Dr. Magnus is a former NASA Astronaut and an Astronaut Hall of Fame recipient. Her election to the Hall of Fame came a week after she was named to the National Academy of Engineering, one of the highest professional distinctions awarded to an engineer. She is the Principal at AstroPlanetview, LLC and has served as the Deputy Director of Engineering in the Office of the Secretary of Defense for the Undersecretary of Research and Engineering, and the former Executive Director of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), the world’s largest technical society dedicated to the global aerospace profession. Prior to leading AIAA, Dr. Magnus was a member of the NASA Astronaut Corps for 16 years where she flew to space thrice and most recently on the last Space Shuttle flight.

Dr. Magnus attended the Missouri University of Science and Technology, graduating in 1986 with a degree in physics and earning a master’s degree in electrical engineering in 1990. She received a Ph.D. from the School of Materials Science and Engineering at Georgia Tech in 1996.

Selected to the NASA Astronaut Corps in April, 1996, Dr. Magnus flew in space on the STS-112 shuttle mission in 2002, and on the final shuttle flight, STS-135, in 2011. In addition, she flew to the International Space Station on STS-126 in November 2008, served as flight engineer and science officer on Expedition 18, and returned home on STS-119 after four and a half months on board. Following her assignment on Station, she served at NASA Headquarters in the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate. Her last duty at NASA, after STS-135, was as the deputy chief of the Astronaut Office.

Dr. Magnus has received numerous awards and honors, including the NASA Space Flight Medal, the NASA Distinguished Service Medal, the NASA Exceptional Service Medal, and the 40 at 40 Award (given to former collegiate women athletes to recognize the impact of Title IX).