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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, Dr. Bernard A. Harris Jr. is being inducted into the |
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U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame on May 31, 2025; and |
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WHEREAS, A Temple native, Bernard Harris began dreaming of a |
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career as an astronaut as he watched the first moon landing on |
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television; he earned his bachelor's degree in biology at the |
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University of Houston and went on to earn his medical degree from |
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Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine in |
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1982; after completing his residency in internal medicine at the |
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Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, he pursued research opportunities related |
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to the aerospace field at the NASA Ames Research Center in |
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California and then the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center; and |
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WHEREAS, Dr. Harris was admitted to the NASA Astronaut Corps |
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training group in 1990 and served as a mission specialist on the |
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space shuttle Columbia in 1993; two years later, he returned to |
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space as the payload commander for STS-63; he became the first |
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African American to walk in space as he and a fellow crew member |
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tested the temperature resilience of their spacesuits; during a |
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decade with NASA, he served at a number of key facilities, including |
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Moffett Federal Airfield in California and NASA Headquarters in |
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Washington, D.C.; among numerous accolades, he has received the |
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NASA Award of Merit, National Space Grant Distinguished Services |
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Award, the 2000 Horatio Alger Award, and the 2024 Presidential |
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Lifetime Achievement Award, as well as nine honorary doctorates; a |
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middle school in San Antonio was named in his honor in 2006; and |
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WHEREAS, Following his time with NASA, Dr. Harris embarked on |
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a new path in entrepreneurship, initially as vice president of |
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Spacehab, Inc.; he earned an MBA from the University of |
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Houston-Clear Lake and since 2001, he has led Versalius Ventures, a |
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venture capital firm that invests in early- to mid-stage health |
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care technologies and companies; in order to encourage minority |
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students to pursue STEM careers, he established both the ExxonMobil |
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Bernard Harris Summer Science Camp and the Dream Tour; and |
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WHEREAS, Bernard Harris has inspired innumerable people |
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through his outstanding achievements and wide-ranging |
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contributions, and he is richly deserving of this prestigious |
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honor; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 89th Texas |
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Legislature hereby congratulate Dr. Bernard A. Harris Jr. on his |
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induction into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame and that he be |
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extended sincere best wishes for continued success; and, be it |
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further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for Dr. Harris as an expression of high regard by the Texas |
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House of Representatives. |