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Ronald McNair

From Bahaipedia
Ronald Erwin McNair
Born(1950-10-21)21 October 1950
Lake City, South Carolina, U.S.
Died28 January 1986 (aged 35)
Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
OccupationPhysicist, astronaut
 Media

Ronald Erwin McNair (October 21, 1950 – January 28, 1986) was an American NASA astronaut and physicist. He died during the launch of the Space Shuttle Challenger on mission STS-51-L, in which he was serving as one of three mission specialists in a crew of seven.

In 1976, he received a Ph.D. degree in Physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology under the guidance of Michael Feld, becoming nationally recognized for his work in the field of laser physics.

In 1978, McNair was selected as one of thirty-five applicants from a pool of ten thousand for the NASA astronaut program. He flew on STS-41-B aboard Challenger from February 3 to February 11, 1984, as a mission specialist becoming the second African American and the first Bahá'í to fly in space.

Challenger crew: (front row) Michael J. Smith, Dick Scobee, Ronald McNair; (back row) Ellison Onizuka, Christa McAuliffe, Gregory Jarvis, Judith Resnik

Following this mission, McNair was selected for STS-51-L, which launched on January 28, 1986, and was subsequently killed when Challenger disintegrated nine miles above the Atlantic Ocean just 73 seconds after liftoff.[1]

In 1971, he received a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering Physics, magna cum laude, from the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in Greensboro, North Carolina.[2]

After graduation from MIT (receiving four honorary doctorates, a score of fellowships and commendations while achieving a 6th degree black belt in taekwondo, he became a staff physicist at the Hughes Research Lab in Malibu, California. McNair was a member of the Bahá'í Faith.[3]

He is survived by his wife, Cheryl, and two children. His kids were Reginald Ervin McNair (son) and Joy Cheray McNair (daughter). McNair was a member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity.[2]

Background[edit]

Born October 21, 1950, in Lake City, South Carolina, his parents were Pearl M. and Carl C. McNair. He had two brothers, Carl S. and Eric A. McNair. In the summer of 1959, he refused to leave the segregated Lake City Public Library without being allowed to check out his books. After the police and his mother were called, he was allowed to borrow books from the library, which is now named after him.[4] A children's book, Ron's Big Mission, offers a fictionalized account of this event. His brother, Carl S., also wrote the official biography, In the Spirit of Ronald E. McNair—Astronaut: An American Hero.

McNair graduated as valedictorian of Carver High School in 1967.[5]

Music in space[edit]

McNair was an accomplished saxophonist.

Before his last fateful space mission he had worked with the composer Jean-Michel Jarre on a piece of music for Jarre's then-upcoming album Rendez-Vous. It was intended that he would record his saxophone solo on board the Challenger, which would have made McNair's solo the first original piece of music to have been recorded in space[6] (although the song "Jingle Bells" had been played on a harmonica during an earlier Gemini 6 spaceflight). However, the recording was never made as the flight ended in disaster and the deaths of its entire crew. The last of the Rendez-Vous pieces, "Last Rendez-Vous", had the additional name "Ron's Piece". Ron McNair was supposed to take part in the concert through a live feed.

Public honors[edit]

McNair was posthumously awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor in 2004, along with all crew members lost in the Challenger and Columbia disasters.

Dr. Ronald E. McNair memorial in his hometown, Lake City, South Carolina
Dr. Ronald E. McNair tomb in his hometown, Lake City, South Carolina
Ronald McNair Park in Brooklyn, New York City
Ronald E. McNair South Central Police Station of the Houston Police Department in Houston, Texas

A variety of public places, people and programs have been renamed in honor of McNair.

