President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts [Former NASA Astronaut Kathryn D. Sullivan Excerpt]

WASHINGTON – Today, President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate the following individuals to key Administration posts:

* Kathryn D. Sullivan, PhD, Assistant Secretary of Commerce (Observation and Prediction), Department of Commerce

President Obama said, “I am pleased that these dedicated and accomplished individuals will be joining our Administration. I am confident they will serve our nation well in their new roles, and I look forward to working with them in the months and years ahead.”

President Obama announced his intent to nominate the following individuals to key Administration posts:

Kathryn D. Sullivan, PhD, Nominee for Assistant Secretary of Commerce (Observation and Prediction), Department of Commerce

Kathy Sullivan is the inaugural director of the Battelle Center for Mathematics and Science Education Policy in the John Glenn School of Public Affairs at Ohio State University. Prior to joining Ohio State, Dr. Sullivan served a decade as President and CEO of the Center of Science and Industry (COSI) in Columbus, Ohio, one of the nation’s leading science museums. Dr. Sullivan joined COSI after three years’ service as Chief Scientist at NOAA, where she oversaw research and technology programs agency-wide. Dr. Sullivan was one of the first six women selected to join the NASA astronaut corps in 1978 and holds the distinction of being the first American woman to walk in space. She flew on three shuttle missions during her 15-year tenure, including the mission that deployed the Hubble Space Telescope. Dr. Sullivan has also served on the National Science Board (2004-2010) and as an oceanographer in the U.S. Navy Reserve (1988-2006). She holds a bachelor’s degree in earth sciences from the University of California at Santa Cruz and a doctorate in geology from Dalhousie University in Canada.