NAME:  Tamara E. Jernigan (Ph.D.)
       NASA Astronaut
 
BIRTHPLACE AND DATE:  Born May 7, 1959, in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Her father, Mr. Terry L. Jernigan, resides in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Her mother, Mrs. Mary P. Jernigan, resides in Santa Fe Springs,
California.
 
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION:  Brown hair; blue eyes; 5 feet 6 inches; 125
pounds.
 
EDUCATION:  Graduated from Santa Fe High School, Santa Fe Springs,
California, in 1977; received a bachelor of science degree in Physics
(with honors), and a master of science degree in Engineering Science,
from Stanford University in 1981 and 1983, a master of science degree
in Astronomy from the University of California-Berkeley in 1985, and a
doctorate in Space Physics and Astronomy from Rice University in 1988.
 
MARITAL STATUS:  Single.
 
RECREATIONAL INTERESTS:  She enjoys volleyball, racquetball, tennis,
softball, and flying.  As an undergraduate, she competed in
intercollegiate athletics on Stanford's varsity volleyball team.
 
ORGANIZATIONS:  Member of the American Astronomical Association, the
American Physical Society, and the United States Volleyball
Association.
 
EXPERIENCE:  After graduating from Stanford University, Jernigan
worked in the Theoretical Studies Branch at NASA Ames Research Center
from June 1981 until July 1985.  Her research interests have included
the study of bipolar outflows in regions of star formation, gamma ray
bursters, and shock wave phenomena in the interstellar medium.
 
NASA EXPERIENCE:  Selected as an astronaut candidate by NASA in June
1985, Dr. Jernigan became an astronaut in July 1986.  Her technical
assignments have included software verification in the Shuttle
Avionics Integration Laboratory (SAIL), and operations coordination on
secondary payloads.  In addition, she worked in Mission Control as a
CAPCOM for STS-30, STS-28, STS-34, STS-33, and STS-32.
 
More recently, Dr. Jernigan was a mission specialist on the crew of
STS-40 Spacelab Life Sciences (SLS-1), a dedicated life and space
sciences mission, which launched from the Kennedy Space Center,
Florida, on June 5, 1991.  SLS-1 was a nine day mission during which
crew members performed experiments which explored how humans, animals
and cells respond to microgravity and readapt to earth's gravity on
return.  Other payloads included experiments designed to investigate
materials science, plant biology and cosmic radiation.  Following 146
orbits of the earth, Columbia and her crew landed at Edwards Air Force
Base, California, on June 14, 1991.  Completion of this flight logged
her an additional 218 hours in space.
 
CURRENT ASSIGNMENT:  Dr. Jernigan is assigned as a mission specialist
on the crew of STS-52.  This nine day mission is scheduled for launch
in the Fall of 1992 aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia.  The mission
will deploy the Laser Geodynamic Satellite (LAGEOS) which will be used
to measure movements of the earth's crust.
 
AUGUST 1991