Dr. Charles (Rick) Chappell, the director of science and research communications, received his bachelor's degree in physics from Vanderbilt University, and his Ph.D. in space science from Rice University. Prior to returning to Vanderbilt as director of the Office of Science and Research Communications, he was associate director for science at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. There he directed research in solar terrestrial physics and served as principal investigator on several satellite missions. From May 1994 to May 1995, he worked with Vice President Al Gore to create an innovative K-12 science education program known as GLOBE (Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment). He founded the Aspen Global Change Institute in 1989, together with John Denver's Windstar Foundation.

Prior to that, he served as alternate payload specialist for the space shuttle mission STS-45, which was carried out in March 1992. From 1976 to 1985, he was mission scientist for Spacelab 1, a joint European/American shuttle mission that conducted investigations in material sciences, life sciences, space physics, earth observations and astronomy. He has published more than 150 scientific papers in a variety of journals.

Mail to: rick.chappell@vanderbilt.edu

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