[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/Williams_Dave.jpg” caption=”Canadian astronaut Dave Williams will give a public lecture at McMaster on Wednesday, Feb. 20. Photo courtesy of the Origins Institute.”]Canadian astronaut Dave Williams, who took part in an historical mission aboard Space Shuttle Endeavor last summer, will give a public lecture at McMaster University.

The lecture, which is part of a free series hosted by the Origins Institute, will take place Wednesday, Feb. 20 at the Michael G. DeGroote Centre for Learning, Room 1305/07 at 7:30 p.m.

Williams was a mission specialist on the space shuttle, travelling 8.5 million kilometres to take equipment and supplies, make repairs and add new hardware to the International Space Station. It was a record-breaking flight, making Williams the first Canadian to take part in three spacewalks in one mission. In all, he spent 17 hours and 47 minutes outside Endeavor.

Trained as a medical doctor, a neurological specialist and an emergency room physician, Williams was chosen from over 5,000 applicants to become an astronaut with the Canadian Space Agency in June 1992. His first mission into space was on board the space shuttle Columbia in 1998.

For more information on the Origins Institute and the free public lecture series, visit origins.mcmaster.ca.