Kathryn C. Thornton

Kathryn Ryan Cordell Thornton is an American scientist and former NASA astronaut. Born on August 17, 1952, she has accumulated over 975 hours in space, including 21 hours of extravehicular activity. Notably, Thornton was inducted into the United States Astronaut Hall of Fame in 2010. She currently serves as a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, as well as the former associate dean for graduate programs at the University of Virginia School of Engineering and Applied Science. Thornton graduated from Sidney Lanier High School in Montgomery, Alabama in 1970, and went on to earn a B.S. degree in physics from Auburn University in 1974. She then obtained an M.S. degree and a Ph.D. degree in physics from the University of Virginia in 1977 and 1979, respectively. Thornton is a member of various prestigious organizations, including the American Physical Society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and honor societies such as Sigma Pi Sigma, Phi Kappa Phi, and Sigma Xi.