Astronaut Harrison H. Schmitt to deliver UAHuntsville spring commencement address

Schmitt will be awarded an honorary doctor of science degree

Harrison H. "Jack" Schmitt, a geologist, former U. S. Senator, university professor and NASA astronaut, will give the keynote address at The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAHuntsville) spring commencement ceremony.

Schmitt's address is scheduled for Friday, May 8 at 7:30 p.m., at Spragins Hall on the UAHuntsville campus. He will be awarded an honorary doctor of science degree during the ceremonies. During the spring commencement, about 740 degrees will be conferred. UAHuntsville is expected to award 568 bachelor's degrees, 154 master's degrees and 21 doctoral degrees. The presentation of doctoral and master's degrees will take place on Friday evening. However, the presentation of bachelor's degrees is scheduled for Saturday.

On Saturday, May 9 at 10 a.m., at Spragins Hall a ceremony will be held for undergraduate students in the following colleges: Engineering and Nursing. And, later the same day at 2 p.m., a ceremony will honor undergraduate students in the colleges of: Business, Liberal Arts and Science. All UAHuntsville degree candidates are expected to attend the Friday evening ceremony.

Harrison Schmitt joined NASA in the summer of 1965. He was among the first group of scientist-astronauts to join the public space agency. Before joining NASA, he worked at the U.S. Geological Survey's Astrogeology Center (Flagstaff, Ariz.), developing geological field techniques that would be used by the Apollo crews.

Following his selection, Schmitt played a key role in training Apollo crews to be geologic observers when they were in lunar orbit and competent geologic field workers when they were on the lunar surface. After each of the landing missions, Schmitt participated in the examination and evaluation of the returned lunar samples and helped the crews with the scientific aspects of their mission reports.

Apollo 17 was the last manned Apollo mission that occurred Dec. 6-19, 1972. Schmitt was the 12th person and the last astronaut to step foot on the moon. He and "Challenger" mission commander, Eugene Cernan were the last two astronaus to walk on the lunar surface. Crewmate Ronald Evans also accompanied Schmitt and Cernan on the Apollo 17 mission.

Schmitt logged 301 hours and 51 minutes in space -- of which 22 hours and four minutes were spent in extravehicular activity on the lunar surface. He also logged more than 2,100 hours flying time -- 1,600 hours in jet aircraft.

Three years after his Apollo 17 mission, Schmitt resigned from NASA to seek election as a Republican to the United States Senate representing New Mexico. Senator Schmitt served on several committees including Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee; the Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee and the Select Committee on Ethics. He was the ranking Republican member of the Ethics Committee, and of the Science, Technology and Space Subcommittee of Commerce, as well as the Consumer Sub-committee of Banking.

Since 1982, Schmitt has worked as a consultant, corporate director, and freelance writer and speaker on matters related to space, science, technology, and public policy. In 1994, he was appointed as an adjunct professor of engineering at the University of Wisconsin Madison (UWM) and chairman and president of the Annapolis Center for Environmental Quality. Schmitt also serves as a consultant engaged in research with UWM's Fusion Technology Institute (FTI) on the utilization of resources from space, including the feasibility of using helium-3 from the moon to supply energy on Earth. FTI is the largest program in the United States for advanced degrees in fusion engineering.

He graduated from Western High School, in Silver City, New Mexico, and received a Bachelor of Science degree in science from the California Institute of Technology. Schmitt studied at the University of Oslo in Norway and received a doctorate in geology from Harvard University.

He was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship in Norway, a NASA Distinguished Service Medal, and the Kennecott Fellowship in Geology at Harvard University.

Schmitt's organizations and memberships include The Geological Society of America (Honorary Fellow); The American Geophysical Union (Fellow); The American Association for the Advancement of Science (Fellow); The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (Fellow); Sigma XI; American Association of Petroleum Geologists (Fellow); The American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers (Honorary Member); New Mexico Geological Society (Honorary Member); The American Astronautical Society.

Schmitt was inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame on October 4, 1997.