Grads in space

Nancy Currie	Richard Linnehan

Two alumni put Ohio State lessons to use on shuttle flight

At first glance, a college degree in biology or veterinary medicine may seem an unlikely foundation for a career in spaceflight. But two Ohio State alumni are proving that studying the life sciences can lead to a job in NASA's space program.

When the Space Shuttle Columbia launched on March 1, it carried mission specialists Nancy Currie and Richard Linnehan more than 350 miles above the Earth to rendezvous with the Hubble Space Telescope. The Columbia crew will install new cameras on the Hubble to enhance its imaging capability ten-fold.

In an interview from Johnson Space Center in Houston, Currie and Linnehan took time out from pre-flight preparations to talk about how their education shaped their lives as astronauts.

Both feel that their training at Ohio State gave them the versatility to tackle problems outside their normal realm of study.

"The saddest day in my life was the day I graduated," Currie said. "I loved my experience at Ohio State."

Currie, who earned her bachelor's degree in biological sciences in 1980, is also an alumna of Ohio State's Army ROTC program. Following graduation, she worked as a neuropathology research assistant in the College of Medicine.

After witnessing a tragic accident in flight school in 1985, Currie channeled her academic efforts into a master's degree in safety engineering from the University of Southern California, and then a doctorate in industrial engineering from the University of Houston. She brings to the shuttle mission an expertise in human-machine interaction.

Currie is using all of her skills as she acts as Columbia's "quarterback" during takeoff and landing. While the other astronauts are responsible for only a subset of the shuttle controls, Currie is monitoring the flight as a whole, keeping procedures on schedule and correcting any possible malfunctions. Once the shuttle reached Hubble, she was to pilot the giant robot arm that holds her fellow crew members as they work on the telescope.

She constantly tries to improve the way she and her colleagues interact with complex NASA machinery. "I look at things and think,'How can I optimize the user's interface to this piece of equipment, in order to provide them with the information they most need to operate it, keep their situational awareness and so forth?'" Currie said.

Her training comes in handy on this mission, as Columbia is only the second shuttle to replace its traditional mechanical cockpit instruments with new flat-panel displays. NASA hopes this "glass cockpit" will set the stage for a future "smart cockpit" that will make the cabin even more user-friendly in the years to come.

Currie added that her ROTC training at Ohio State gave her the chance to fulfill her lifelong dream of becoming a military pilot. "I've been in the military 21 years now, so I'd have to say that starting out in Army ROTC at Ohio State made a significant impact on me," she said.

Accompanied by Lt. Col. Jack Gumbert, professor of military science at Ohio State's Army ROTC, four undergraduate students traveled to Kennedy Space Center to meet the astronauts and attend the Currie family launch reception. When these cadets become captains, the Army will contact them about joining the astronaut program, Gumbert said.

Cadets Luke Anderson, a junior in mechanical engineering; Thomas Hardy, a junior in electronic and computer engineering; Brian Downs, a sophomore in aeronautical and astronautical engineering; and Justin Crocker, a freshman in criminology, attended the launch. Hardy also serves as the Army ROTC Webmaster (www.osu.edu/arotc).

"These students show great aptitude in majors that provide a background for the Army Astronaut program. Each student has a 3.5 GPA or higher," Gumbert said. "My intention is to show them an event that will trigger their imagination, and might interest them in following in Currie's footsteps."

This is Currie's fourth space shuttle flight. She took along the Ohio State Army ROTC "colors," a Buckeye Battalion flag, which she's carried with her on every mission. When she retires from NASA, she plans to return the flag to the University.

This is Linnehan's third mission, but the first in which he will take a spacewalk outside the shuttle.

An expert in marine mammals, Linnehan said his education at Ohio State prepared him for a versatile career. "As a vet, you have to be malleable, go from one species of animal to another. And with my veterinary education I had a science background that was heavily into chemistry, mathematics, biochemistry, anatomy. É It prepared me to do some things outside the normal realm of veterinary medicine," he said.

Linnehan received his doctorate in veterinary medicine from Ohio State in 1985. Now a professor at North Carolina State University, he has applied his skills to medical experiments aboard the shuttle, including the Neurolab mission in 1998 in which he was payload commander -- in charge of all research on the ship.

By studying rats, mice, fish and other animals in space, Linnehan said he's learned many things that have applications back on Earth. He and his fellow astronauts participated in medical experiments as well, yielding clues about conditions as diverse as blood pressure, osteoporosis and sleep disorders.

"Many of the things that happen to astronauts when they go into space and experience microgravity actually mimic the disease processes that happen to people on the ground," Linnehan said. "So you can study a certain condition in a very short period of time and learn the basic science involved in it, then come back to Earth and ask the questions about why it happens."

Michael Rings, professor of veterinary clinical sciences at Ohio State, remembers when Linnehan was a student. "He expressed an interest in getting into NASA, and I remember thinking,'That's a long shot -- a veterinarian at NASA.' But he did it. What perseverance and ability to follow a dream! He's been a wonderful representative of Ohio State, and veterinary medicine in general."

Currie said she and Linnehan aren't the only Ohio State alumni who work at Johnson Space Center. "We have quite a few Buckeyes here, and we all know each other," Currie said, and laughed. "We also know who the Michigan grads are, and we give them the requisite bad time around November."

Diversity status report details initiatives; council recommends ways to accelerate progress

The first comprehensive analysis of progress following completion of Ohio State's Diversity Action Plan demonstrates that as University leaders promised, the plan released in 2000 would not collect dust on a shelf.

