Bondar roberta biography of albert
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
TUESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2003
DR. ROBERTA BONDAR APPOINTED CHANCELLOR OF TRENT UNIVERSITY
Distinguished photographer, scientist, physician, astronaut to serve as 9th Chancellor (Peterborough)
The Senate of Trent University is pleased to announce its unanimous decision to approve the appointment of Dr. Roberta Bondar as Trent University’s ninth Chancellor.
"I am very pleased to accept the role of Chancellor at Trent University," said Dr. Bondar. "In all my endeavours and travels, I have come to value how my educational experiences at the undergraduate and graduate levels have helped me to understand our world and shape me as an individual. The unique educational experiences offered at Trent, with its emphasis on the arts and sciences, combined with a strong research focus, help to distinguish the University. The University is producing graduates in a variety of sectors who are critical thinkers, lifelong learners and well-rounded citizens who contribute to our communities. Trent also has a tremendous expertise in environmental education and I am very pleased to be associated with a university renowned for its environmental science programs."
Commenting on the appointment, Trent University President and Vice Chancellor Bonnie
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'It gets better': Roberta Bondar reflects on being first Canadian woman in space
Most memories, after 30 years, start to fade.
But if that memory is of blasting off to become Canada's first woman in space, it only becomes richer.
"I talk about it a lot, so a lot of it's fresh," says Roberta Bondar, the astronaut-cum-researcher and photographer who celebrates the three-decade anniversary of her flight on Saturday.
"But a lot of it is me viewing it retrospectively with the smarts I have today and the wisdom that I've gained in the 30 years to look at that moment in my life and see things a little differently than I did years ago."
Bondar's 1992 mission aboard the shuttle Discovery took eight days. She had spent the previous eight years of her life preparing for the flight and the on-board research she led on the affect of low gravity on life.
For years after, she worked in space medicine and in academia, spending two terms as chancellor of Trent University in Peterborough, Ont.
But those eight days never left her.
"If you ask me for one thing I remember from the flight, it's seeing the edge of the Earth and seeing the reality of Earth as a planet," says the 76-year-old, who will mark the weekend anniversary with an online celebration.
"That is the singular most imp
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