Contact:
Jim Scott, (303) 492-3114
Jeannine Malmsbury, (303) 492-3115
Pauline Hale, (303) 735-0228
NOTE TO MEDIA: Among the astronauts believed to have perished in today聮s Columbia shuttle disaster was Dr. Kalpana Chawla, an alumna of the University of Colorado at Boulder aerospace engineering program.
Biographical information may be accessed on the Web site at .
Also, you may access a Jan. 17, 2003 news release from CU-Boulder about the launch of the Columbia shuttle with Dr. Chawla and student experiments aboard. The release may be accessed at .
Below is a list of contacts willing to take media calls regarding today聮s tragedy:
Robert Culp, professor of aerospace engineering, and former associate of Dr. Chawla.
Home: (303) 452-5394
Office: (303) 492-7974
C.Y. Chow, professor emeritus of aerospace engineering, doctoral adviser to Dr. Chawla
Home: (303) 494-4615
Office: (303) 492-6417
Following are statements by CU-Boulder Chancellor Richard L. Byyny and CU-Boulder Provost Phil DiStefano regarding Dr. Chawla.
All of us at the University of Colorado at Boulder are shocked and saddened by the loss today of CU-Boulder alumna, Dr. Kalpana Chawla, who was an astronaut on the Columbia space shuttle. Like all of our other astronaut-alumni, Dr. Chawla was a source of pride for the entire University community and will be remembered for her tremendous accomplishments and warm personality. We extend our sympathies to her family in this time of shock and disbelief.
STATEMENT BY CU-BOULDER PROVOST PHIL DISTEFANO
It's difficult to express the sense of sadness and disbelief we all feel today for the loss of Dr. Chawla, one of our distinguished astronaut-alumni of the aerospace engineering program. Along with Ellison Onizuka, who died on the Challenger in 1986, CU-Boulder now has lost two of its shining stars to shuttle disasters. Today聮s tragedy hits us especially hard, because our space studies program has established a long record of outstanding achievement, a sense of deep pride, and a family atmosphere among all its participants. Like the rest of America, we watched in disbelief as the television monitors showed the unfolding tragedy. Our hearts go out to the family and friends of Dr. Chawla and her colleagues.