Penn State Faculty Member Chosen To Fly On Space Shuttle

4-29-97

University Park, Pa. --- Dr. James Pawelczyk, an assistant professor in Penn State's College of Health and Human Development, has been chosen to be a payload specialist aboard the U.S. Space Shuttle next year.

Pawelczyk, assistant professor of physiology and kinesiology, is the first Penn State faculty member ever selected to go to space aboard the Shuttle.

NASA named Pawelczyk one of two primary payload specialists on the Neurolab mission, designated STS-90. The other is Dr. Jay C. Buckey, an associate professor of medicine at Dartmouth Medical School who served as an alternate on the second Spacelab Life Sciences mission.

Payload specialists conduct experiments in space on behalf of ground based investigator teams. Twenty-six teams from nine countries will fly experiments aboard Neurolab. Dr. Alexander Dunlap, University of Tennessee College of Medicine, and Dr. Chiaki Mukai, National Space Development Agency of Japan, will serve as alternate payload specialists and provide ground support or serve on the mission crew if necessary.

Neurolab, a 16-day mission dedicated to research on the nervous system and behavior, is scheduled for launch on the Space Shuttle Columbia April 2, 1998. The mission is a joint venture of five space agencies and seven U.S. research agencies. The goal of Neurolab is to increase the understanding of the mechanisms responsible for neural and behavioral changes in space. Results may prove useful not only to astronauts but to older adults as well.

Pawelczyk says, "Many of the changes we see in space flight are similar to those associated with the aging process. These include a loss in blood volume and less precise control of the cardiovascular system, changes in vestibular control and, on longer flights, loss of muscle mass and bone mineral. Mechanisms responsible for these adaptations may help us to identify the causes of similar problems often seen in the elderly."

Pawelczyk has studied irregularities in blood pressure control associated with deconditioning. Many astronauts experience problems with blood pressure after returning from a flight, and some crew members have reported bouts of dizziness and unsteadiness for several hours after returning to Earth. To determine the cause of these changes, some of the experiments to be conducted aboard Neurolab will use the astronauts themselves as subjects. The payload specialists will insert extremely small needles into crew members' nerves to record neural activity that is transmitted to blood vessels. Measurements will be taken before, during and after the mission.

Pawelczyk will be the first faculty member and the fourth Penn State graduate to fly aboard the shuttle. Penn State alumni who have flown aboard the Shuttle include Guion Bluford (Class of 1964) who flew on Challenger in 1983; Paul Weitz (Class of 1954), who also flew on Challenger in 1983; and Robert Cenker (Class of 1970 and 1973 graduate degree), who was a payload specialist on Columbia in 1987. Pawelczyk earned his master's degree in physiology at Penn State in 1985.

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Contacts: Barbara Hale (814) 865-9481 (office) bah@psu.edu

Vicki Fong (814) 865-9481 (office) vyf1@psu.edu