Dr. Robert Satcher, Jr.
Orthopaedic surgeon, chemical engineer and astronaut Robert Lee Satcher, Jr. was born on September 22, 1965 in Hampton, Virginia to Robert and Marian Satcher. Satcher graduated from Denmark-Olar High School in Denmark, South Carolina, in 1982. He received his B.S. degree in chemical engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1986; his Ph.D. degree in chemical engineering from MIT in 1993; and his M.D. degree from Harvard Medical School in 1994. Satcher completed his postdoctoral research fellowships at MIT in 1994 and University of California, Berkeley in 1998; internship and residency in orthopaedic surgery at the University of California, San Francisco in 2000; and a fellowship in musculoskeletal oncology at the University of Florida in 2001.
From 2001 to 2008, Satcher served as an assistant professor at The Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University, in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery. He was also an assistant professor of orthopaedic surgery at the Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago, Illinois from 2001 to 2008, and served as a professor at the Institute for Bionanotechnology in Medicine at Northwestern University Medical Center. In addition, Satcher was an attending physician of orthopaedic oncology at Northwestern Memorial Hospital - Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center from 2001 to 2008; and served as an assistant professor of biomedical engineering at Northwestern University from 2002 to 2008.
Satcher joined NASA in 2004. In 2009, he became the first orthopaedic surgeon in space during NASA’s STS-129 mission, where he was a mission specialist and performed two spacewalks. Satcher left NASA in September 2011, and serves as a surgical oncologist and assistant professor at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.
Satcher’s professional organizations include the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, Musculoskeletal Tumor Society, American Academy of Cancer Research, Connective Tissue Oncology Society, National Medical Association, Society of Black Academic Surgeons, Doctors United in Medical Missions, National Comprehensive Cancer Network, American Telemedicine Association, Orthopaedic Research Society, MIT Alumni Association, Black Alumni at MIT and Harvard Alumni Association. In addition, he co-founded the eHealth Research Institute, is a user panel member of the National Space Biomedical Research Institute, and serves on the boards of CSTEM and Teach for America.
Satcher has been active in numerous community organizations, including Big Brother for Youth at Risk Counseling Program, Department of Corrections, San Francisco, California; Tutor for Black Student’s Union Tutorial Program, MIT; National Society of Black Engineers; American Institute of Chemical Engineering; Supervising Adult for Cub Scout Camp for Boys, Nashville, Tennessee; Open Airways Tutor (asthma awareness); Proctor for Freshman Dormitory at Harvard University; Lay Episcopal Minister at St. Edmund’s Episcopal Church, Chicago, Illinois and at St. James Episcopal Church in Houston, Texas. Satcher has also completed medical missions for outreach care to underserved areas in Nicaragua, Venezuela, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, and Gabon.
Satcher was a National Merit Scholar, and received the Monsanto Award and the Albert G. Hill Award from MIT, fellowships from both the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and UNCF/Merck Research department, and is a member of the Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society. He has been awarded two honorary doctorates of science, and was selected as a finalist in Tuskegee University’s presidency search in 2010.
Robert Satcher, Jr. was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on March 3, 2014.
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3/3/2014 |and| 5/7/2014
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Denmark-Olar High School
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Harvard Medical School
Harvard
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Virginia
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Unsalted Peanuts
Orthopedic surgeon, chemical engineer, and astronaut Dr. Robert Satcher, Jr. (1965 - ) was a surgical oncologist and assistant professor at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. He became the first orthopedic surgeon in space during NASA’s STS-129 mission.
UT MD Anderson Cancer Center
Northwestern University
NASA Johnson Space Center
Northwestern Memorial Hospital
Blue
Tape: 1 Story: 1 - Slating of Dr. Robert Satcher, Jr.'s interview, session 1
Tape: 1 Story: 2 - Dr. Robert Satcher, Jr. lists his favorites
Tape: 1 Story: 3 - Dr. Robert Satcher, Jr. describes his mother's family background, pt. 1
Tape: 1 Story: 4 - Dr. Robert Satcher, Jr. talks about his parent's civil rights activism
Tape: 1 Story: 5 - Dr. Robert Satcher, Jr. remembers his maternal grandparents
Tape: 1 Story: 6 - Dr. Robert Satcher, Jr. describes his mother's family background, pt. 2
Tape: 1 Story: 7 - Dr. Robert Satcher, Jr. describes his father's family background, pt. 1
Tape: 1 Story: 8 - Dr. Robert Satcher, Jr. describes his father's family background, pt. 2
