Nancy Roman

Nancy Roman
Nancy Grace Roman in 2015
Born
Nancy Grace Roman

(1925-05-16)May 16, 1925
Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.
DiedDecember 25, 2018(2018-12-25) (aged 93)
Germantown, Maryland, U.S.
Alma materSwarthmore College, University of Chicago
Known forPlanning of the Hubble Space Telescope
Awards
See list
Scientific career
FieldsAstronomy
InstitutionsYerkes Observatory, University of Chicago, NASA, Naval Research Laboratory
Thesis Ursa Major Moving Group  (1949)
Doctoral advisorWilliam Wilson Morgan
Other academic advisorsW.W. Morgan, Peter van de Kamp

Nancy Grace Roman (May 16, 1925 – December 25, 2018) was an American astronomer who made important contributions to stellar classification and motions. The first female executive at NASA, Roman served as NASA's first Chief of Astronomy throughout the 1960s and 1970s, establishing her as one of the "visionary founders of the US civilian space program".[1]

Roman created NASA's space astronomy program and is known to many as the "Mother of Hubble" for her foundational role in planning the Hubble Space Telescope.[2] Throughout her career, Roman was an active public speaker and educator, and an advocate for women in the sciences.

In May 2020, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine announced that the Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope would be named the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope in recognition of her enduring contributions to astronomy.[3]

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  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference RomanSpaceTelescope was invoked but never defined (see the help page).