NASA Astronaut to Speak at UT Tyler Engineering Banquet


	Office of News and Information April 8, 2002

NASA Astronaut to Speak at UT Tyler Engineering Banquet

James F. Reilly

NASA astronaut James F. Reilly will be the featured speaker at The University of Texas at Tyler 3rd Annual Engineering Students Association banquet, Dr. Troy Henson, dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Science, has announced.

The banquet will begin at 6 p.m. Thursday, April 11 in the UT Tyler Robert R. Muntz Library, room 401.

Tickets are available through April 9 and are $5 for all students and $10 for non-students. Call Edith Harris on 566-7040 to make reservations.

Reilly, son of Tylerite Billie Ruether, has been with NASA since 1994 and is qualified for flight assignment as a mission specialist. Having logged over 517 hours in space, Reilly's space travel includes three spacewalks. He flew on STS-89 in 1998 and STS-104 in 2001.

STS-89 was the eighth Shuttle-Mir docking mission during which the crew transferred more than 9,000 pounds of scientific equipment, logistical hardware and water from Space Shuttle Endeavour to Mir.

STS-104 was the ninth assembly flight of the Shuttle to the International Space Station.

Born on Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho, Reilly considers Mesquite, Texas his hometown. He graduated from Lake Highlands High School in Dallas and earned a Ph.D., master's and bachelor's degrees in geosciences from UT Dallas.

While in graduate school, Reilly was selected to participate as a research scientist specializing in stable isotope geochronology as part of the 1977-78 scientific expedition to Marie Byrd Land, West Antarctica.

He also served as an exploration geologist with Santa Fe Minerals Inc. in Dallas and chief geologist of the offshore region for Enserch Exploration Inc. in Dallas.

He was actively involved in the application of imaging technology for industrial applications in deep water engineering projects and biological research. As part of this project, Reilly spent approximately 22 days in deep submergence vehicles operated by Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution and the United States Navy.

For more information about the banquet, contact the UT Tyler College of Engineering and Computer Sciences, (903) 566-7040.

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Contact person: Emily Battle, (903) 565-5604