  • The crater McNair on the Moon is named in his honor.
  • The McNair Building at MIT (a.k.a. Building 37), his alma mater, houses the Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research.
  • The McNair Center for Aerospace Innovation and Research at the University of South Carolina is named in his honor.
  • Watson Chapel Jr. High was renamed the R. McNair Jr. High School in his honor.
  • Ronald McNair Boulevard in Lake City, South Carolina, is named in his honor and lies near other streets named for astronauts who perished in the Challenger crash.
  • The U.S. Department of Education offers the TRIO Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program for students with low income, first generation students, and underrepresented students in graduate education for doctorate education.
  • On January 29, 2011, the Lake City, South Carolina, library was dedicated as the Ronald McNair Life History Center.[5] When Ronald McNair was nine, the police and his mother were called because he wished to check out books from this library, which served only white patrons before he arrived. He said, "I'll wait," to the lady and sat on the counter until the police and his mother arrived, and the officer said, "Why don't you just give him the books?" which the lady behind the counter reluctantly did. He said, "Thank you, Ma'am," as he got the books.[4] The episode as recalled by his brother Carl McNair has been depicted in a short animated film.[7]
  • Several K-12 schools have also been named after McNair.
  • A building on the Willowridge High School campus in Houston, Texas, is named in honor of McNair.
  • Dr. Ronald McNair Junior High School in Pearland, Texas (Alvin Independent School District), is named in honor Dr. McNair.[14]
  • There is a memorial in the Ronald McNair Park in Brooklyn, New York in his honor.[15][16][17]
  • The Dr. Ronald E. McNair Playground in East Harlem, New York City, is named after him.[18]
  • The Ronald E. McNair Space Theater inside the Davis Planetarium in downtown Jackson, Mississippi, is named in his honor.
  • The Naval ROTC building on the campus of Southern University and A&M College in Baton Rouge, Louisiana is named in his honor.
    Ronald E. McNair Hall, On the campus of North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro, North Carolina
  • The Engineering building at North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro, NC, is named in his honor.
  • The McNair Post-baccalaureate Achievement Program, which operates at 179 campuses in the U.S. (April 7), awards research money and internships to first-generation and otherwise underrepresented students in preparation for graduate work.[19]
  • McNair was portrayed by Joe Morton in the 1990 TV movie Challenger.
  • The song "A Drop Of Water", recorded by Japanese jazz artist Keiko Matsui, with vocals by the late Carl Anderson, was written in tribute to McNair.
  • The Jean Michel Jarre track "Last Rendez-Vous" was re-titled "Ron's Piece" in his honor. McNair was originally due to record the track in space aboard Challenger, and then perform it via a live link up in Jarre's Rendez-vous Houston concert.
  • There are over 150 federally funded McNair Scholars/Achievement Programs across the United States designed to encourage juniors and seniors who are first-generation and low-income, or members of groups that are underrepresented in graduate education college to enter doctoral study.[20] Michigan State University and Washington State University are two examples of these programs and both offer Summer Research Opportunity Program as additional program components.[21]

References[edit]

  1. ↑ "Astronaut Bio: Ronald E. McNair 12/03". Retrieved February 23, 2017.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Ronald E. McNair Bio". jsc.nasa.gov. NASA. Retrieved March 25, 2014.
  3. ↑ Venters, Louis E., the III (2010). Most great reconstruction: The Baha'i Faith in Jim Crow South Carolina, 1898–1965 (Thesis). Colleges of Arts and Sciences University of South Carolina. ISBN 978-1-243-74175-2. UMI Number: 3402846.{{cite thesis}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Astronaut's Brother Recalls A Man Who Dreamed Big". January 28, 2011. Retrieved November 18, 2012.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Smith, Bruce (January 28, 2011). "Small SC town pauses to remember astronaut son". TheState.com. Retrieved January 29, 2011.[dead link]
  6. ↑ "The history of synthpop". Retrieved February 23, 2017.
  7. ↑ Popova, Maria, "Eyes on the Stars: Astronaut Ronald McNair, Who Perished in the Challenger Disaster, Remembered by His Brother in an Affectionate Animated Short Film", Brain Pickings.
  8. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-03-18. Retrieved 2013-09-16. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link), last accessed September 16, 2013.
  9. ↑ Hague, Jim. "In a Class By Itself". Jersey City Magazine, Spring & Summer 2011, p. 55.
  10. ↑ "Fourth-Masonic-District". Archived from the original on 2017-01-18. Retrieved February 23, 2017. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  11. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-04-19. Retrieved 2014-04-18. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  12. ↑ Bryan, Shevaun (August 5, 2014). "New school, old building: first day of school at McNair Junior High". Huntsville, AL: WHNT-TV. Retrieved September 7, 2014.
  13. ↑ Ronald McNair Academy Archived 2009-09-01 at the Wayback Machine, accessed January 28, 2011.
  14. ↑ "Alvin ISD Board Members Approve New Facility Name", Alvin Independent School District.
  15. ↑ "Dr. Ronald E. McNair Park, Crown Heights, Brooklyn". Retrieved February 23, 2017.
  16. ↑ "Historical Sign Listings : NYC Parks". Nycgovparks.org. Retrieved May 18, 2012.
  17. ↑ Walsh, Kevin "DR. RONALD E. McNAIR PARK, Prospect Heights" Forgotten-NY January 28, 2018 http://forgotten-ny.com/2018/01/dr-ronald-e-mcnair-park-prospect-heights/
  18. ↑ "Dr. Ronald McNair Playground". Retrieved November 23, 2012.
  19. ↑ "TRIO – Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program – Home Page". Ed.gov. May 9, 2012. Retrieved May 18, 2012.
  20. ↑ "TRIO – Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program – About". University of Central Florida. Retrieved May 2, 2018.
  21. ↑ "The Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Scholars Program – Program Services". wsu.edu. Retrieved May 2, 2018.

External links[edit]

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