A graduate of Waterloo Engineering is a step closer to his “life’s dream” after making the list of finalists to become one of Canada’s next two astronauts.
Jesse Zroback, who earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Waterloo in 2008, was announced today as one of 17 remaining candidates in a search by the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) that began last June with almost 4,000 applicants.
Waterloo Engineering graduate Jesse Zroback goes through an aptitude test as part of the astronaut selection process. Photo: Canadian Space Agency, MCpl. Chris Ringius.
“Space has the power to inspire,” said Navdeep Bains, the federal Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development. “And I can think of no better sources of inspiration for young Canadians than the enormously gifted men and women who make up the cohort of astronaut candidates that our country has to draw from.”
Zroback is a family doctor in the Ontario community of Marathon after going on from Waterloo to complete a doctorate at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, a joint initiative of Lakehead University and Laurentian University.
He divides his time between an emergency room, a hospital and a clinic, as well as working as an assistant professor at the medical school he attended.
“As a kid, I looked at the night sky in admiration of the moon and of humankind’s accomplishment for having explored its surface,” Zroback wrote in a profile released by the CSA. “Discovery through exploration and adventure is a passion of mine.”
Jesse Zroback
The 17 remaining candidates now move into the final phase of the rigorous recruitment process, with two astronauts to be selected by the summer before basic training at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
Candidates are being evaluated on their critical, analytical and creative thinking skills, in addition to fitness, resilience and the ability to work as team members in extreme conditions.
Zroback was one of four Waterloo graduates – along with Francis Hane, Thomas Karakolis and Martha Lenio - to make the initial short list of 72 candidates in February. There have since been two more rounds of cuts.
In his profile, Zroback described his patients as his heroes.
“Some people may never be cured and yet learn how to heal and live their lives with love and happiness, knowing that cancer may end their lives early,” he wrote. “Their courage is colossal.”
Zroback also said he tries to “bring an engineering approach to my daily activities” and lives by the motto “where there’s a will, there’s a way.”
“I think about this when I’m struggling with a problem or trying to fix something,” wrote Zroback, who is featured in a video produced by CSA. “Take a deep breath to let frustration move aside and think outside the box.”