Roger Keith Crouch (born September 12, 1940) is an American scientist and

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 ...

who flew as a payload specialist on two NASA Space Shuttle missions in 1997.

Personal

Born September 12, 1940, in Jamestown, Tennessee, Crouch currently resides in Washington, D.C. with his wife, the former Anne Novotny. He has three grown children, Melanie, Kevin and Kenyon. His mother, Maxine Crouch, resides in Jamestown, Tennessee. He enjoys traveling, photography, sports, camping, hiking, fishing and whitewater rafting. Crouch is an

Eagle Scout Eagle Scout is the highest achievement or rank attainable in the Scouts BSA program of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). Since its inception in 1911, only four percent of Scouts have earned this rank after a lengthy review process. The Eagle Sc ...

Education

Crouch attended high school at

Alvin C. York Institute Alvin C. York Institute, also known as Alvin C. York Agricultural Institute or York Institute, is a public high school in Jamestown, Tennessee, founded as a private agricultural school in 1926 by World War I hero Alvin York and later transferred to ...

. He earned a Bachelor of Science in physics from

Tennessee Polytechnic Institute Tennessee Technological University, commonly referred to as Tennessee Tech, is a Public university, public research university in Cookeville, Tennessee, United States. It was formerly known as Tennessee Polytechnic Institute, and before that as ...

in 1962, Master of Science and a Doctor of Philosophy in physics from Virginia Polytechnic Institute in 1968 and 1971, respectively.

Career

On loan from MIT to NASA Headquarters as the Senior Scientist for the International Space Station since 2000; prior to that, on loan from MIT as the Senior Scientist for the

Office of Life and Microgravity Sciences An office is a space where an organization's employees perform administrative work in order to support and realize objects and goals of the organization. The word "office" may also denote a position within an organization with specific du ...

, NASA-HQ, 1998–2000; crew training, flight and post-flight activities 1996–1998; Lead Scientist of the

Microgravity Space and Applications Division The term micro-g environment (also μg, often referred to by the term microgravity) is more or less synonymous with the terms ''weightlessness'' and ''zero-g'', but emphasising that g-forces are never exactly zero—just very small (on the I ...

since 1985–1996. He served as Program Scientist on five different Spacelab flights. In addition, he helped organize and has served as co-chair for Microgravity Science Working Groups between NASA and space agencies from the European Union, France, Germany, Japan, and Russia. He was the founding co-chair of the International Microgravity Science Strategic Planning Group consisting of these space agencies plus Canada. He was principal investigator on an experiment that flew in the Materials Experiment Apparatus on the D-1 mission in 1985. Group leader and researcher, NASA

Langley Research Center The Langley Research Center (LaRC or NASA Langley), located in Hampton, Virginia, United States of America, is the oldest of NASA's field centers. It directly borders Langley Air Force Base and the Back River on the Chesapeake Bay. LaRC has fo ...

, 1962–1985. Leader of a research group investigating the effects of convection on semiconductor materials' properties. He was a principal investigator in the

MSAD MSAD may refer to: * Microsoft Active Directory, a component of Microsoft Windows that provides distributed user management and authentication * Maine School Administrative District Maine School Administrative District (MSAD or SAD) are school di ...

flight program from 1986–1997. He has done research in various techniques and types of semiconductor crystal growth, electric and optical properties of materials, electronic devices for remote sensing and flat panel displays, and

heat shield In thermodynamics, heat is defined as the form of energy crossing the boundary of a thermodynamic system by virtue of a temperature difference across the boundary. A thermodynamic system does not ''contain'' heat. Nevertheless, the term is al ...

protection for

atmospheric reentry Atmospheric entry is the movement of an object from outer space into and through the gases of an atmosphere of a planet, dwarf planet, or natural satellite. There are two main types of atmospheric entry: ''uncontrolled entry'', such as the entr ...

of space vehicles. This research resulted in the publication of over 40 technical paper and over 50 technical conference reports. He trained as the Alternate Payload Specialist for STS-42 ( First International Microgravity Laboratory) which flew in January 1992.

Spaceflight experience

Flew as a Payload Specialist on STS-83 (April 4–8, 1997) and STS-94 (July 1–17, 1997) and logged over 471 hours in space. STS-83, the Microgravity Science Laboratory (MSL-1) Spacelab mission, was cut short because of problems with one of the

Shuttle The original meaning of the word shuttle is the device used in weaving to carry the weft. By reference to the continual to-and-fro motion associated with that, the term was then applied in transportation and then in other spheres. Thus the word ma ...

’s fuel cell power units. Mission duration was 95 hours and 12 minutes, traveling 1.5 million miles in 63 orbits. STS-94 was a reflight of the MSL-1 and focused on materials and combustion science research. Mission duration was 376 hours and 45 minutes, traveling 6.3 million miles in 251 orbits of the Earth.

Special honors and organizations

Distinguished Alumni Achievement, Virginia Tech, 1998; Distinguished Alumnus 1997,

Tennessee Technological University Tennessee Technological University, commonly referred to as Tennessee Tech, is a public research university in Cookeville, Tennessee, United States. It was formerly known as Tennessee Polytechnic Institute, and before that as University of Dixie ...

; NASA Exceptional Performance Award, 1989; NASA Special Achievement Award, 1983; Certificates for Patents/applications 1975, 85, 86, 87; Certificates for innovative technology 1973, 76, 79, 80, 81, 85, 86, 87; Floyd Thompson Fellowship 1979–80. Member of

American Physical Society The American Physical Society (APS) is a not-for-profit membership organization of professionals in physics and related disciplines, comprising nearly fifty divisions, sections, and other units. Its mission is the advancement and diffusion of k ...

, American Association for Crystal Growth,

Sigma Pi Sigma Sigma Pi Sigma (), founded at Davidson College on December 11, 1921, is the oldest and only American honor society for physics and astronomy. It is an organization within the Society of Physics Students and the American Institute of Physics and ...

, Kappa Mu Epsilon, Pi Kappa Phi.

References

External links

Spacefacts biography of Roger K. Crouch
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Crouch, Roger K. 1940 births Living people People from Jamestown, Tennessee Virginia Tech alumni NASA civilian astronauts Space Shuttle program astronauts Tennessee Technological University alumni