Dr. Nancy Grace Roman (source: Women@NASA)

AAUW of Maryland is privileged to honor astronomer, Dr. Nancy Grace Roman, a long time AAUW member, in June of 2016 as part of our continuing sponsorship of the Women of Distinction Ceremony at the National Conference for College Women Student Leaders.   The conference is held at the University of Maryland at College Park.

Long before there was a program called Women@NASA, Dr. Nancy Grace Roman was paving the path for women at NASA.  She was the first Chief of Astronomy in the Office of Space Science at NASA Headquarters and the first woman to hold an executive position at NASA.    Raised in a time when women were discouraged from pursuing a science career, she not only succeeded in establishing herself in a scientific career but also left a legacy for future astronomers.   She is often called the “Mother of Hubble” for her efforts in making the Hubble Space Telescope a reality.     Dr. Roman was instrumental in establishing the new era of space-based astronomical instrumentation.   She received her undergraduate degree at Swarthmore and her PhD from the University of Chicago.

In order to support this sponsorship, please go to the National AAUW website at www.aauw.org and click “donate”.   The Dr. Nancy Grace Roman Honorary Fund is listed under “other contributions” .    We need to raise $20,000 by March 31, 2016 to complete the funding of this sponsorship.

Other questions regarding contributing can be directed to:  Christine Schmitz, AAUW Funds Chair for Maryland.    Christine can be reach through her email:   dialacpa at aol.com