| |||||||
| |||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
William Fung-Schwarz, Human Factors Researcher/Health & Safety Officer William Fung-Schwarz was born in Tallahassee, Florida in 1974. Rural central Georgia was his childhood home. Boy Scouts, church activities, and marching band kept him busy during his formative years. He credits his parents and childhood mentors with his love of space and learning. In 1989, Schwarz earned his Eagle Scout Award. In 1997, he graduated from Georgia College & State University earning a Bachelors of Science in Nursing with a focus on Health Education. Following a call from the west, he and his best friend moved to Salt Lake City and began exploring the Wasatch Mountains and Utah deserts. In addition to working as a pediatric and medical-surgical Registered Nurse, Schwarz served with Volunteer Service Overseas in Ekaterinburg, Russia. While in Siberia, he helped develop nurse and patient education at the Sverdlovsk Oblast Hospital. After his return to the United States, he became involved in the Space Nursing Society.During a 2-year commute to San Francisco, Schwarz earned a Masters of Science in Nursing with a focus on Occupational and Environmental Health from UCSF; additionally, he earned his Adult Nurse Practitioner license. As part of his graduate education, Schwarz was chosen for a US National Occupational Research Agenda and US CDC National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health Traineeships. Schwarz has worked as an occupational healthcare provider in Denali National Park, Alaska; San Francisco, California; Ekaterinburg, Russia; and Salt Lake City, Utah. Today he lives with Eddie Fung, his partner of five years. He is an avid student and enjoys snow camping, light mountaineering, swimming, and volunteering with persons with disabilities. Schwarz is currently pursuing a PhD in Nursing at the University of Utah. His dissertation study is entitled, "Occupational Psychosocial Factors of Planetary Analogue Environments." Schwarz currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Space Nursing Society and the newly organized Space Nursing Foundation. Schwarz attributes his success to his mother, father, two sisters (Heather and Dawn), and Scoutmater Joe. Schwarz also attributes his academic success to Marion Gillen, Barbara Burgel, Becky Christian, and Kurt Hegmann. He said that his nephew Liam is his inspiration. William hopes to help nurses and other allied health professionals (such as pharmacists, dieticians, emergency medical personnel, and respiratory therapists) to become more involved in private sector and university space life science research. When asked about his participation in the MDRS, he stated that, "it is during these experiments and during this type of exploration that we discover the technologies and spirit which bring people together to become better stewards of our Mother Earth." Schwarz can be reached by email at: was2@utah.edu.
|
|
|