Tape: 1 Story: 9 - Dr. Robert Satcher, Jr. describes how his parents met
Tape: 2 Story: 1 - Dr. Robert Satcher, Jr. talks about his father and when his parents first started dating
Tape: 2 Story: 2 - Dr. Robert Satcher, Jr. describes his parents' personalities and who he takes after
Tape: 2 Story: 3 - Dr. Robert Satcher, Jr. lists his siblings, pt. 1
Tape: 2 Story: 4 - Dr. Robert Satcher, Jr. lists his siblings, pt. 2
Tape: 2 Story: 5 - Dr. Robert Satcher, Jr. describes his earliest childhood memory
Tape: 2 Story: 6 - Dr. Robert Satcher, Jr. describes the sights, sounds and smells of his childhood
Tape: 2 Story: 7 - Dr. Robert Satcher, Jr. remembers developing an interest in science
Tape: 2 Story: 8 - Dr. Robert Satcher, Jr. describes his early influences
Tape: 3 Story: 1 - Dr. Robert Satcher, Jr. talks about his aspiration to become a pilot
Tape: 3 Story: 2 - Dr. Robert Satcher, Jr. remembers moving to Denmark, South Carolina
Tape: 3 Story: 3 - Dr. Robert Satcher, Jr. remembers Denmark-Olar High School in Denmark, South Carolina
Tape: 3 Story: 4 - Dr. Robert Satcher, Jr. recalls his start at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Tape: 3 Story: 5 - Dr. Robert Satcher, Jr. remembers his first year at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Tape: 3 Story: 6 - Dr. Robert Satcher, Jr. describes his experiences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Tape: 3 Story: 7 - Dr. Robert Satcher, Jr. talks about the MIT Black Students' Union
Tape: 4 Story: 1 - Dr. Robert Satcher, Jr. talks about his transition from the South to Boston, Massachusetts, pt. 1
Tape: 4 Story: 2 - Dr. Robert Satcher, Jr. talks about his transition from the South to Boston, Massachusetts, pt. 2
Tape: 4 Story: 3 - Dr. Robert Satcher, Jr. remembers the black faculty at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Tape: 4 Story: 4 - Dr. Robert Satcher, Jr. talks about the influence of black astronauts
Tape: 4 Story: 5 - Dr. Robert Satcher, Jr. recalls his decision to study chemical engineering
Tape: 4 Story: 6 - Dr. Robert Satcher, Jr. remembers his decision to study medicine
Tape: 4 Story: 7 - Dr. Robert Satcher, Jr. talks about his dual graduate degree program
Tape: 4 Story: 8 - Dr. Robert Satcher, Jr. remembers his black peers and professors at Harvard Medical School
Tape: 5 Story: 1 - Dr. Robert Satcher, Jr. remembers the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster
Tape: 5 Story: 2 - Dr. Robert Satcher, Jr. talks about his curriculum track at Harvard Medical School
Tape: 5 Story: 3 - Dr. Robert Satcher, Jr. remembers Mae Jemison
Tape: 5 Story: 4 - Dr. Robert Satcher, Jr. recalls his decision to attend Harvard Medical School
Tape: 5 Story: 5 - Dr. Robert Satcher, Jr. talks about his Ph.D. degree program
Tape: 5 Story: 6 - Dr. Robert Satcher, Jr. reflects upon his decision to complete a dual degree graduate program
Tape: 5 Story: 7 - Dr. Robert Satcher, Jr. talks about his interest in orthopedic surgery
Tape: 5 Story: 8 - Dr. Robert Satcher, Jr. remembers his residency at the University of California, San Francisco
Tape: 6 Story: 1 - Slating of Dr. Robert Satcher, Jr.'s interview, session 2
Tape: 6 Story: 2 - Dr. Robert Satcher, Jr. remembers the influence of Emily Morey Holton
Tape: 6 Story: 3 - Dr. Robert Satcher, Jr. recalls applying to become an astronaut
Tape: 6 Story: 4 - Dr. Robert Satcher, Jr. talks about his work as a bone cancer surgeon
Tape: 6 Story: 5 - Dr. Robert Satcher, Jr. recalls his selection as an astronaut candidate
Tape: 6 Story: 6 - Dr. Robert Satcher, Jr. remembers his acceptance into the NASA Astronaut Corps
Tape: 6 Story: 7 - Dr. Robert Satcher, Jr. recalls his decision to join the NASA Astronaut Corps
Tape: 6 Story: 8 - Dr. Robert Satcher, Jr. talks about the history of African American astronauts
Tape: 7 Story: 1 - Dr. Robert Satcher, Jr. describes basic training at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, pt. 1
Tape: 7 Story: 2 - Dr. Robert Satcher, Jr. describes basic training at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, pt. 2
Tape: 7 Story: 3 - Dr. Robert Satcher, Jr. talks about Extravehicular Activity training
Tape: 7 Story: 4 - Dr. Robert Satcher, Jr. talks about Extravehicular Activity training
Tape: 7 Story: 5 - Dr. Robert Satcher, Jr. describes his family's perspective on his work as an astronaut
Tape: 7 Story: 6 - Dr. Robert Satcher, Jr. remembers his flight assignment
Tape: 7 Story: 7 - Dr. Robert Satcher, Jr. remembers launch day on Space Shuttle Atlantis
Tape: 7 Story: 8 - Dr. Robert Satcher, Jr. describes his crewmates on the Space Shuttle Atlantis
Tape: 8 Story: 1 - Dr. Robert Satcher, Jr. recalls his experience of space shuttle takeoff, pt. 1
Tape: 8 Story: 2 - Dr. Robert Satcher, Jr. recalls his experience of space shuttle takeoff, pt. 2
Tape: 8 Story: 3 - Dr. Robert Satcher, Jr. talks about the flight crew for Space Transport System 129 on Space Shuttle Atlantis
Tape: 8 Story: 4 - Dr. Robert Satcher, Jr. describes the process of acclimating to zero gravity
Tape: 8 Story: 5 - Dr. Robert Satcher, Jr. talks about eating and sleeping in space
Tape: 8 Story: 6 - Dr. Robert Satcher, Jr. describes life on the International Space Station
Tape: 8 Story: 7 - Dr. Robert Satcher, Jr. talks about the mission schedule for Space Transport System 129
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