"The good news is that diversity is visible at Ohio State, and that it is on everybody's plate," said Carole Anderson, chair of the Council on Diversity and vice provost for academic administration, upon the release of the status report. "We consider this past year to be the beginning effort directed at achieving the University's diversity goals and therefore did not expect dramatic progress to be made. There were some innovative and seemingly successful strategies that were implemented and some gains made in the diversity of our faculty and student body. Yet, much remains to be done."

Ohio State has engaged in numerous activities to advance the institutional commitment to diversity, Anderson said, noting initiatives ranging from lecture series and consistent attention to diversity at the University's highest levels to involvement of students in diversity event planning and intensive and targeted recruitment efforts.

Anderson noted that upward trends are evident in the recruitment of minority students and women and minority faculty, and in the retention of students. Specifically, the numbers of African American, American Indian and Hispanic students are at an all-time high and reflect an increase in minority enrollment since 1992, and first-year retention rates of African American and Hispanic students in particular have shown increases since 1997.

Among faculty, the percentages of tenure-track women and minority faculty have increased to 27.9 percent and 13 percent, respectively, each up by at least 1 percent since 1999. "What is imperative, of course, is to provide an environment in which these women and minority faculty can thrive and succeed," Anderson noted.

Climate -- and the need to make Ohio State a universally family-friendly place -- is a major point addressed in the status report, which functions as a "report card" on the first full year of Universitywide activity since the Diversity Action Plan was released.

The council, while acknowledging numerous examples of strong diversity initiatives across the University after analyzing 2000-01 diversity plans and progress reports prepared by each college and vice presidential unit, has issued a series of recommendations designed to accelerate progress based on the first-year assessment. Anderson noted that the review revealed that "the level of commitment to these goals varies widely. ÉWhat is encouraging here is that dedicated attention to this issue brings positive results, and this is a major recommendation for all units in the coming years."

One problem that emerged last year was that those preparing unit plans and progress reports last autumn and spring, respectively, took disparate approaches to outlining diversity goals and measuring progress toward those goals. As a result, the council developed a template that deans and vice presidents have followed in preparing their plans for this academic year.

Executive Vice President and Provost Edward J. Ray said development of the template was critical to University efforts to benchmark units' standing and progress with respect to diversity, and characterized the past year, including the council's assessment activity, as "a solid first step in our efforts to address diversity and community on this campus armed with the means to ensure that we stay the course for years to come and that we are accountable for meaningful progress."

The status report notes a number of accomplishments at an institutional level and within a variety of colleges and offices. Among examples Anderson highlighted: The Fisher College of Business converted a postdoctoral position into a faculty post as part of a strategy to increase the number of women and minority faculty; a number of colleges have appointed administrators or convened committees to take charge of the diversity agenda for the unit; the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences supplements the University Faculty Hiring and Assistance Program by providing targeted funding to departments that hire women and minority faculty; and the College of Humanities employs a Peer Power program that is an effective retention tool for minority undergraduates.

"I am encouraged by the council's analysis," said President Brit Kirwan. "While it shows that we have a long way to go, it also shows we are headed in the right direction and starting to make important gains. What's more, the council's recommendations should spark additional progress, which I expect to accelerate significantly over the next several years."

In general terms, the council advises Ohio State units to make use of numerous resources across the University, such as the Office of Minority Affairs (OMA), which could be useful in developing a network of information about diversity initiatives and projects; The Women's Place, the Office of Faculty and TA Development, the Multicultural Center and the Office of Human Resources, all of which can assist units in meeting their diversity goals; and the Office of University Relations, which is poised to develop a communication strategy to share information throughout the University and externally, as well.

Anderson also said the council remains concerned that the issues of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered faculty, staff and students need to be given heightened attention in a number of unit plans.

Further council recommendations are arranged according to objectives of the Diversity Action Plan:

• Units should conduct a climate survey to determine their starting point and/or progress.

• Colleges should feature diversity in public events, visiting faculty and guest speakers.

• The University's leadership should undertake a centralized training program focused on understanding the importance of diversity and learning effective strategies to accomplish diversity goals.

• Units should develop a standing committee to oversee the meeting of diversity goals and to recommend additional strategies for their achievement; all members of a unit should participate in reviewing plans.

• Full domestic partner benefits should be extended to faculty, staff and students.

• Academic units should more fully utilize targeted searches to recruit women and minority faculty.

• Mentoring programs and support networks for women and minority faculty, staff and students should be established.

• Applicants should be assessed on their interest in and ability to work successfully with diverse groups.

• An institutional norm should be created to support a "family friendly" environment as an expectation of the culture.

• Minority alumni should be utilized to assist in the recruitment of students and faculty.

• A centralized program to link Ohio State with historically black colleges and universities should be organized by OMA.

• Academic units should begin to address curricular issues to ensure inclusion of diversity topics as appropriate.

• Students should be enlisted to assist in recruitment efforts when possible.

• Effective support services for "at-risk" students should be made available in each college.

• Each unit that has not already done so should develop its own diversity plan aligned with the Diversity Action Plan that identifies specific goals and strategies to meet those goals. In larger colleges/units, individual departments should develop their own plans.

• Exit interviews are encouraged to ensure that accurate data are obtained when women and minorities leave their positions.

• In order to achieve academic excellence, diversity must remain a priority for the entire University community, and dedicated attention needs to be paid to meeting diversity goals and keeping the topic visible.

The status report is being distributed to the campus community, and Anderson said an open forum to discuss its findings will be planned. The report is available online at www.osu.edu/diversity.

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