Peggy Whitson: A Heroine of Science and Technology

by Nancy Atkinson on March 23, 2010 Want to stay on top of all the space news? Follow @universetoday on Twitter

Astronaut e!!y Whitson hoto" #a$bria %arkey This post is part of A&a 'o(elace )ay, which is a worl&wi&e effort to !et as $any people as possible to blo! about a heroine of science or technolo!y* A&a was a $athe$atician who li(e& in the 1+00,s who create& the first co$puter pro!ra$* -ep . you rea& correctly . a co$puter in the 1+00,s* /t was actually a &e(ice calle& an analytical en!ine, which was an i$portant step in the history of co$puters* -ou can rea& $ore about A&a an& A&a 'o(elace )ay here* The person / chose to write about is a !o&&ess of both science AN) technolo!y* 0he is a bioche$ist an& an astronaut* 0he was the first science officer on boar& the /nternational 0pace 0tation an& later beco$e the first fe$ale co$$an&er of the /00* 0he helpe& !et so$e of the initial science pro!ra$s !oin! on the on the space station, an& as co$$an&er o(ersaw a perio& of one of the bi!!est e1pansions for the station, coor&inatin! the a&&itions of 2uropean an& 3apanese laboratory $o&ules* %er na$e is 4*

)r* e!!y Whitson erhaps / ha(e always been &rawn to Whitson because she !rew up in a rural, a!ricultural en(iron$ent, as / &i&* 5ut / ha(e always foun& Whitson to be en&earin! because of her easy!oin! an& frien&ly personality* 5ut yet, she $ust be al$ost a 6sla(e7&ri(er8 an& perfectionist when it co$es to her work* )urin! her e1pe&itions on the /00, Whitson earne& a reputation for hi!h achie(e$ent, which pro$pte& $ission planners to assi!n the crew e1tra work e(ery &ay* NA0A calle& it 6The e!!y Factor*8 6We account for the fact that e!!y is !oin! to &o thin!s $ore efficiently, an& that she likes to work so$e on her ti$e off, an& so she9ll acco$plish $ore,8 sai& NA0A &eputy station pro:ect $ana!er ;irk 0hire$an*

Whitson works with a science !lo(e bo1 on boar& the /00* #re&it" NA0A

Requiem For Astronaut Janice oss

by Ta$$y lotner on February <, 2012 Want to stay on top of all the space news? Follow @universetoday on Twitter

)r* 3anice =oss 7 hoto #ourtesy of NA0A lease take the ti$e to respectfully reco!ni>e the passin! of (eteran astronaut, 3anice =oss* 0he was a for$er science &irector for a NA0A e1oplanet7huntin! spacecraft an& also a $e$ber of fi(e $anne& spacefli!hts* 0he lost her battle with cancer to&ay at the youn! a!e of ??* 63ust !ot the (ery sa& news that @*0* astronaut 3anice =oss passe& away last ni!ht,8 the Association of 0pace 21plorers, an international or!ani>ation representin! $ore than 3?0 in&i(i&uals who ha(e flown in space, wrote on Facebook* 6Aur thou!hts !o out to her fa$ily an& frien&s*8 NA0A confir$e& =oss9 passin! in a state$ent issue& on Tues&ay BFeb* <C, sayin! she ha& passe& away o(erni!ht*

3anice was born on Actober +, 1D?E, in 0outh 5en&, /n&iana, but she calle& Fockfor&, /llinois ho$e* 0o$e of her passions for life inclu&e& flyin!, (olleyball, &ancin! an& rea&in! science fiction* 0he !ra&uate& fro$ fro$ Minnechau! Fe!ional %i!h 0chool, Wilbraha$, Massachusetts, in 1D<2, continue& on to ur&ue @ni(ersity for her bachelor of science &e!ree an& achie(e& a $aster of science &e!ree in electrical en!ineerin! an& a &octorate in aeronauticsGastronautics fro$ the Massachusetts /nstitute of Technolo!y in 1D<< an& 1D+<, respecti(ely* Fro$ there, 3anice continue& her e&ucation by takin! so$e correspon&ence courses fro$ the @ni(ersity of Aklaho$a an& &i& so$e !ra&uate work in space physics at Fice @ni(ersity in 1D<< an& 1D<+*

