Robert Lee "Bobby" Satcher Jr. (born September 22, 1965) is an American

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

chemical engineer In the field of engineering, a chemical engineer is a professional, equipped with the knowledge of chemical engineering, who works principally in the chemical industry to convert basic raw materials into a variety of products and deals with the ...

, and former

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...

astronaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member aboard a spacecraft. Although generally r ...

. He participated in 2 spacewalks during STS-129, accumulating 12hrs 19min of EVA time. Satcher holds two doctorates (

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...

M.D. Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a professional degree. T ...

) and has received numerous awards and honors as a surgeon and engineer.

Background

Born in

Hampton, Virginia Hampton () is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 137,148. It is the List ...

, Satcher graduated from Denmark-Olar High School in

Denmark, South Carolina Denmark is a city in Bamberg County, South Carolina, United States. The population at the 2010 census is 3,538. Geography Denmark is located in northwest Bamberg County at (33.321173, -81.142289). U.S. Route 78 and U.S. Route 321 cross in Denm ...

(1982), and went on to receive a Bachelor of Science degree as well as a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

in Chemical Engineering from the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

. He then went on to study medicine at

Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the graduate medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is one of the oldest medical schools in the United States and is consi ...

, and received his

medical doctorate Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a professional degree. T ...

in 1994. Satcher did his internship and residency at the

University of California, San Francisco The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is a public land-grant research university in San Francisco, California. It is part of the University of California system and is dedicated entirely to health science and life science. It cond ...

from 1995–2000, and postdoctoral research fellowship at

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

in 1998, and an

orthopedic Orthopedic surgery or orthopedics ( alternatively spelt orthopaedics), is the branch of surgery concerned with conditions involving the musculoskeletal system. Orthopedic surgeons use both surgical and nonsurgical means to treat musculoskeletal ...

oncology Oncology is a branch of medicine that deals with the study, treatment, diagnosis and prevention of cancer. A medical professional who practices oncology is an ''oncologist''. The name's etymological origin is the Greek word ὄγκος (''ó ...

fellowship at the University of Florida from 2000–2001. Prior to being accepted into the astronaut program by NASA, Satcher was the Assistant Professor at The

Feinberg School of Medicine Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine is the medical school of Northwestern University and is located in the Streeterville neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1859, Feinberg offers a full-time Doctor of Medicine degree p ...

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

, in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery. Satcher also held appointments as an Attending Physician in Orthopaedic Surgery at

Children's Memorial Hospital Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, formerly Children's Memorial Hospital and commonly known as Lurie Children's, is a nationally ranked pediatric acute care children's hospital located in Chicago, Illinois. The hospital has 3 ...

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, specializing in Musculoskeletal Oncology; and an Adjunct Appointment in The Biomedical Engineering Department at Northwestern University School of Engineering. Satcher was also a member of the

Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center The Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University (Lurie Cancer Center), is a National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center located on Northwestern Memorial Hospital's downtown medical campus in ...

and the Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology in Advanced Medicine at Northwestern University. Satcher was also
Schweitzer Fellow
at the Albert Schweitzer Hospital, in

Lambaréné Lambaréné is a town and the capital of Moyen-Ogooué in Gabon. It has a population of 38,775 as of 2013, and is located 75 kilometres south of the equator. Lambaréné is based in the Central African Rainforest at the river Ogooué. This rive ...

Gabon Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north ...

. Satcher's experience in engineering includes internships at

DuPont DuPont de Nemours, Inc., commonly shortened to DuPont, is an American multinational chemical company first formed in 1802 by French-American chemist and industrialist Éleuthère Irénée du Pont de Nemours. The company played a major role in ...

in the Textile Fibers Research Group, and the Polymer Products Division.

NASA career

Selected by NASA in May 2004, Satcher completed Astronaut Candidate Training in February 2006. Satcher later worked on the

STS-129 STS-129 ( ISS assembly flight ULF3) was a NASA Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS). ''Atlantis'' was launched on November 16, 2009 at 14:28 EST, and landed at 09:44 EST on November 27, 2009 on runway 33 at the Kennedy ...

mission as a Mission Specialist. Satcher spent over 259 hours in space and participated in two of the three spacewalks, totaling 12hr 19min. File:STS-129 Three astronauts at Harmony.jpg, Satcher and

Leland Melvin Leland may refer to: Places United States * Leland, Illinois, a village * Leland, Iowa, a city * Leland, Michigan, an unincorporated community and census-designated place * Leland, Mississippi, a city * Leland, North Carolina, a town * Leland, O ...

floating inside Node 2. Jeff Williams is enjoying a water drink. File:STS-129 Robert Satcher EVA2 Choreographer.jpg, Satcher in the Space Shuttle during

File:STS-129 EVA3 Robert Satcher 2.jpg, Satcher during his EVA

University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center

Satcher joined The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in 2011, in the Department of Orthopaedic Oncology.

Personal life

Satcher is married and has two children. He enjoys running, scuba diving, and reading.

Awards and honors

Satcher was a

National Merit Scholar The National Merit Scholarship Program is a United States academic scholarship competition for recognition and university scholarships administered by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC), a privately funded, not-for-profit organizati ...

, and received the Monsanto Award and the Albert G. Hill Award from MIT, fellowships from both the

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) is an American philanthropic organization. It is the largest one focused solely on health. Based in Princeton, New Jersey, the foundation focuses on access to health care, public health, health equity, ...

and

UNCF UNCF, the United Negro College Fund, also known as the United Fund, is an American philanthropic organization that funds scholarships for black students and general scholarship funds for 37 private historically black colleges and universities. ...

Merck Merck refers primarily to the German Merck family and three companies founded by the family, including: * the Merck Group, a German chemical, pharmaceutical and life sciences company founded in 1668 ** Merck Serono (known as EMD Serono in the Unite ...

Research department, and is a member of the

Tau Beta Pi The Tau Beta Pi Association (commonly Tau Beta Pi, , or TBP) is the oldest engineering honor society and the second oldest collegiate honor society in the United States. It honors engineering students in American universities who have shown a ...

Engineering Honor Society.

References

External links

* *
Spacefacts biography of Robert Satcher

{{DEFAULTSORT:Satcher, Robert L. 1965 births Living people Physician astronauts MIT School of Engineering alumni Harvard Medical School alumni University of California, Berkeley fellows University of Florida fellows Northwestern University faculty NASA civilian astronauts People from Hampton, Virginia Space Shuttle program astronauts Spacewalkers