving two consecutive (3-year) terms. Her successor is actor Tom Jackson.

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External links

• Video: Dr. Roberta Bondar on patriotism following the Olympics & her favourite technology (from NAIT's techlife magazine)