PERSONAL DATA: Born July 1, 1963, in Springfield, Massachusetts. Considers Honolulu, Hawaii, and Webster, New York, to be his hometowns. Unmarried. He enjoys aerobatic flying, coaching wrestling, piano, tennis, surfing, skiing, travel. His parents, Charlie and Snowlily Lu, reside in Fremont, California.

EDUCATION: Graduated from R.L. Thomas High School, Webster, New York, in 1980. Bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering from Cornell University, 1984. Doctorate in applied physics from Stanford University, 1989.

ORGANIZATIONS: American Astronomical Society, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, Experimental Aircraft Association.

SPECIAL HONORS: Cornell University Presidential Scholar, Hughes Aircraft Company Masters Fellow.

EXPERIENCE: Since obtaining his Ph.D., Dr. Lu has been a research physicist working in the fields of solar physics and astrophysics. He was a visiting scientist at the High Altitude Observatory in Boulder, Colorado, from 1989 until 1992, the final year holding a joint appointment with the Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics at the University of Colorado. From 1992 until 1995, he was a postdoctoral fellow at the Institute for Astronomy in Honolulu, Hawaii. Dr. Lu has developed a number of new theoretical advances which have provided for the first time a basic understanding of the underlying physics of solar flares. He has published articles on a wide range of topics including solar flares, cosmology, solar oscillations, statistical mechanics, and plasma physics. He holds a commercial pilot certificate with instrument and multi-engine ratings.

NASA EXPERIENCE: Selected by NASA in December 1994, Dr. Lu reported to the Johnson Space Center in March 1995, has completed a year of training and evaluation, and is qualified for assignment as a mission specialist. He was initially assigned to work technical issues in the Computer Support Branch of the Astronaut Office. Most recently, he served as a mission specialist on STS-84 (May 15-24, 1997), NASA's sixth Shuttle mission to rendezvous and dock with the Russian Space Station Mir. In completing this 9-day mission, Dr. Lu traveled 3.6 million miles in 144 orbits of the Earth logging a total of 221 hours and 20 minutes in space. Dr. Lu is assigned to STS-106 scheduled for launch in mid 2000.