Robert Thirsk
Robert Brent "Bob" Thirsk, (born August 17, 1953) is a Canadian retired engineer and physician, and a former Canadian Space Agency astronaut. He holds the Canadian record for the most time spent in space (204 days 18 hours). He became an officer of the Order of Canada (OC) in 2013 and was named to the Order of British Columbia (OBC) in 2012. Life Thirsk is from New Westminster, British Columbia and is married to Brenda Biasutti of Montreal, Quebec. They have three children: Lisane Biasutti Thirsk, Elliot Biasutti Thirsk, and Aidan Biasutti Thirsk. He enjoys spending time with his family, as well as flying, hockey, squash, and playing the piano. He is a member of Professional Engineers Ontario, the College of Family Physicians of Canada, the Canadian Aeronautics and Space Institute, the Aerospace Medical Association, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, and the International Space University. He won the Association of Professional Engineers, Geologists and Geophysicists of Alberta Gold Medal in 1976, and was the first recipient of the University of Calgary Distinguished Alumni Award (1985). In 1997, he was awarded the Gold Medal of the Professional Engineers of Ontario and was awarded honorary membership in the College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia. Education Thirsk attended primary and secondary schools in British Columbia, Alberta, and Manitoba, attending Glenayre Elementary School (Port Moody, B.C.), R. T. Alderman Junior High and graduating from Calgary's Lord Beaverbrook High School. His post-secondary education began with receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Calgary in 1976, and continued with a Master of Science degree in mechanical engineering from MIT in 1978, an M.D. from McGill University in 1982, and his MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management in 1998 as a Sloan Fellow. He received an honorary doctorate from the University of Calgary while in orbit on July 8, 2009. Fellow ISS crewmember Koichi Wakata placed the convocation cape on Thirsk, which was later removed due to it constantly floating up to his face. This event made Thirsk the first person ever to receive a university degree from space. In 2019, Thirsk was awarded an honorary D.Eng. from Carleton University in recognition of his outstanding career as a Canadian astronaut, his many contributions to scientific and health research, and his promotion of science education and lifelong learning. CSA career Thirsk was in the family medicine residency program at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Montreal when he was selected in December 1983 by the National Research Council of Canada to join the Canadian astronaut program. He began astronaut training in February 1984 and served as backup payload specialist to Marc Garneau for space shuttle mission STS-41-G, which flew October 5 to 13, 1984. He has participated in several parabolic flight experiment campaigns on board NASA's KC-135 aircraft and has been involved in various projects relating to space medicine, the International Space Station, mission planning, and education with the Canadian Space Agency. He led an international