NASA picks UCSD grad for astronaut training
NASA on Monday chose a UC San Diego graduate to train to become an astronaut, a decision that comes as the space agency is preparing to send humans back to the moon, possibly as early as 2025.
Navy Lt. Deniz Burnham, a reservist, was one of 10 people selected for astronaut training out of more than 12,000 applicants. If she succeeds, Burnham will become the latest in a series of UC San Diego graduates who have become astronauts, three of whom have served on the International Space Station over the past 18 months.
Burnham, 36, earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering at UC San Diego in 2007. She did internships at local biotech companies that focused on her interest in alternative energy. Burnham went on to earn a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Southern California in 2017.
NASA says that Burnham, who lives in Alaska, has worked in the energy industry for more than a decade, often to improve the operation of oil rigs. Her work has taken her from the Arctic to Canada to many parts of the U.S. Burnham began as a field engineer and rose to become the lead operator of rigs.
The space agency says Burnham’s recent work in the Navy Reserve has included serving as executive officer of SurgeMain Alameda, a Naval Sea Systems Command in Alameda.
She flies everything from seaplanes to helicopters to paragliders.
“From a very young age I had a true love of aviation,” Burnham told the podcast Mayhem in 2019. “I would draw, like, little pictures of helicopters. I started flying when I was 17. I got a taste of it and knew I loved it.”
Three other UC San Diego graduates — Megan McArthur, Kate Rubins and Jessica Meir — are part of NASA’s astronaut corps. All three served on the space station. McArthur was the last to do so, returning from the orbiting outpost in November.