Deniz Burnham

BIOGRAPHY

No biography available for this astronaut in our archives.

CAREER RECORD

PERSONAL BACKGROUND

Education

Graduated Vanden High School in Fairfield, California. She earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of California, San Diego, in 2007. Earned a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, in 2017. At time of her selection as a NASA astronaut candidate, Burnham had spent more than a decade in the energy industry where she worked as the onsite company representative and managed drilling optimization projects and emission reduction strategies for drilling rigs. She began her career as a field engineer on a remote oil rig in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. As a lead field engineer, she was responsible for all aspects of the measurement and logging while drilling operations at drilling rig sites throughout the Arctic. In 2011, Burnham was selected for a 15-month intensive training and evaluation program in preparation for an on-site leadership position as a drilling Well Site Leader where she trained in various locations throughout Wyoming and Texas. She went on to lead onsite operations for about nine years on drilling rigs in Canada, Ohio, and Texas. Burnham served in the U.S. Navy Reserves as an Engineering Duty Officer. As a graduate student at USC, Burnham completed an internship with the NASA Ames Research Center as part of the Deployable Autonomy Technologies group. Burnham reported for duty in January 2022 to complete two years of initial astronaut training as a NASA astronaut candidate. Astronaut Deniz Burnham (PDF 517 KB)

DISCUSSION

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