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Samuel T. Durrance (Doctor of Philosophy|Ph.D.) is
(at May 1996) a NASA payload specialist.

==Background==
Durrance was born September 17, 1943, in
Tallahassee, Florida, but considers Tampa, Florida
his hometown. He received a Bachelor of Science
degree and a Master of Science degree in physics
(with honors), at California State University, Los
Angeles, California, 1972 and 1974, respectively,
and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in
astrogeophysics at the University of Colorado,
1980.

Dr. Durrance is a Principal Research Scientist in
the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Johns
Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland. He is a
co-investigator for the Hopkins Ultraviolet
Telescope, one of the instruments of the Astro
Space_observatory|Observatory.

He is a member of the American Astronomical
Society, American Geophysical Union, International
Astronomical Union, Association of Space
Explorers, Planetary Society, and Phi Kappa Phi.

==Academic Experience==
Dr. Durrance has been involved in the flight
hardware development, optical and mechanical
design, construction, and integration of the
Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope and the Astro
Observatory. He has conducted research and
directed graduate students at the Johns Hopkins
University for the past 15 years. He has designed
and built spectrometers, detectors, and imaging
systems, and made numerous spacecraft and
ground-based astronomical observations. He
conceived and directed a program at Johns Hopkins
University to develop adaptive-optics
instrumentation for ground based astronomy. He led
the team that designed and constructed the
Adaptive Optics Coronagraph, which led to the
discovery of a cool brown dwarf -- the first
unambiguous detection. His research interests
include the origin and evolution of the solar
system, the search for planets around other stars,
and the origin of life. He has published over 60
technical papers about spacecraft operations,
planetary astronomy, adaptive optics, aeronomy,
and nuclear physics.

Dr. Durrance has logged over 615 hours in space as
a member of the crew of Space Shuttle Columbia for
the STS-35/Astro-1 and Space Shuttle Endeavour for
the STS-67/Astro-2 missions.

==Current Assignment (May 1996)==
Dr. Durrance is located at the Johns Hopkins
University Center for Astrophysical Sciences in
Baltimore, Maryland. He is a member of the
research team analyzing ultraviolet data returned
from the STS-67/Astro-2 space shuttle flight. He
is also President of Earth Systems Technology, a
small company developing new technology for the
study and management of Earth's resources.

==External link==
* http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/PS/durrance.html/
Source

NASA