Astronaut 3anice =oss picture& in 2000 on the fli!ht &eck of the space shuttle 2n&ea(our &urin! the 0T07DD $ission* BNA0AC /n 1DD0, 3anice =oss was chosen by NA0A for the astronaut corps an& ser(e& as a $ission specialist on fi(e space shuttle $issions, inclu&in! the only repeat fli!ht in the pro!ra$9s 30 year history* 5ut that9s not all* 0he also flew with the first co$$ercial lab, ren&e>(ouse& with Fussia9s Mir space station an& helpe& create the $ost co$plete &i!ital topo!raphic $ap of the 2arth* /n 3une 1DD3, 3anice took part in bio$e&ical an& $aterial science e1peri$ents as a $e$ber of the 0pacehab $o&ule H a co$$ercial laboratory attache& to the orbiter9s payloa& bay* /n February 2000, =oss a!ain launche& on 2n&ea(our as part of the 0huttle Fa&ar Topo!raphy Mission crew* After &eployin! a nearly 2007foot BE07$eterC $ast, =oss an& her tea$ labore& throu!h two full shifts to $ap $ore than I< $illion sJuare $iles B122 $illion sJuare kilo$etersC of the 2arth9s lan& surface* The shuttle 2n&ea(our ser(e& as both her first an& final $ission* The first ti$e a space shuttle ca$e close to the Fussian 0pace 0tation, Mir, )r* =oss was there* As her secon& $ission, she an& her 0T07E3 crew $ates $et with the Fussians to &iscuss fli!ht techniJues, co$$unications, sensors ai&s an& na(i!ation* The February 1DD? 6Near7Mir8 $ission set the sta!e for the first shuttle7Mir &ockin! later that year* 3anice also ser(e& on another historic $ission H the only ti$e a crew was launche& twice to perfor$ the sa$e $ission* The first launch ca$e on April I, 1DD< an& three &ays later it returne& to 2arth after a fuel cell proble$* Ninty &ays later, the #olu$bia was restore& an& it launche& a!ain into a successful 1? &ay fli!ht* This ti$e =oss an& crew en!a!e& their ti$e insi&e a 2uropean 0pacelab $o&ule, con&uctin! e1peri$ents as part of the Micro!ra(ity 0cience 'aboratory BM0'C $ission* Fea& $ore" http"GGwww*uni(erseto&ay*co$GD3I10GreJuie$7for7astronaut7:anice7(ossGKi1>>2lDtL>nM<

60hannon is an e1traor&inary wo$an an& scientist* 0he pa(e& the way for so $any of us,8 sai& e!!y Whitson, chief of NA0A9s Astronaut Affice at the 3ohnson 0pace #enter in %ouston* 60he was a $o&el astronaut for lon!7&uration $issions, an& whether she was flyin! hun&re&s of $iles up in space or ser(in! as #apco$ Ncapsule co$$unicatorO &urin! the o(erni!ht hours for our space shuttle an& space station crews, she always brou!ht a s$ile to our faces* 'ike so $any others, / always will look up to her*8

'uci&, who hol&s a &octorate in bioche$istry, was selecte& by NA0A in 1D<+* 0he :oine& fi(e other wo$en as the a!ency9s first fe$ale astronauts* %er first three shuttle $issions &eploye& satellites* 0T07 ?1P in 1D+? &eploye& an& retrie(e& the 0 AFTAN satelliteQ 0T073I in 1D+D &eploye& the Palileo spacecraft to e1plore 3upiterQ an& 0T07I3 in 1DD1 &eploye& the fifth Trackin! an& )ata Felay 0atellite BT)F072C* %er fourth shuttle $ission, 0T07?+ in 1DD3, focuse& on $e&ical e1peri$ents an& en!ineerin! tests* 'uci& tra(ele& aboar& Atlantis on 0T07<E in March 1DDE to the Fussian Mir space station* 0he perfor$e& nu$erous life science an& physical science e1peri$ents &urin! the course of her stay* 0he returne& fro$ the station aboar& Atlantis on 0T07<D in 0epte$ber 1DDE* /n 2002, 'uci& ser(e& as NA0A9s chief scientist at the a!ency9s hea&Juarters in Washin!ton* 0he returne& to 3ohnson in the fall of 2003 an& resu$e& technical assi!n$ents in the Astronaut Affice* 'ater, she ser(e& as a #apco$ in the Mission #ontrol #enter for nu$erous space shuttle an& space station crews, representin! the fli!ht crew office an& pro(i&in! a frien&ly (oice for &o>ens of frien&s an& collea!ues in space*

Astronaut 0hannon 'uci& ser(in! as #apco$ &urin! the 0T0713I $ission in 2011* #re&it" NA0A Fea& $ore" http"GGwww*uni(erseto&ay*co$GD31<0Gen&7of7an7era7shannon7luci&7retires7fro$7 nasaGKi1>>2lD1)PcTR

Finding !omen in the history of science

A&a 'o(elace is not an ob(ious role $o&el for !irls enterin! the sciences, but lookin! for wo$en in the history of science re(eals a wi&e ran!e of essential contributions

