Professor Bonnie J. Dunbar leads The University of Houston’s newly created STEM Center and is also a faculty member in the university’s Cullen College of Engineering, Mechanical Engineering department, where she leads the Aerospace Graduate Program.
The STEM Center integrates K-12 and Undergraduate STEM related activities from the colleges of Engineering, Education, Technology, and Natural Sciences and Mathematics. It also works with the external community and Houston Public Media Ch 8 to promote the role of engineers and scientists in society. Prior to joining The UH, Dunbar had her own consulting company, Dunbar International LLC, consulting nationally and internationally on STEM education and space flight technology. She also was the President and CEO of the Museum of Flight in Seattle for 5 years, after retiring from NASA with 27 years of service.
Dunbar earned her Ph.D. from the UH Cullen College of Engineering, and her B.S. and M.S. in engineering from the University of Washington. She also graduated from the Harvard Kennedy School for Government. Her career at NASA included five spaceflights on the Space Shuttle, and seven years in various management roles as a member of the Senior Executive Service. Dunbar is an elected member of the National Academy of Engineers and the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and is a Fellow of the AIAA, ACerS, and the Royal Aeronautical Society. She has 7 honorary academic degrees and was inducted into the Astronaut Hall of Fame in April, 2013.