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astronautix.com Patrick
Nicholas James MacDonald Patrick Status: Active. Trained as: Astronaut. Profession: Mission Specialist. Sex: Male. Marital Status: Single. Birth Date: 22 March 1964. Birth City: Saltburn. Birth State: North Yorkshire. Birth Country: UK. Nationality: American. Group: 1998 NASA Group. Date Selected: 04 June 1998.

NASA Official Biography

NAME: Nicholas J. M. Patrick (Ph.D.)
NASA Astronaut Candidate (Mission Specialist)

PERSONAL DATA:
Born on 22 March 1964 in Saltburn, North Yorkshire, United Kingdom, Nicholas considers London, England and Rye, New York and to be his hometowns. He became a US citizen in 1994. He is unmarried. His mother, Gillian A.M. Patrick, lives in South Norwalk, Connecticut; his father, C. Stewart Patrick, in Narberth, Pennsylvania; and his brother, Rupert C.M. Patrick, near New Haven, Connecticut. His recreational interests include flying, reading, automotive work, hiking, skiing, and scuba diving.

EDUCATION:
Harrow School, London, England, 1978-82.
B.A., Engineering, University of Cambridge, England, 1986.
M.A. Cantab., Engineering, University of Cambridge, England, 1990.
S.M., Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1990.
Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1996.

ORGANIZATIONS:
Nicholas is a member of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association and the National Space Society, and is registered as a Professional Engineer in Massachusetts.

SPECIAL HONORS:
Entrance scholarship ('Exhibition') to the University of Cambridge (Trinity College), 1983; GE Aircraft Engines Development Program Project Award for contributions to manufacturing inventory reduction, 1988.

EXPERIENCE:
While at the University of Cambridge, Nicholas learned to fly as a member of the Royal Air Force's Cambridge University Air Squadron, and spent his summers as a civil engineer in New York and Connecticut. After graduating from Cambridge, he moved to Boston, Massachusetts, where he worked for four years as an engineer for the Aircraft Engines division of GE.

He then attended MIT, where he was a teaching assistant and then a research assistant in the Human-Machine Systems Laboratory in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. His research interests included telerobotics, aviation psychology, optimization, air transportation, and econometrics. While at MIT, he worked as a flight instructor at Hanscom Field�s East Coast Aero Club, and as a statistician and programmer for a local medical and robotic products company, and served on the Board of Stockholders of the Harvard Cooperative Society.

Upon completion of his doctorate, Nicholas joined the Boeing Commercial Airplane Group in Seattle, Washington, where he worked in Flight Deck Engineering as a Systems and Human Factors Engineer on many of Boeing�s commercial aircraft models. While in Seattle, he was also a flight instructor at Boeing Field�s Galvin Flying Service.

Nicholas has logged 1,300 hours as a pilot--including 700 hours as a flight instructor--in more than 20 types of airplane and helicopter.

NASA EXPERIENCE:
Selected by NASA in June 1998, he reported for training in August 1998. Astronaut Candidate Training includes orientation briefings and tours, numerous scientific and technical briefings, intensive instruction in Shuttle and International Space Station systems, physiological training and ground school to prepare for T-38 flight training, as well as learning water and wilderness survival techniques. Following a period of training and evaluation, Nicholas will receive technical assignments within the Astronaut Office before being assigned to a space flight.
JANUARY 1999
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