Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary.
Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday.
Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,” the statement said.
Photo courtesy of the American Institute in Taiwan
Lindgren would begin his trip in Taipei with meetings with senior leaders.
He also plans to visit Hsinchu and Taoyuan, where he would visit the Taiwan Space Agency and National Central University to meet researchers and students involved in space science and technology, the institute said.
Lindgren’s intinerary includes Tainan, where he would visit National Cheng Kung University’s (NCKU) Han-Min Hsia Center for Space Science and Technology, as well as the NCKU Space Lab, it said.
He would conclude his tour with a lecture at the Taipei Astronomical Museum, the statement said.
Born in Taipei in 1973 to a Taiwanese mother and a father who was in the US Air Force, Lindgren graduated from the US Air Force Academy before going on to earn a medical doctorate from the University of Colorado.
In a 2020 interview with the Central News Agency, Lindgren, whose Chinese name is Lin Chi-erh (林琪兒), said he was born in Taipei and lived in Taichung for more than two years before his family moved abroad.
His father was stationed with the US Air Force in Taichung at the time, and his mother, Chang Chu-yun (張楚筠), was working at a bank in Taichung when she met his father.
Lindgren began his NASA career as a flight surgeon in 2007, the AIT said.
He is the deputy director of the Flight Operations Directorate at the NASA Johnson Space Center, where he helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions.
A veteran of two long-duration missions aboard the International Space Station (ISS), Lindgren has spent 311 days in space.
During his missions, he shared striking images of Taiwan from orbit, offering a unique perspective on the nation, the statement said.
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