PERSONAL DATA: Born April 11, 1955 in Crowborough, Sussex, United Kingdom. Married. Two children.

EDUCATION: Graduated from Cranbrook School, Cranbrook, Kent, United Kingdom, in 1973; received a bachelor of science degree in ecological science from the University of Edinburgh (Scotland) in 1976, and received a doctorate in biometeorology from Leeds University (United Kingdom) in 1981.

ORGANIZATIONS: American Geophysical Union (AGU), American Meteorology Society (AMS).

AWARDS: NASA Exceptional Scientific Achievement Award in 1994; Arthur Fleming Award in 1995; Fellow of AGU in 1996; AMS Houghton Award in 1997.

EXPERIENCE: Piers has worked on research into how the Earth's Biosphere and Atmosphere interact. His work involved computer modeling of the climate system, satellite remote sensing studies and field work utilizing aircraft, satellites and ground teams in places such as Kansas, Russia, Africa, Canada and Brazil.

NASA EXPERIENCE: Selected as an astronaut candidate by NASA in April 1996, Piers reported to the NASA Johnson Space Center in August 1996. Having completed two years of training and evaluation, he is qualified for flight assignment as a mission specialist. He was initially assigned technical duties in the Astronaut Office Computer Support Branch, and most recently served in the Astronaut Office Space Station Branch. Currently, he is assigned to STS-112 scheduled to launch in 2002.