Kathryn Sullivan, PhD

The first of only seven American women to walk in space, Dr. Sullivan is a member of Aviation Week & Space Technology Aerospace Legends Hall of Fame.

Travels From:  Ohio

BOOKS

SPEECH TOPICS

Mach 25: Lessons from Orbit for High-Stakes Teams

Reaching for the Stars
Success in spaceflight requires a powerful blend of personal competency, individual and group accountability, risk assessment and discipline. How do the principles underlying personal and team performance in this unforgiving environment carry over into our everyday personal and professional worlds? Dr. Sullivan tells you how she has translated her Mach 25 experience into executive and personal practice.

ABOUT Kathryn Sullivan, PhD

The first of only seven American women to walk in space, Kathryn Sullivan, PhD, is one of the first six women selected as a NASA astronaut in 1978. Logging over 530 hours in space during her three space flights, Dr. Sullivan's historic space walk took place during her very first mission aboard Challenger in 1984.

The Challenger missions were not Dr. Sullivan's first exposure to peak performance demands or unforgiving environments. As a young oceanographer, she made the first detailed maps of a deep sea region off eastern Canada. She returned to her oceanic roots in 1993, accepting a Presidential appointment as Chief Scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), where she oversaw the agency's $500 million research and technology portfolio, led the formulation of new U.S. policies for environmental technology exports and weather satellite programs, and represented the United States in many international scientific forums.

Teaching and learning are two other passions for Dr. Sullivan. She played a pivotal role in creating the Challenger Center for Space Science Education and, from 1996 to 2005, was President and CEO of the Center for Science and Industry (COSI) Columbus, one of the nation's premier centers for hands-on science learning. Under her leadership, COSI has strengthened its impact on science teaching in the classroom and its national reputation as an innovator of hands-on, inquiry-based science learning resources.

Today, Dr. Sullivan is Director of The Battelle Center for Math and Science Education Policy in the John Glenn School of Public Affairs at The Ohio State University. An experienced corporate director, she serves as Vice Chairman of the National Science Board and is an oceanography officer in the US Naval Reserve, holding the rank of Captain.

Dr. Sullivan earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Earth sciences from the University of California, Santa Cruz, in 1973, and a doctorate in geology from Dalhousie University, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 1978. Her doctoral studies at Dalhousie University included participation in a variety of oceanographic expeditions, under the auspices of the US Geological Survey, Wood's Hole Oceanographic Institute, and the Bedford Institute. Her research included the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, the Newfoundland Basin and fault zones off the Southern California Coast.

The recipient of numerous awards and honors, Dr. Sullivan is a 2004 inductee to the Astronaut Hall of Fame. She received the 2005 Aviation Week & Space Technology Aerospace Legend Award, the Public Service Award from the National Science Board in recognition of lifelong commitment to science education, the NASA Medal for Outstanding Leadership, and four Presidential nominations under four different administrations (1985, 1992, 2000, 2004). Dr. Sullivan has been awarded honorary degrees by Kent State University; Ohio Dominican University; Stevens Institute of Technology; State University of New York, Utica; and Dalhousie University.

TESTIMONIALS

"Your presentation to the Jacksonville Women's Network was inspiring and indeed challenged us to reach beyond the borders of our experience and stretch our capacities to the limit. Your warm presence at the podium made us all feel that we had the privilege of sharing with a long-time friend an out-of-this-world experience. Thank you for taking all of us along for such an incredible ride!" — Jacksonville Women's Network

"Dr. Kathy Sullivan is leadership in perpetual motion. Her achievements are inspirational and her passion to explore, discover and teach is deeply motivating. She absolutely captivated our entire management team. Kathy's remarkable blend of technical acuity and creative thinking has helped us approach the complex challenges of the electricity business from new perspectives." — American Electric Power

"Giving a commencement address that is pertinent and stimulating to a multi-layered audience (and is just the right length) is an art form. Dr. Kathy Sullivan's 2005 address to our academic community laid the foundation for an approach to planning and university dialogue that was instructive and inspiring. The breadth of her scientific expertise combined with equal measures of warmth and sparkling humor endeared her to the audience and drew that audience into her vision for the human community." — St. Bonaventure University