Biography franklin chang diaz go to college

Chang Morales and Mrs. At the age of 18, having completed his secondary education at Colegio de La Salle in Costa Rica, he left his family for the United States to pursue his dream of becoming a rocket scientist and an astronaut. That year he also earned a scholarship to the University of Connecticut. Engineering and physics were the correct skill mix for his chosen career in space.

However, two important events affected his post-graduation path: the early cancellation of the Apollo Moon program eliminated immediate opportunities in space. On the other hand, the global energy crisis, resulting from the I OPEC oil embargo provided a boost to new research in energy. Confident that things would ultimately change at NASA, he entered graduate school at MIT in the field of plasma physics and controlled fusion.

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His doctoral thesis studied the conceptual design and operation of future reactors, capable of harnessing fusion power. He received his doctorate degree in and in that same year, he became a US citizen. After MIT, Dr. In that year, the Space Shuttle Enterprise made its first successful atmospheric test flight and re-energized the moribund US Space Program.

In addition to US citizenship and in contrast to earlier such announcements in the s, the qualification requirements also included an advanced scientific degree.