Dr. Bernard Harris defines himself as a "dreamer who believes nothing is impossible" and this attitude has served him well as a NASA astronaut, physician, and entrepreneur. He currently serves as President of The Harris Foundation, a non-profit organization he founded in 1998 to develop math and science education opportunities for youth.
In 1990 Harris was selected as a NASA astronaut and a payload commander in the first flight of the joint Russian-American Space Program. Harris lived his childhood dream in becoming a spacewalker and the first African-American to do so. At the time of his retirement from NASA in 1996, he had logged more than 438 hours in space and traveled over 7.2 million miles.
Dr. Harris served as Vice President of SPACE-HAB Inc., where he was involved in business development and space-based products. He served as Vice President of Business Development for Space Media, Inc., establishing international space education programs.
Native Texan, Harris earned a Bachelor of Science in biology from the University of Houston and Doctor of Medicine from Texas Tech University School of Medicine. A trained aerospace flight surgeon, he completed his residency at the Mayo Clinic and fellowship at the NASA Ames Research Center.
In the podcast Dr. Harris and Chester Bateman discuss the work of The Harris Foundation and the ExxonMobil Bernard Harris
Summer Science Camps. Oregon State's summer camp is August 5th-17th 2007.
