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 to a Spanish-Chinese father and Spanish mother 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.

External link

• NASA Biography