PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT


	ALUMNA ASTRONAUT TO SPEAK ABOUT SHUTTLE FLIGHT

	NASA astronaut Kathryn C. Thornton will speak about her
recent space flight at 7:30 p.m.  Thursday, Jan. 25, at the
University of Virginia.

	The public lecture, "Microgravity Science on the Space
Shuttle," will be held in the Chemistry Auditorium on McCormick Road.

	Thornton, who received a Ph.D. from the University in 1979,
has flown in four space shuttle missions.  During her latest
mission, in October 1995, Thornton served as payload commander of a
microgravity laboratory on the shuttle Columbia.  The crew worked
around the clock on experiments in fluid physics, material science,
biotechnology and combustion science.

###

January 16, 1996

START DATE:  Immediate
KILL DATE:      Jan. 26, 1996