Leroy Chiao '83
Mission Commander, NASA

Excellence in Achievement

Leroy Chiao is the 311th person in outer space and the first Asian and ethnic Chinese Mission Commander.  An instrument-rated pilot, he has logged over 2700 flight hours in a variety of aircraft and spacecraft.  During his fifteen year career with NASA, he spent more than 229 days in space –36 hours of which were spent in Extra Vehicular Activity spacewalks.  Chiao completed a Ph.D. at UC Santa Barbara in 1987 and went to work for Hexcel Corporation, researching advanced aerospace materials. In 1989, he joined the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, where he was involved in fabrication of filament-wound and thick-section aerospace composites.  Chiao became an astronaut in July 1991, qualifying for STS (Space Transportation System) flight assignment as a Space Station Commander, Space Station Science Officer and as a Space Shuttle Mission Specialist.  A veteran of four space flights, he flew as a Mission Specialist on STS-65 (July 8-23, 1994), STS-72 (January 11-20, 1996) and STS-92 (October 11-24, 2000), and was the Commander and NASA Science Officer on Expedition-10 to the International Space Station (October 13 to April 24, 2005).  During his six and a half month stay aboard the station, Chiao performed numerous tasks including 20 science experiments and two repair and installation spacewalks, using the Russian “Orlan” space suit, totaling 9 hours, 56 minutes of EVA time on this flight.

Chiao is the recipient of four NASA Space Flight Medals (2005, 2000, 1996, 1994), and numerous awards, including the NASA Distinguished Service Medal (2005), two NASA Exceptional Service Awards (2000, 1996), four NASA Individual Achievement Awards (2004, 2003, 2002, 2001), two NASA Group Achievement awards (1997, 1995) and the NASA Going the Extra Mile Award (2004).  He has received numerous Federation Aeronautique Internationale awards - including the Korolev Diploma (2002), Komarov Diploma (1996) and De La Vaulx Medal (1994) – as well as many science awards.  Chiao has lectured at the Beijing Institute of Aeronautical Materials, and at the Changsha Institute of Technology, 5th Department, in the Peoples Republic of China (1988), and pursues entrepreneurial business ventures in both the US and China.  He is Executive Vice President of Space Operations and a director of Excalibur Almaz Limited, a private manned space company.  He serves as the first Raborn Distinguished Chair Max Faget Mechanical Engineering Professor at Louisiana State University, and chairs the National Space Biomedical Research Institute User Panel, in connection with the Baylor College of Medicine.

Personal Statement
I remember my days at Cal quite fondly, although in some respects, it was a bittersweet experience.  I must say that getting my B.S. in Chemical Engineering was the single most difficult thing that I have ever accomplished! 

I very much enjoyed my time at Cal.  I also learned important life lessons and became extremely self-sufficient and capable.  These skills, gained in a sink-or-swim environment, prepared me well for my career as an American Astronaut, especially as the Commander of the International Space Station.  I made life-long friends at Cal and I maintain those friendships to this day.  People often say that university days are the best of one's life, and in many ways they were for me…  My experience at Cal made me a very strong individual and I feel that I could not have achieved all that I have without the trial by fire that I went through as an undergraduate.  I love the University of California and owe her a great debt of gratitude!