Mar!aret 5ryan, portraye& here with her &au!hters, was a writer of popular scientific books an& tau!ht sciences at her school for !irls* 0ource" Wiki$e&ia To&ay is A&a 'o(elace )ay, which has been $arke& annually since 200D as a celebration of wo$en in science, technolo!y, en!ineerin! or $athe$atics* The Fin&in! A&a website e1plains that SThe ai$ is to create new role $o&els for !irls an& wo$en in these $ale7&o$inate& fiel&s by raisin! the profile of wo$en in 0T2MS* Fea&ers of so$e of $y earlier posts 7 on the Tesla $useu$ ca$pai!n, for e1a$ple, or on whi!!ish an& triu$phalist histories 7 will be aware that / &o not see the celebration of heroes in history an& science as an unco$plicate& $atter* This is because, all too often, lionisin! a particular in&i(i&ual can lea& to &is$issin! the contribution of others an&, beyon& that, a lack of appreciation of the (ery collaborati(e 7 or a!!re!atin! 7 nature of scientific work* /n fact, &espite bein! na$e& after a wo$an born in 1+1?, A&a 'o(elace )ay is less about heroines an& history an& $ore about sharin! stories about wo$en who ha(e inspire& othersT careers in 0T2M* This $i!ht be because of their achie(e$ents in science or because of their roles as teachers an& $entors* 0uch factors can be of hu!e in&i(i&ual si!nificance an&, !i(en that wo$en are still sa&ly in the $inority in the upper echelons of science, there is a lot of !oo& to be &one* / ha(e to a&$it, thou!h, that / fin& the choice of 'o(elace as the $arker for this e(ent sli!htly peculiar* 0he has beco$e so$ethin! of a cult heroine, clai$e& as the writer of the first co$puter pro!ra$$e, pro&uce& for #harles 5abba!eTs ne(er7realise& Analytical 2n!ine* 5ut it is only (ery recently, with a lot of hin&si!ht, that she has been an inspirational fi!ure* /t is clear that 'o(elace ha& a &eep interest in an& feelin! for 5abba!eTs work an& an ability in $athe$atics that few wo$en in the early 1Dth century were able to &e$onstrate* %owe(er, it is also clear that 5abba!e in&ul!e& an& flattere& her because she ha& wealth an& influence an&, frankly, was

one of a nu$ber of routes throu!h which he coul& a&(ertise his sche$e* /t is not the case that her pro!ra$$e was the first written for 5abba!eTs $achine an& there has been $uch &oubt cast on the si!nificance an& ori!inality of what she &i& pro&uce* Ane woul& think that there are $any wo$en who $a&e $ore si!nificant contributions in the history of science who $i!ht pro(i&e a better $o&el* An& yet, there is so$e !oo& to be &one in recallin! 'o(elace, an& in seekin! out wo$en in the history of science, $ost of who$, before the 20th century an& on the face of it, &o not $ake the !ra&e to be place& in the )ictionary of 0cientific 5io!raphy without special plea&in!* 5ecause of their lack of e&ucation, an& societyTs e1pectations of their role as ho$e7$akers an& chil&7 rearers, there are (anishin!ly s$all nu$bers of pre720th century wo$en who $a&e clearly7attributable, ori!inal an& influential contributions to the content of scientific theory* %owe(er, recallin! $y earlier $ention of the collaborati(e an& a!!re!atin! nature of science, it is perhaps only our inheritance of ol&er perspecti(es that lea&s us to place such work on a hi!her pe&estal than other contributions* /t takes all kin&s of skills an& input fro$ people fro$ across society for scientific i&eas to be &e(elope&, use& an& share&* An& what is an i&ea without this? Many of the wo$en who are recalle& in the history of science were translators, teachers, writers, collectors an& illustrators* These were the kin&s of roles that wo$en coul& un&ertake without &isappro(al, an& they are ones that really are essential to the &e(elop$ent of science an& shoul& not be too Juickly &is$isse&* 0eekin! wo$en in the history of science, we fin& a si!nificant nu$ber who were able to $ake their $ark as assistants or collaborators to their fathers, husban&s an& brothers* /n $any cases the true si!nificance of their input $ay be har& to unco(er but, e(en if si$ply a$anuenses, secretaries or soun&in!7boar&s, their contribution $ay ha(e been absolutely necessary* We will also fin& so$e 7 a (ery few 7 who took on pai& work of a scientific nature" un&ertakin! calculations, perhaps, or $akin! instru$ents* 0kille& work that playe& its part in &e(elopin! a society &epen&ent on science an& technolo!y* 'o(elace $a&e her $ark both in the early 1Dth century an& to&ay as so$eone who was enthuse& by an& cha$pione& a particular technolo!ical an& $athe$atical (ision* #heerlea&ers in influential places ha(e always been essential too* 5ut to&ay, as / host a Fin&in! A&a e(ent, / will be recallin! the $any, apparently $inor, roles that wo$en ha(e taken on, for science is not :ust $a&e by the bi! na$es* / will also be celebratin! the fact that to&ay, at last, the bi! na$es $ay increasin!ly be fe$ale ones*

