Carnegie Mellon University
February 21, 2012

Media Advisory: Carnegie Mellon University's Mechanical Engineering Students To Host NASA Astronaut Catherine "Cady" Coleman

Contact: Chriss Swaney / 412-268-5776 February 21, 2012 / swaney@andrew.cmu.edu

Event: NASA Astronaut Catherine "Cady" Coleman will discuss her career and the importance of engineering and science education to members of Carnegie Mellon's new student chapter of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA).

Coleman has logged more than 4,330 hours in space aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia and the International Space Station.

"This is a wonderful opportunity for our students to see and meet such a distinguished leader in her field," said Nadine Aubry, head of Carnegie Mellon's Mechanical Engineering Department and a fellow of the AIAA for her outstanding work in the field of aerospace through her pioneering contributions in fluid dynamics.

AIAA student leaders Jayon Wang, a mechanical engineering junior from Bethesda, Md., and Emerson Silva, a mechanical engineering sophomore from Curitiba, Brazil, will introduce the astronaut to more than 30 members of the new AIAA student chapter.

"We are very honored to meet such a prestigious aerospace leader who has traversed the world and beyond as a pioneer for engineers and scientists alike," Wang said. "Her accomplishments are something we all wish to emulate."

Coleman, a keynote speaker this month for the annual banquet of the Engineering Society of Western Pennsylvania (ESWP), received a bachelor's degree of science degree in chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Ph.D. in polymer science and engineering from the University of Massachusetts.

She also represented the astronaut office on the Tile Repair Team for NASA's return to flight after the Columbia accident.

When: 4 p.m., Thursday, February 23.

Where: Room 224, Scaife Hall, Carnegie Mellon University, off Frew Street at Schenley Park.

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