Bonnie was born in 1949, in Sunnyside, Washington.  She received a doctorate in mechanical/biomedical engineering from the University of Houston in 1983.  After graduation, she was working for Boeing Computer Services, when she accepted a senior research engineer position with Rockwell International Space Division.  Dr. Dunbar accepted a position as a payload officer/flight controller at the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in 1978.  She became a NASA astronaut in August 1981.  A veteran of five space flights, Dr. Dunbar has logged more than 1,208 hours (50 days) in space. She served as a mission specialist on STS 61-A in 1985, STS-32 in 1990, and STS-71 in 1995, and was the Payload Commander on STS-50 in 1992, and STS-89 in 1998. 

She has received many awards, including being Inducted into the Women in Technology International (WITI) Hall of Fame in 2000, one of five women in the world so honored and she was also selected as one of the top 20 women in technology in Houston, Texas (2000).   She is also a private pilot with over 200 hours in single engine land aircraft, has logged more than 700 hours flying time in T-38 jets as co-pilot, and has over 100 hours as co-pilot in a Cessna Citation Jet.

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