Four incredi"le African !omen scientists honoured in Paris

oste& on March 31, 2012 African wo$en scientists4its not often that you hear those three wor&s to!ether an& to a&& to that 6awar&8* /t $akes $e so &a$n prou& that the achie(e$ents of four re$arkable wo$en are bein! reco!ni>e& internationally by the @N20#A7'9Areal For Wo$en in 0cience BFW/0C* 3ohannie 0paan fro$ 0outh Africa, e!!oty Mutai fro$ ;enya an& Pla&ys ;ahaka fro$ Na$ibia are the three successful African can&i&ates who will be awar&e& fellowships in 2012 an& $ost notably 0outh African rofessor 3ill Farrant, has been selecte& as one of only fi(e laureates worl&wi&e to recei(e the presti!ious 2012 '9ArUal @N20#A For Wo$en in 0cience Awar&* This is what this blo!, African 0cience %eroes, is all about i&entifyin! an& reco!ni>in! the a$a>in! acco$plish$ents of African scientists* African 0cience %eroine )r* Tebello Nyokon! B rofessor of Me&icinal #he$istry an& Nanotechno!y at Fho&es @ni(ersity, 0outh AfricaC is also a @N20#A7 '9Areal For Wo$en in 0cience 'aureate 200D*

rofessor 3ill Farrant, 2012 @N20#A7'TAF2A' For Wo$en in 0cience For Africa an& the Arab 0tates 'aureate

The FW/0 /nternational Fellowship pro!ra$$e ai$s to i&entify an& rewar& &eser(in!, co$$itte& an& talente& youn! wo$en scientists fro$ across the worl& who are acti(e in the fiel& of life sciences* 2ach fellow recei(es @0VI0 000 to put towar&s their research an& rofessor Farrant, @0V100 000 for her achie(e$ents* 3ill Farrant is a professor of $olecular an& cell biolo!y at the @ni(ersity of #ape Town, 0outh Africa* 0he is the worl&9s lea&in! e1pert on resurrection plants* lants which Wco$e back to life9 fro$ a &esiccate&, see$in!ly &ea& state when they are rehy&rate&* rofessor Farrant is in(esti!atin! the ability of $any species of these plants to sur(i(e without water for lon! perio&s of ti$e fro$ a nu$ber of scientific an!les 7 $olecular, bioche$ical an& structural* The ulti$ate !oal is to fin& applications that will lea& to the &e(elop$ent of &rou!ht7tolerant crops to nourish populations in ari&, &rou!ht7prone cli$ates* %er research $ay also ha(e $e&icinal applications* The FW/0 /nternational Fellows no$ination criteria are that the can&i&ate $ust be in their &octoral or post&octoral yearQ workin! in the fiel& of life sciencesQ researchin! a pro$isin! pro:ect that will contribute to societyQ an& ha(e been accepte& to a tertiary institution outsi&e their ho$e country*

e!!oty Mutai of ;enya, 2012 @N20#A7'TAF2A' /nternational Fellow e!!oty Mutai is co$pletin! her h) in Me&icinal #he$istry* While her ho$e uni(ersities are the @ni(ersity of Nairobi in ;enya an& the @ni(ersity of #ape Town, she has been accepte& to #ana&a9s McPill @ni(ersity to continue her research into fin&in! new treat$ents for the parasitic wor$s that pla!ue people in &e(elopin! countries* 3ohannie 0paan is a h) stu&ent stu&yin! Moolo!yG2colo!y at the @ni(ersity of retoria* %er research focuses on the i$pact of treatin! parasitic wor$ infestations in African buffalo, an& has broa&7ran!in! i$plications for hu$an health* 0he has been accepte& to the #olle!e of =eterinary Me&icine, Are!on 0tate @ni(ersity, an& the @ni(ersity of Peor!ia in the @0A to finish her research*

3ohannie 0paan of 0outh Africa , 2012 @N20#A7'TAF2A' /nternational Fellow Pla&ys ;ahaka is &oin! her h) in lant 0ciences throu!h the @ni(ersity of Na$ibia* %er research is centre& aroun& preser(in! Na$ibia9s rich

Pla&ys ;ahaka of Na$ibia, 2012 @N20#A7'TAF2A' /nternational Fellow biolo!ical resources, which she will further at the @ni(ersity of Nottin!ha$ in the @nite& ;in!&o$ where she has been accepte& to co$plete her stu&ies* Their research areas are all (arie& but their results all ha(e si!nificant bearin! on society fro$ preser(in! the &i(ersity of plant species in Na$ibia to treatin! parasitic wor$s* This is all thanks to '9Areal, a co$pany who $ost of us associate with 65ecause / a$ worth itX8* A co$pany that profits fro$ the surface beauty of the cos$etic in&ustry but also reco!ni>es wo$en9s internal beautiful intelli!ence*