Suezette Bieri

Space Studies Department
Clifford Hall
University of North Dakota
Grand Forks, ND
58202-9008
Phone: (701) 777-4856

Biographical Data

I was born in 1947 in northwestern North Dakota and raised on a small ranch in that part of the state. My home town had a population of 33 people when I was growing up. The number of residents in the town has decreased dramatically since then.

I graduated from the University of North Dakota in 1969 with an undergraduate degree in Sociology/Anthropology. I received a M.A. in Counseling and Guidance from UND in 1970. After working for many years for state social agencies and academic institutions, I returned to UND and received a M.S. in Space Studies in 1989.

I have been married to the same man for 25 years. Twenty-five good years. We travel as often as possible and enjoy hiking to the far ends of paths and trails. He is the editor of the local daily newspaper.

We have three cats whose names are Bumble Bee Bucholia, Wallace Garbanzo Bean, Starshine aka Captain Shine of the Starship Feline and Tess Mary McGregor McGahn.

I am an amateur photographer. Actually, I don't even dare call myself a photographer. So I say that "I just take pictures." And I collect vinyl albums and 45s of the Beatles, Eric Clapton, the Doors, Bob Dylan and the Rolling Stones.

Several years ago, my husband and I bought the Bieri family ranch in northwestern North Dakota. 200 acres of cultivated land and 800 acres of virgin prairie. We are operating it for beef production and for wildlife management. We have planted more than 16,000 trees. It is a place where the coyotes still howl. Literally.

The North Dakota Space Grant Program

One of the goals of the North Dakota Space Grant Program (NDSGP) is to encourage young people to become interested in math and science. As education program coordinator for the NDSGP, I do outreach in K-12 classrooms in North Dakota. Also, on occasion, I provide space science materials to schools in western Minnesota, northern South Dakota, eastern Montana, and parts of Manitoba. I like to say that I do space related work in the big empty space in the middle of North America!

I distribute educational materials prepared by NASA's education division. Those materials include videos, lesson plans, activity sheets, lithographs, posters, etc. I do programs in grade school classrooms and also conduct pre-service and in-service teacher training sessions.

I also work with the general public doing programs that, hopefully, will make citizens aware of the value of the American space program.