Dr. Deborah McAllister, UC Foundation Associate Professor, has been selected
by NASA to review candidates for the NASA Educator Astronaut program.  Dr.
McAllister will be a member of a panel which will review and evaluate 1,100
transcripts from Educator Astronaut applicants.

The Educator Astronaut program is a 21st century version of the Teacher in
Space program begun by NASA in the 1980s.  Christa McAuliffe was the 1st
teacher selected for this program, but after the Challenger disaster in
1986, the program was put on hold for more than 15 years.  Now, in 2003,
NASA is searching for qualified teachers to begin the new Educator Astronaut
program.  Dr. McAllister will review candidate applications to help narrow
down the field of applicants to a small pool from which NASA officials will
interview and select the final group of Educator Astronauts; the estimated
number of participants in the program is between three and six.  These
selected educators will begin a year of basic training at NASA in 2004 and
be eligible to participate in a mission by late 2005 or early 2006.  NASA
believes that putting teachers into space will significantly increase the
interest of students in pursuing math and science fields.

Congratulations to Dr. McAllister on this honor!