Eric Shear received a master’s degree in chemical engineering from University of Florida, with the goal of working in the space industry on life support and in-situ resource utilization. His backup career goal is to advance resource and energy efficiency on Earth. Eric is currently working as a research assistant at the University of North Florida on novel hydrogen production techniques.
He previously earned degrees in physics and planetary science at York University in Toronto, where he authored two peer-reviewed papers on how small spacecraft can achieve science objectives at Mars and Saturn.
He is a native of Washington State. In community college, he led a student experiment on the G-Force One parabolic aircraft as part of NASA’s Reduced Gravity Education Flight Program. At an internship at Tethers Unlimited, he contributed to what would become the HYDROS water electrolysis rocket thruster, which was tested in orbit in 2020. In 2018, he served as the Crew Astronomer on a tour of Mars Desert Research Station.
He was one of the Deaf Ambassadors on AstroAccess Flight 1 in October 2021 and Flight 2 in December 2022. To date, he has flown three times in weightlessness and plans to take this experience to new levels.