Sessions
"An Evening with the Stars" Reception
6:00 PM - 8:00 PM Wed
2021 Engaged Scholarship Symposium Panel Session # 2: "Space, the Next Frontier?"
10:15 AM - 11:30 AM Thu
Dr. Harris currently serves as Chief Executive Officer and leads the organization’s
efforts to improve teacher effectiveness and student achievement in communities
across the country. He has been involved in math and science education for over
25 years through his philanthropy efforts through the Harris Institute & Foundation.
Prior to NMSI, he was CEO and Managing Partner of Vesalius Ventures, Inc., a
venture capital firm, that invest in early to mid stage Healthcare technologies and
companies. As CEO, he was responsible for managing a portfolio of private assets
of early and mid- stage venture investments and operating companies.
Dr. Harris was at NASA for ten years, where he conducted research in
musculoskeletal physiology and clinical investigations of space adaptation and
developed in-flight medical devices to extend Astronaut stays in space. A veteran
astronaut for over twenty years, he has logged more than 438 hours and traveled over 7.2 million miles in space.
He is a member of the Board of Directors for U.S. Physical Therapy (Nasdaq: USPH), JSA Health, and Monebo
Technologies. Dr. Harris serves as a Board of Trustees for Salient Midstream & MLP Fund and Salient MF
Trust, and Barings Fund & Trust. In addition, he is on the Board of the National Academy of Medicine, the
Texas Medical Center, HealthConnect, National Math and Science Initiative, and the Harris Institute &
Foundation.
He earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of Houston, a Master of Medical Science from
the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the
University of Houston and a Doctorate of Medicine from Texas Tech University School of Medicine. He
completed a Residency in Internal Medicine at the Mayo Clinic, a National Research Council Fellowship in
Endocrinology at the NASA Ames Research Center and trained as a Flight Surgeon at the Aerospace School
of Medicine, Brooks Air Force Base. He is also a licensed private pilot and certified scuba diver.
Dr. Harris is the recipient of numerous awards, including honorary doctorates from Stony Brook University
(SUNY), Morehouse School of Medicine, New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), Washington & Jefferson
College, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, University of Hartford and Indiana Institute of Technology, NASA
Space Flight Medal, NASA Award of Merit, a fellow of the American College of Physicians, and was the recipient
of the 2000 Horatio Alger Award.
He is the author of “Dream Walker: A Journey of Achievement and Inspiration.”