Nancy Grace Roman (born 1925), US astronomer, visiting the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and the Hubble Project Team, holding a model of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). Roman worked at NASA from 1959 to 1979, where she was the first Chief of Astronomy in the Office of Space Science, and the first female to hold an executive position. She managed nearly all of NASA's astronomical projects in the 1960s and many in the 1970s. She was responsible for several astronomical satellites, including the Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) and the HST, and was selected as one of the 100 most important young people by LIFE magazine, 1962. Throughout her career, Roman has been an active public speaker and educator, and an advocate for women in the sciences. She has an asteroid named in her honour (2516 Roman). Photographed in March 2017, at the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), Maryland, USA. |