Taylor Wang facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Taylor Gun-Jin Wang
Born	(1940-06-16) June 16, 1940 (age 85) Shanghai, Republic of China
Occupation	Scientist
Space career
JPL Payload Specialist
Time in space	7d 00h 08m
Missions	STS-51-B
Mission insignia	Signature

Taylor Gun-Jin Wang (simplified Chinese: 王赣骏; traditional Chinese: 王贛駿; pinyin: Wáng Gànjùn; born June 16, 1940) is a Chinese-born American scientist. In 1985, he became the first person of Chinese background to travel into space. He worked for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and flew as a payload specialist on the Space Shuttle Challenger mission STS-51-B.

Early Life and Education

Taylor Wang was born in Shanghai, which was then part of the Republic of China. His family later moved to Taiwan in 1952. He finished elementary school in Kaohsiung and graduated from high school in Taipei. After that, he moved to Hong Kong.

In 1963, he began studying physics at the UCLA. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in 1967, his Master of Science degree in 1968, and his PhD in 1972. His doctoral research focused on low-temperature physics, including superfluids and solid-state physics.

Career and Space Research

After getting his PhD, Dr. Wang joined the California Institute of Technology's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in 1972. He worked there as a senior scientist. At JPL, he helped start and develop new ways to process materials without them touching a container. This is called "containerless processing."

He became a US citizen in 1975. The next year, he published an important paper about how spinning objects behave in zero gravity. NASA noticed his work, and on June 1, 1983, he was chosen to be a payload specialist for the Spacelab-3 mission.

Dr. Wang did many experiments on Earth to prepare for his space mission. He used special systems like acoustic levitation (using sound waves to hold things up) and flew on planes that created brief moments of weightlessness. These tests helped him plan the experiments he would do in space. He also invented the special chamber used for these sound-wave experiments.

His Spaceflight Mission

Dr. Wang flew into space on the Challenger during mission STS-51-B. The mission lasted from April 29 to May 6, 1985. It launched from Florida and landed in California. This was the first time the Spacelab laboratory was used for a full mission.

The seven astronauts on Challenger did many experiments. These included growing crystals, studying how liquid drops behave without a container, and looking at gases in the atmosphere. They also studied cosmic rays and monitored laboratory animals and human health.

Dr. Wang was the main designer of an experiment called the Drop Dynamics Module. This experiment aimed to understand how liquid drops act in microgravity (very low gravity). When the experiment first started, it didn't work. Dr. Wang felt a lot of pressure because he knew many people, especially in the Chinese community, had high hopes for his work.

He strongly asked NASA flight controllers for a chance to fix his experiment. He was successful in repairing it. This incident showed how dedicated he was to his scientific work.

After the mission, Dr. Wang had traveled over 2.9 million miles. He orbited Earth 110 times and spent more than 168 hours in space. While his mission was successful, it was later found that the Challenger had a similar problem with its O-rings during launch, which were critical parts of the rocket. Astronauts on that flight were told they were very close to a dangerous situation.

Research After Spaceflight

After his space mission, Dr. Taylor Wang used what he learned from his experiments in microgravity. He developed a special system to protect transplanted cells. This system, called an immunoisolation encapsulation system, helps cells work well without needing strong medicines that can have bad side effects.

This new system uses a special capsule with many layers. It helps protect cells when they are transplanted into a body. This research has been very successful in animal trials. For example, encapsulated dog pancreatic cells were put into diabetic dogs. These dogs did not need other medicines, and their blood sugar levels became normal for over 200 days after just one transplant.

Becoming a Professor

Later, Dr. Wang became a Centennial Professor at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. He has written about 200 scientific articles. He also holds 28 US patents for his inventions. These patents cover topics like acoustics, how drops and bubbles behave, and how to encapsulate living cells.

His experiments were carried out in space on several missions. These include the United States Spacelab 3 in 1985, the United States Microgravity Laboratory 1 (USML-1) in 1992, and USML-2 in 1995.

Awards and Recognition

Dr. Wang has received many honors and awards for his work. Some of these include:

• Space Flight Medal NASA (1985)
• Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal NASA (1987)
• Asian Pacific American Achievement Award (1989)
• Llewellyn J. Evans Distinguished Scientific, Engineering and Management Award (1994)
• Educational Award Vanderbilt University Alumni League (1996)
• Asian American Engineer of the Year Distinguished Science and Technology Award (2007)

In 1990, he spoke at the United Nations' General Assembly for "Only One Earth Day."

Dr. Wang is married to Beverly Feng. They have two sons, Kenneth and Eric.

See also

• List of Asian American astronauts
• Ed Lu
• Leroy Chiao
• Yang Liwei