Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

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600 S. Clyde Morris Blvd.
Daytona Beach, FL 32114-3900

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Contact: Mary Van Buren
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Astronaut/Alumna Nicole Stott Prepares to Leave International Space Station for Journey Home

NOTE: Engineering students at Embry-Riddle conducted a question-and-answer session with Nicole Stott on Nov. 5, using a ham radio connection between the campus and the International Space Station. View the video of the event.

Daytona Beach, Fla., Nov. 20, 2009 -- Astronaut Nicole Stott has wrapped up her duties as a flight engineer on the International Space Station and is now a mission specialist onboard Space Shuttle Atlantis. Stott, an Embry-Riddle alumna, spent three months on the ISS and will return to Earth on Atlantis, with the landing scheduled for Nov. 27. She is the final astronaut to be both delivered to and retrieved from the ISS via Space Shuttle.

Stott, whose hometown is Clearwater, Fla., received a B.S. in Aeronautical Engineering from Embry-Riddle’s Daytona Beach campus in 1987, an M.S. in Engineering Management from the University of Central Florida in 1992, and is also an instrument-rated private pilot. She is one of six Embry-Riddle alumni who are current or former astronauts.

In a recent interview, Stott said Embry-Riddle played a “huge role” in preparing her for a career with NASA. “The College of Engineering faculty have valuable hands-on experience in the industry that they transmit to students in the classroom and through research projects. At Embry-Riddle I also learned how to function as part of a team, one of the core skills NASA requires of astronaut candidates.”

Dr. James Ladesic, an aerospace engineering professor at Embry-Riddle, said Stott left a deep impression on him.

“Not only was Nicole one of my most outstanding senior-design students, but she also worked for me in my capacity as the graduate program coordinator for the M.S. in Aerospace Engineering degree program,” he said. “She has always projected an extremely positive attitude with can-do confidence, and we’re all very proud of her achievements.”

Since her selection as an astronaut candidate in 2000, Stott has visited the Daytona Beach campus numerous times to speak with incoming engineering freshmen, inspiring them as the next generation of engineers and scientists to make the most of their opportunities at Embry-Riddle. She also serves as a member of the College of Engineering’s Industry Advisory Board.

During her February 2009 visit to campus as the guest speaker for Embry-Riddle’s National Engineers Week she received the Embry-Riddle Alumni Eagle of Excellence Award in recognition of her professional accomplishments.

Stott carries an Embry-Riddle alumni flag on her mission, to be signed by the entire crew and then returned to the Alumni Association to be framed and displayed in the office.

Other Embry-Riddle alumni who are currently astronauts are Daniel Burbank, B. Alvin Drew, Ronald Garan Jr., and Terry Virts Jr. Alumna Susan Kilrain is a former astronaut.

Stott and Drew will serve as STS-133 crewmembers on the final Space Shuttle mission, scheduled to launch to the ISS in September 2010 to deliver a pressurized logistics module.

Drew was a Space Shuttle mission specialist on STS-118 in 2007 and is currently the director of Operations at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia. He received a Master of Aerospace Science in 1995 from Embry-Riddle’s Worldwide Campus center in Las Vegas, Nev., and holds three degrees from the U.S. Air Force Academy.

Virts is scheduled for his first flight into space in February 2010 as the pilot of STS-130 Space Shuttle Endeavour on a mission to the ISS to deliver a connecting module and a cupola to be used as a control room for robotics. Most recently at NASA he served as the lead Ascent and Entry CAPCOM. Virts received an M.A.S. in Aeronautics in 1997 from Embry-Riddle’s Worldwide Campus center in Spangdahlem, Germany. He also holds a B.S. in Mathematics from the U.S. Air Force Academy.

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, the world's largest, fully accredited university specializing in aviation and aerospace, offers more than 30 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in its colleges of Arts and Sciences, Aviation, Business, and Engineering. Embry-Riddle educates students at residential campuses in Prescott, Ariz., and Daytona Beach, Fla., through the Worldwide Campus at more than 170 campus centers in the United States, Europe, Canada, and the Middle East, and through online learning. For more information, visit www.embryriddle.edu.