New UH faculty member Bonnie Dunbar will be inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame on Saturday at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida, the center announced Tuesday.
“I’m very honored,” Dunbar said. “This is an old tradition, starting with the Apollo astronauts. Quite frankly, there is probably nothing more special than being selected by your peers for some sort of acknowledgement.”
Bonnie Dunbar | Nichole Taylor/The Daily Cougar
Dunbar was recently invited by President Renu Khator to join the UH faculty as head of the new Science, Technology, Engineering and Math center that will specialize in research. Dunbar said one of her goals is to help undergraduate students become more math and science literate.
“There’s not a day that goes by that doesn’t involve something being technologically or scientifically discussed,” Dunbar said. “As an adult, it’s your responsibility to ask yourself if you’re prepared to make sound judgments on these discoveries so that you can understand the world around you.”
Dunbar is working on developing a massive open online course to teach classes to a wider audience of students. She says one of her goals through this course is to help more young people understand the physics of the world so they go on to graduate as more well-rounded individuals.
“We want to bring the best and brightest to UH,” Dunbar said. “If you are willing to apply yourself, you can help solve some of the world’s problems. Science is about discovering ‘what is,’ and engineering is about designing ‘what isn’t.’”
Being inducted into the Astronaut Hall of Fame is fulfilling her childhood dreams, as Dunbar said she wanted to be an astronaut since she was nine years old.
“People always talk about finding their passion in life. I was very lucky because I found mine so early,” Dunbar said. “It was so exciting and interesting that I wanted to be a part of it.”
Dunbar grew up on a cattle ranch and says her family instilled in her the values she thinks helped her become successful.
“I learned a good work ethic, and I think that’s really important,” Dunbar said. “You have to be able to work on your own and push yourself to meet your goals without someone else telling you to. And that’s something I hope I can pass on to young people.”
Dunbar said her family believed in educating their children early in life. Her first set of books was an encyclopedia.
“I was just amazed that if you knew the alphabet, you could go to this big set of books and find out about anything about the world,” Dunbar said. “It was my generation’s Wikipedia.”
During her 27 years with NASA, Dunbar has been on five space flights and has spent more than 1,208 hours in space.
“The general public thinks we are doing just physical things, but in fact, we spend most of our times in classrooms, learning about the systems, the shuttle simulators and then about the science,” Dunbar said.
“Every mission, each of those 135 missions, was a science and engineering mission that built on the prior ones, and because of that, now we have an international space station in Earth’s orbit.”
An avid explorer, Dunbar says it is crucial for nations to explore.
“Exploration is sort of a metaphor for the spirit of a nation — it’s curiosity; it’s the acquisition of knowledge; it’s wanting to know what’s on the other side,” Dunbar said.
“Also, it’s a significant driver for technology. If we had not gone to the moon, for example, you would not have computers or software. Bill Gates in fact has said he wouldn’t have a job if we didn’t go to the moon.”
Dunbar says her message to young people is to prepare themselves for their futures through their schooling.
“Use your schooling to give you the best foundation possible to give you the most options,” Dunbar said. “Then you’re equipped to chose not only any career, but you’re equipped to be a much more intelligent adult about the world around you and what to believe and not to believe.
“And that’s what I’m trying to do on campus: to encourage students to take these classes and know that they are fun, and they explore the world.”
While Dunbar has hung up her space suit for her STEM position, she still hopes to revisit the final frontier.
“I’d be the first to sign up for Mars.”
