Astronaut Biography: Andrew J. Feustel

NAME: Andrew J. Feustel (Ph.D.)
NASA Astronaut

PERSONAL DATA: Raised and educated in Lake Orion, Michigan. Married to the former Indira Devi Bhatnagar of Ontario. Drew enjoys auto restoration, guitar, and water and snow skiing. His parents both live in Michigan, and Indira's parents reside in Ontario.

EDUCATION: Graduated from Lake Orion High School, Michigan. Associate Science degree, Oakland Community College, Michigan. B.S. in Solid Earth Sciences, Purdue University. M.S. in Geophysics, Purdue University. Ph.D. in Geological Sciences specializing in Seismology, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada, 1995.

ORGANIZATIONS: Society of Exploration Geophysicists, American Geophysical Union, Sigma Phi Epsilon, Indiana Alpha Chapter, Purdue University, USA Water Skiing Association, BMW Car Club of America.

SPECIAL HONORS: Graduated Cum Laude, Oakland Community College, Michigan. Purdue University: C.J. Newby Scholarship Award; Ned Smith Field School Scholarship Award; Amoco Fellowship; Chevron Fellowship. Queen's University: Thesis Bursary Award, Deans Award, Graduate Award, McLaughlin Fellowship, Reinhardt Fellowship.

EXPERIENCE: While attending Community College, Dr. Feustel worked as an auto mechanic at International Autoworks, Ltd., Farmington Hills, Michigan, restoring 1950's Jaguars.

At Purdue University, Dr. Feustel served as a Residence Hall Counselor for two years at Cary Quadrangle for the Purdue University Student Housing organization. His summers were spent working as a commercial and industrial glazier near his home in Michigan.

During his Master's degree studies Feustel worked as a Research Assistant and Teaching Assistant in the Earth and Atmospheric Sciences Department of Purdue University. His M.S. thesis investigated physical property measurements of rock specimens under elevated hydrostatic pressures simulating Earth's deep crustal environments.

While at Purdue, Feustel served for three years as Grand Prix Chairman and team Kart driver for Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity.

In 1991, Feustel moved to Kingston, Ontario, Canada to attend Queen's University where he worked as a Graduate Research Assistant and Graduate Teaching Assistant. Feustel's Ph.D. thesis investigated seismic wave attenuation in underground mines and measurement techniques and applications to site characterization.

For three years he worked as a Geophysicist for the Engineering Seismology Group, Kingston, Ontario, Canada, installing and operating microseismic monitoring equipment in underground mines throughout Eastern Canada and the United States. In 1997 Feustel began working for the Exxon Mobil Exploration Company, Houston, Texas, as an Exploration Geophysicist designing and providing operational oversight of land, marine, and borehole seismic programs worldwide.

NASA EXPERIENCE: Selected as a Mission Specialist by NASA in July 2000, Dr. Feustel reported for training in August 2000. His training included five weeks of T-34 training at Naval Air Station VT-4, Pensacola, Florida. Following the completion of two years of training and evaluation, he was assigned technical duties in the Astronaut Office Space Shuttle and Space Station Branches. Dr. Feustel is qualified as a Space Shuttle and Space Station Robotic Arm Operator, CAPCOM, and Instructor Astronaut for EVA training at the Neutral Bouyancy Laboratory.

Dr. Feustel has participated in many of NASA’s Astronaut Training activities including:Field Medical Training, Field Maintenance Training, NEEMO X in the Aquarius Habitat in Key Largo, Florida; CAVES in Sardinia, Italy; NOLS in Alaska and Mexico; Winter Survival Training with the Canadian Armed Forces in Valcartier, Quebec; Desert Rats in Flagstaff, Arizona; Geotechnical Studies, Dry Valleys, Antarctica; and Deepworker Submersible Pilot Training, Vancouver, British Columbia.

Dr. Feustel served on the crew of STS‐125, the final space shuttle mission to the Hubble Space Telescope, and he also launched on Space Shuttle Endeavour’s final mission to the International Space Station on STS‐134. He returned to the International Space Station in March 2018 as part of the Expedition 55 crew.