JUPITER, FL (April 4, 2008) – Florida Atlantic University’s Wilkes Honors College hosted its 6th Annual Symposium for Research & Creative Projects on Friday, April 4.  This year’s symposium included the inaugural session of the Chastain Honors Symposium Lecture Series, featuring astronaut Tracy Caldwell.

In 1999, Caldwell was first assigned to the Astronaut Office International Space Station (ISS) Operations Branch as a Russian Crusader, participating in the testing and

integration of Russian hardware and software products developed for ISS. In 2000, she was assigned as the prime Crew Support Astronaut for Expedition Five to the ISS serving as the crew’s representative on technical and operational issues throughout the training and on-orbit phase of their mission.  In August 2007, Caldwell served as a mission specialist aboard the space shuttle Endeavour.  During this mission, the shuttle docked with the ISS, adding a truss segment, a new gyroscope and external spare parts. 

Prior to her work with NASA, Caldwell taught chemistry at the University of California.  She holds a bachelor of science degree in chemistry from the California State University - Fullerton and a doctorate in physical chemistry from the University of California – Davis.

The annual symposium provides Honors College students the opportunity to showcase their thesis work through abstracts, posters and visual arts presentations.  The public is invited to view the symposium exhibits in the Administration (AD) and Honors College (HC) buildings throughout the day.

The symposium and lecture are free and open to the public.  For more information, call 561-799-8015.

April 1, 2008