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Commencement Address

Kathryn D. Sullivan

Former astronaut Kathryn D. Sullivan was named president and chief executive officer of COSI, Ohio's Center of Science and Industry, in 1996. As COSI's top executive, she manages all programs and activities at the center's current facility; provides oversight of the new COSI Toledo; and is overseeing the development of COSI's new home on the downtown Columbus riverfront.

Dr. Sullivan holds a bachelor of science degree in earth sciences from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and a doctorate in geology from Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia. She is currently an adjunct professor of geological sciences at Ohio State.

A veteran of three space shuttle missions, Dr. Sullivan became, in 1984, the first woman to perform a spacewalk aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger. She also flew on the Hubble Space Telescope deployment mission on the Space Shuttle Discovery in 1990 and the ATLAS-1 Spacelab flight aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis in 1992.

Education has long been a priority for Dr. Sullivan. In 1987, she developed an education program for the newly formed Challenger Center for Space Education. Her initial program was validated by professional school and museum educators and is now in place at 26 Challenger Learning Centers in the United States and Canada. As chair of the Educational Program Committee on the Challenger Center board of directors, she played a central role in strategic planning, program evaluation, and curriculum development.

Prior to her COSI service, Dr. Sullivan was appointed in 1993 by the U.S. Senate as chief scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. There she oversaw the planning, budget, and execution of the agency's $500 million research and technology programs in such diverse areas as climate and global change, satellite remote sensing instrumentation, coastal oceanography, and marine biodiversity.

She received a direct commission in the Naval Reserves in 1988 as a Naval Astronaut (Specialist). At present, she is an Oceanography Systems Project Officer with the Space and Naval Warfare Command, supporting the design and procurement of environmental sensors, command and control information systems, and tactical decision aids.

Ohio State proudly welcomes this distinguished scientist, space traveler, and educator to address today's graduating class.