Sullivan, Kathryn D. (Kathryn Dwyer), 1951-

Kathryn Dwyer Sullivan born October 3, 1951, Patterson, NJ; awarded a Bachelor of Science degree in Earth Sciences from the University of California, Santa Cruz in 1973, and a Ph.D. in Geology from Dalhousie University in 1978; 1988, Sullivan joined the U.S. Naval Reserve as an oceanography officer, retiring with the rank of captain in 2006. She has served as chief scientist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Before NASA, Sullivan worked in Alaska as an oceanographer; Space Shuttle Challenger mission STS-41-G; served on the crew of STS-31; served as Payload Commander on STS-45; After leaving NASA, Sullivan served as president and CEO of the COSI Columbus, an interactive science center in Columbus, Ohio and as Director for Ohio State University's Battelle Center for Mathematics and Science Education Policy; appointed to the National Science Board by President George W. Bush in 2004; May 4, 2011, Sullivan was confirmed by unanimous consent of the U.S. Senate and appointed by President Obama to serve as Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Environmental Observation and Prediction and Deputy Administrator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; President Obama nominated Sullivan to serve as the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and NOAA Administrator on August 1, 2013 and she was confirmed by the Senate on March 6, 2014;

On 11 October 1984 Sullivan made history when she became the first American woman to leave a spacecraft, along with fellow mission specialist David Leestma, on a spacewalk to demonstrate the feasibility of an orbital refuelling system.

She went on to take part in two more missions, including the 1990 launch of the Hubble Space Telescope. She logged 532 hours in space in total and was inducted into the Astronaut Hall of Fame in 2004.

"My spacewalk was three and a half hours long. It's a spacewalk that counts but that's actually very short as spacewalks go," Sullivan says.

"I was just delighted to see women come after me and do, you know, much more elaborate, much more complicated, much more demanding spacewalks."

Sullivan's debut mission also marked the first time two women had travelled to space together
Over the years, Sullivan has also been buoyed to see women increasingly involved at senior levels throughout the space program - including in commanding roles and managing missions from the ground.

"These are all wonderful things and I think help show young girls that you can make your way to these places," she says. "No one's promising you a primrose path. You know, you're gonna have your setbacks, you're gonna have to persist and persevere.

"You're going to have to fight back sometimes. But the door is at least ajar - it's not wide open, but you can make your way through it."

Kathryn Sullivan, PhD, is a geologist, former NASA astronaut, and oceanographer who was the first American woman to walk in space, the first woman to dive to the Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench (the deepest part of the Earth’s oceans), and is the first and only person to do both.

Flew on three shuttle missions, including the mission that deployed the Hubble Space Telescope.
Served as Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Administrator in the Obama-Biden administration.
Served as inaugural Director of the Battelle Center for Math and Science Education Policy in the John Glenn School of Public Affairs at The Ohio State University.
Former President and CEO of Ohio’s Center of Science and Industry.
Appointed by President George W. Bush to the National Science Board.
Member of U.S. National Academy of Engineering, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and National Academy of Public Administration.