Emma Hwang | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Yu-liang Hwang (1970-07-21)July 21, 1970 (age 55) |
| Education | Boston University (BA) University of Michigan (MS,MS,PhD) |
| Occupation | Scientist |
| Employer | Wyle Laboratories |
| Known for | Aquanaut |
Emma Y. Hwang (bornYu-liang Hwang on July 21, 1970) is a Taiwanese-American researcher withWyle Laboratories.[1][2] She served as anaquanaut on theNASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations 5 (NEEMO 5) crew in June 2003.[3][4]
Yu-liang Hwang was born insouthern Taiwan. After joining her family on theWest Coast of the United States at the age of two, she was dubbed Emma. Most of her early education occurred incentral andsoutheast Texas, and she graduated fromBall High School inGalveston. Growing up along theTexasGulf Coast initiated her interest in the space program (though she was born a year and a day late for thefirst Apollo Moon landing).[1]
Hwang received herbachelor's degree inbiomedical engineering atBoston University inBoston,Massachusetts.[1][5] During herjunior year, she took a year-and-a-half cooperative study opportunity withLockheed Missiles and Space Company inHouston, Texas. While in Boston, Hwang first became interested inscuba diving, stemming from her fascination withJacques Cousteau's work. However, she did not pursue training at that time due to lack of resources and the mostly cold environment in Boston.[1] Hwang moved toAnn Arbor, Michigan to attendgraduate school at theUniversity of Michigan where she earned twomaster's degrees, in biomedical engineering andelectrical engineering systems.[1][5] While in graduate school, she took a detour from her studies and became a teacher in themartial arts ofAikido andIaido.[1] After several more years, she finally earned herPh.D. in biomedical engineering from the University of Michigan.[1][5] In graduate school, she researched and developed new medical techniques usingultrasound.[1]
After considering a move out to theWestern United States, Hwang chose to return to the Texas Gulf Coast, where she would be closer to her sisters, brother, and new nephew. Her decision to return to Texas also involved the opportunity to work again in thespace industry forWyle Laboratories.[1]
Hwang joined Wyle in September 2001.[5] Initially, she worked as a scientist in the Sensors Group under Dr. Antony Jeevarajan, researching and developing oxygen, carbon dioxide, and pH sensing techniques for monitoring the health ofcell cultures that would be grown on theSpace Shuttle orstation. In 2002 she became a scientist with the Neurosciences Group under Dr. Bill Paloski, which studies the effects of space flight on balance control problems whichastronauts experience upon return to Earth, and develops possible countermeasures that will help astronauts to adapt more quickly to both themicrogravity of space and the1-g environment on Earth.[1][5] As of 2011, Hwang is working with the Integrated Science & Engineering (ISE) Group at Wyle's Houston office as Exercise Physiology and Countermeasures Project Manager.[2]
In June 2003, Hwang became anaquanaut through her participation in the joint NASA-NOAA,NEEMO 5 (NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations) project, an exploration research mission held inAquarius, the world's onlyundersea research laboratory. NEEMO 5 was the longestNEEMO mission to that date, with the crew living underwater for fourteen days.[3][4] During the mission, Hwang took part in atelemedicine simulation in which two fellow crew members, directed remotely by a doctor in Houston, used an ultrasound machine to diagnose a supposedkidney stone.[6]
This article incorporatespublic domain material from:: NASA Quest > Space :: Meet: Emma Hwang.National Aeronautics and Space Administration. RetrievedDecember 2, 2011.
