Neil W. Woodward III (born July 26, 1962 in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

) is an American Naval officer and a former

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

astronaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a List of human spaceflight programs, human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member of a spa ...

Personal life

He is married. Hobbies include reading, computers, sailing, music, wine, and cooking. His father, Dr. Neil W. Woodward Jr., resides in

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

. His mother, Aileen S. Woodward, is deceased. He is a member of the

United States Naval Institute The United States Naval Institute (USNI) is a private non-profit military association that offers independent, nonpartisan forums for debate of national security issues. In addition to publishing magazines and books, the Naval Institute holds s ...

and the

Tau Epsilon Phi Tau Epsilon Phi (), commonly known as TEP or T E Phi, is an American collegiate social Fraternities and sororities in North America, fraternity that was founded at Columbia University in 1910. Since its establishment, the fraternity has chartered ...

fraternity.

Education

Woodward attended Putnam City High School in

, graduating in 1980. He then attended the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

, earning a degree in physics in 1984. While at MIT, he was a brother of the

fraternity. He attended graduate school at the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

, working in the Center for Relativity and then the Fusion Research Center. His thesis research involved using

optical spectroscopy Spectroscopy is the field of study that measures and interprets electromagnetic spectra. In narrower contexts, spectroscopy is the precise study of color as generalized from visible light to all bands of the electromagnetic spectrum. Spectros ...

to investigate neoclassical plasma rotation in the Texas Experimental Tokamak fusion reactor. He received his master's degree in physics in 1988. Later, in 2000, he earned his master's degree in Engineering Management from the

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...

Military career

Woodward joined the US Navy, reporting to Aviation Officer Candidate School in

Pensacola, Florida Pensacola ( ) is a city in the Florida panhandle in the United States. It is the county seat and only incorporated city, city in Escambia County, Florida, Escambia County. The population was 54,312 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...

. He was commissioned in January 1989 and earned his wings as a Naval Flight Officer in March 1990. He reported to

NAS Whidbey Island Naval Air Station Whidbey Island (NASWI) is a naval air station of the United States Navy located on two pieces of land near Oak Harbor, on Whidbey Island, in Island County, Washington. The main portion of the base, Ault Field, is about ...

, Washington, where he completed initial Bombardier/Navigator training in the

A-6E Intruder The Grumman A-6 Intruder is a twinjet all-weather subsonic attack aircraft developed and manufactured by American aircraft company Grumman Aerospace. It was formerly operated by the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps. The A-6 was designed in res ...

and was then assigned to the Green Lizards of Attack Squadron 95. Woodward made two deployments with VA-95 aboard the

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and hangar facilities for supporting, arming, deploying and recovering carrier-based aircraft, shipborne aircraft. Typically it is the ...

in support of

Operation Desert Storm Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...

(post-cease fire), Southern Watch, and Somalia. He was then assigned to the

Naval Strike Warfare Center A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations ...

in Fallon, Nevada, where he served as Weaponeering Officer and Contingency Cell Officer. In 1995, he was selected to attend the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School at

NAS Patuxent River Naval Air Station Patuxent River , also known as NAS Pax River, is a United States naval air station in St. Mary’s County, Maryland on the Chesapeake Bay near the mouth of the Patuxent River. It is home to Headquarters, Naval Air Systems Comma ...

, Maryland, and graduated with distinction in July 1996. Upon graduation, he was assigned to the Air Vehicle/Stores Compatibility Department at the Naval Strike Aircraft Test Squadron (NSATS) in Patuxent River. While at NSATS, he cross-trained in the

F/A-18 Hornet The McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet is an all-weather supersonic, twinjet, twin-engine, carrier-based aircraft, carrier-capable, Multirole combat aircraft, multirole combat aircraft, designed as both a Fighter aircraft, fighter and attack airc ...

and tested stores and systems for the F/A-18B, F/A-18D, and F/A-18F aircraft. Woodward was assigned to the Strike Aircraft Test Squadron when he was selected for the astronaut program. Woodward logged over 1,700 flight hours in more than 25 different aircraft and has 265 arrested landings.

NASA career

Selected by NASA in June 1998, Woodward reported for training in August 1998. Astronaut Candidate Training included orientation briefings and tours, numerous scientific and technical briefings, intensive instruction in Shuttle and International Space Station systems, physiological training, and ground school to prepare for

T-38 T38 or T-38 may refer to: Aviation * Allison T38, an American turboprop aircraft engine * Northrop T-38 Talon, an American jet trainer aircraft * Slingsby T.38 Grasshopper, a British training glider Other uses * T38 (classification), a disabi ...

flight training, as well as learning water and wilderness survival techniques. From July 2004 to July 2008, Woodward was on detached duty to Exploration Systems Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in various roles, including Director of the ESMD Integration Office and Director, Commercial Orbital Transportation Services. Woodward retired from the Navy and NASA in October 2008, and currently works in the field of information technology for

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...

Awards and honors

*Distinguished Graduate, US Naval Test Pilot School *Empire Test Pilot School Award for Best Developmental Test Thesis, USNTPS *

Navy Commendation Medal The Commendation Medal is a mid-level United States military decoration presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. Each branch of the United States Armed Forces issues its own version of the Commendation Medal, with a fift ...

s (2) *

Navy Achievement Medal The Achievement Medal is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. The Achievement Medal was first proposed as a means to recognize outstanding achievement or meritorious service of military personnel who were not eligible to rece ...

s (2) *Texas Business Hall of Fame fellowship (2000)

External links

*
Spacefacts biography of Neil Woodward
{{DEFAULTSORT:Woodward, Neil 1962 births Living people American astronauts People from Chicago United States Navy officers Massachusetts Institute of Technology School of Science alumni Tau Epsilon Phi University of Texas at Austin College of Natural Sciences alumni United States Naval Test Pilot School alumni People from Oklahoma City George Washington University School of Engineering and Applied Science alumni