National Aeronautics and Space Administration Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center Houston, Texas 77058
Biographical Data

Michael S. Hopkins (LIEUTENANT COLONEL, USAF)
NASA Astronaut Candidate

PERSONAL DATA:  Born in Lebanon, Missouri, he grew up on a farm outside Richland, Missouri.  Married to the former Julie Stutz of Peoria, Illinois.  They have two sons.  Recreational interests include backpacking, camping, snow skiing, weight lifting, running, hockey and football.  His mother and stepfather, Barbara and Dennis Duffy reside in Camdenton, Missouri.  His father, Ogle Hopkins, is deceased and his stepmother, Paula Hertwig Hopkins, resides in Columbia, Missouri.

EDUCATION:  School of the Osage High School, Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri, 1987
B.S. Aerospace Engineering, University of Illinois, 1991.
M.S. Aerospace Engineering, Stanford University, 1992.

SPECIAL HONORS:  Team Captain, 1991 University of Illinois Football Team.  Distinguished Graduate, Reserve Officers Training Corps, University of Illinois. Distinguished Graduate and top flight test engineer in USAF Test Pilot School Class 96B. Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Aerial Achievement Medal, 2 Air Force Commendation Medals, and 3 Air Force Achievement Medals.

EXPERIENCE:  Hopkins was commissioned a second lieutenant in the United States Air Force in January 1992.  In April of 1993 he was assigned to Kirtland Air Force Base, Albuquerque, New Mexico, where he worked on advanced space system technologies.  In 1996 he attended the flight test engineering course at the USAF Test Pilot School, Edwards Air Force Base, California.  Following graduation in 1997, he worked at the 418 Flight Test Squadron testing C-17 and C-130 aircraft.  In 1999, he moved to Cold Lake, Alberta as an exchange officer with the Canadian Flight Test Center.  In 2002, Hopkins was selected as an Olmsted Scholar by the George and Carol Olmsted Foundation.  Following six months of language training at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California, he moved to Parma, Italy in 2003 where he studied political science at the Università degli Studi di Parma.  In 2005, Hopkins was assigned to the USAF Rapid Capabilities Office at the Pentagon where he served as a project engineer and program manager.  In 2008, Hopkins was selected as a special assistant to the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff where he worked until he commenced astronaut training.

NASA EXPERIENCE:  Hopkins was selected in July 2009 as one of 14 members of the 20th NASA astronaut class.  He is currently in Astronaut Candidate Training, which includes scientific and technical briefings, intensive instruction in International Space Station (ISS) systems, Extravehicular Activity (EVA), robotics, physiological training, T-38 flight training, and water and wilderness survival training.