John Bird

As an atmospheric scientist, Dr. John Bird spent several winters at a remote observatory near the North Pole prior to his posting at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station. He holds a Ph.D. in experimental space science, and taught at several universities including Imperial College in London. He has competed in Ironman races and ultramarathons. He climbed the Matterhorn and Mount McKinley, and trained with USAF fighter pilots before breaking the world altitude record for hang gliding by descending from a helium balloon at 35,000 feet. John trained with NASA astronauts both underwater, and in the KC-135 weightlessness aircraft. He has published over seventy magazine articles and peer-reviewed scientific papers, and is the author of The Upper Atmosphere, published by NASA.