Brian Shiro

EVA on Devon Island

Brian Shiro's lifelong ambition is to explore space while improving life on Earth. He has fifteen years experience leading and participating in ten field expeditions to remote locations around the globe, including Antarctica, Alaska, Canada, and various parts of the tropical Pacific. In 2009 and 2010, Shiro served as crew Geophysicist on a month-long simulated Mars mission at the Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station (FMARS) on Devon Island, Canada and as Commander on a two-week mission at the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) in Utah. His planetary analog experience also includes the 2012 NASA RESOLVE rover field campaign in Hawaii, and he currently serves as Mission Support Manager for the NASA HI-SEAS Mars analog mission in Hawaii. He was a Highly Qualified NASA astronaut applicant in 2008 and 2012, placing him within the top 10% of applicants. In 2010, he co-founded the nonprofit organization Astronauts for Hire (A4H) to build the next generation commercial astronaut workforce. Through A4H, he has completed astronaut training in a high-gravity centrifuge, zero-gravity parabolic flight, emergency survival skills, and spatial disorientation.

Brian tries the SpaceShipOne simulator at UND.

Brian holds a B.A. (2000) with triple majors in Integrated Science, Geology, and Physics from Northwestern University, a M.A. (2002) in Earth and Planetary Sciences from Washington University in St. Louis, and a M.S. (2010) in Space Studies from the University of North Dakota, where his thesis focused on Mars analog field science. He is also a graduate of the International Space University (2005), where his concentration was space policy and law, and is currently a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Hawaii, where he applies geophysical principles to solving astrobiological problems through the UH-NASA Astrobiology Institute.

Since 2005, Shiro has worked as a Geophysicist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Ewa Beach, Hawaii. In this capacity, he helps continuously monitor the globe for earthquakes, accessesing their tsunamigenic potential, and issuing tsunami warnings as needed. His high-pressure job is regularly featured by news media outlets like CNN and NPR. Brian’s diverse background also includes jobs working in upper atmosphere physics, carbon nanotubes, satellite radar mapping, geochemistry, glaciology, geodesy, biophysics, impact cratering, seafloor mapping, and high performance computing. He has experience working at three NASA centers and served as the principal investigator for a Mars Geophysical Lander mission proposal to NASA in 2003.

Shiro is also a private pilot, scuba diver, marathon runner, Eagle Scout, and regular speaker at area K-12 schools on earth and space science topics. He has completed six marathons, including the Boston Marathon, with a personal best time of 3:02.  He lives in Hawaii with his wife and two young children and blogs about his experiences towards becoming an astronaut at http://www.astronautforhire.com/.