Dr. Bonnie Dunbar

Dr. Bonnie Dunbar

Dr. Bonnie J. Dunbar, a retired NASA astronaut, engineer, and educator, is currently associated with Texas A&M Engineering as the John and Bea Slattery Chair in the Department of Aerospace Engineering. Her laboratory, the Aerospace Human Systems Laboratory (AHSL), focuses on research connected to human space systems, such as spacesuits and habitats; the physiological effects of partial gravity; and the study of partial gravity fluid physics as they pertain to space exploration engineering. She leads the Systems, Design and Human Integration (SDHI) group within the Aerospace Engineering Department, and she is overseeing the development and installation of a human-rated short-arm research centrifuge, which was previously operated by NASA for artificial gravity research supporting human missions to the Moon and Mars.

Dunbar, a National Academy of Engineering member, was chosen as part of the Texas A&MChancellor’s Research Initiative (CRI). Prior to Texas A&M, she was an M.D. Anderson Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Houston, where she played a pivotal role in founding a new university Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) center and directed the Science and Engineering Fair of Houston. She also taught the "Introduction to Engineering" course within the Mechanical Engineering department and directed both the SICSA Space Architecture and Aerospace graduate programs.

Her career at NASA spanned 27 years, beginning at The Rockwell International Space Division Company, where she was involved in constructing the Space Shuttle Columbia in the 1970s. As a flight controller and mission specialist astronaut at NASA, she flew five space shuttle flights, amassing over 50 days in space. After joining the Senior Executive Service (SES), she dedicated seven years to various roles including assistant NASA JSC director for university research, deputy director for Flight Crew Operations, Associate Director for ISS Mission Operations development, and deputy associate administrator for the Office of Life and Microgravity Sciences and Applications (OLMSA) at NASA headquarters.

Upon retiring from NASA, Dunbar became president and CEO of The Museum of Flight in Seattle, where she launched a new Space Gallery and expanded its K-12 STEM educational initiatives. She has also worked as a consultant in aerospace and STEM education as the president of Dunbar International LLC, gaining recognition as an international public speaker and advocate of science, engineering, and mathematics studies.

Dunbar earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in ceramic engineering from the University of Washington and a Ph.D. in mechanical/biomedical engineering from the University of Houston. She holds ten honorary graduate degrees and has a joint appointment in the Texas A&M College of Medicine.

Dr. Dunbar is a Fellow of the American Ceramic Society, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and the Royal Aeronautical Society. She was elected to the Royal Society of Edinburgh and the US National Academy of Engineering, inducted into the Astronaut Hall of Fame and the Omega Alpha Association (OAA) Systems Engineering Honor Society, elected twice as President of the Association of Space Explorers (ASE), and in 2020, selected for the National Sigma Xi John P. McGovern Science and Society Award.