Gregory Jarvis

Gregory Bruce Jarvis (August 24, 1944 - January 28 - 1986) was an American astronaut who died during the explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger on mission STS-51-L, where he was serving as payload specialist.

He received a B.A. in electrical engineering from the University at Buffalo (SUNY) in 1967, and a Master's in the same discipline from Northeastern University in 1969. Jarvis joined the Air Force the same year and served until 1973, being discharged as a Captain. Thereafter he worked for Hughes Aircraft, and was selected as a payload specialist in July, 1984. SUNY at Buffalo now has a building, Jarvis Hall, named after him, which is devoted largely to engineering support services - see this page.