Frank Curtis "Curt" Michel (June 5, 1934 – February 26, 2015) was an American astrophysicist; a professor of astrophysics at Rice University in Houston, Texas; a United States Air Force pilot; and a NASA astronaut. Personal life Michel was born June 5, 1934, to parents to Frank and Viola Michel. He was married to Bonnie Hausman, a web technical specialist. They had two children. His hobbies were photography, tennis, handball, and baseball. Michel died at the age of 80 on February 26, 2015. He was buried with full military honors at the Houston National Cemetery. Education Michel graduated from C. K. McClatchy High School, located at Sacramento, California, in 1951. In 1955, he received a Bachelor of Science degree with honors in physics, and in 1962 he received a doctorate in physics, both from the California Institute of Technology. His thesis was "Beta Spectra of the Mass 12 Nuclei" and his dissertation advisor was Thomas Lauritsen. Nobel laureate William Alfred Fowler also served on his committee. While on the faculty of Rice University, Michel oversaw the dissertations of Jerry Modisette, Robert LaQuey, Robert Manka, Cliff Morris, Michael Pelizzari, Jürgen Krause-Polstorff, James Sokolowski, and Steven Sturner. Organizations Michel was a fellow of the American Physical Society and a member of the American Geophysical Union, and the American Astronomical Society. Experience Michel was a junior engineer with the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company's guided missile division before joining the Air Force in 1955. As an Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFROTC) graduate, he received flight training at Marana Air Force Base, Arizona, and at Laredo Air Force Base and Perrin Air Force Base in Texas. During his three years of military service, Michel flew F-86D interceptors in the United States and in Europe (England and West Germany). Michel accumulated 1,000 hours flying time with 900 hours in jet aircraft. Following his tour of active duty in the United States Air Force, Michel was a graduate student and research fellow at the California Institute of Technology, doing experimental and theoretical work in nuclear physics for Lauritsen and Richard P. Feynman, along with work in theoretical astrophysics for Fowler. He joined the faculty of Rice University in Houston, Texas in July 1963. Michel's efforts there were directed at researching and teaching space sciences, such as the interaction of solar winds and the lunar atmosphere. Michel was selected as a scientist-astronaut in NASA Astronaut