Franklin Chang-Díaz
Franklin Chang-Diaz
Franklin R. Chang-Diaz (born 5 April 1950) is an American physicist and astronaut and a veteran of seven space shuttle missions.
Chang-Diaz was born in San Jose, Costa Rica and moved to the United States during high school. He earned a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Connecticut and, in 1977, a docorate in applied plasma physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. During his graduate work at MIT, Chang-Diaz worked in the field of fusion technology and plasma-based rocket propulsion.
Chang-Diaz was selected as an astronaut candidate by NASA in 1980 and first flew aboard STS-61-C in 1986. Subsequent missions include STS-34 (1989), STS-46 (1992), STS-60 (1994), STS-75 (1996), STS-91 (1998) and STS-111 (2002). During STS-111, he performed three EVAs as part of the construction of the International Space Station. Chang-Diaz is also an adjunct professor of physics at Rice University and at the University of Houston and director of the Advanced Space Propulsion Laboratory at Johnson Space Center.