Decorated astronaut to speak at School of Medicine graduation ceremonies
Kathryn C. Thornton, Ph.D., a veteran of four space flights and professor emerita at UVA, will address the School of Medicine’s graduating medical students and graduate students.
Former NASA astronaut and UVA professor emerita Kathryn C. Thornton, Ph.D., is this year's keynote speaker for the School of Medicine's graduation ceremonies. (Contributed photos)
This year’s graduation ceremonies will be out of this world.
Kathryn C. Thornton, Ph.D., a former NASA astronaut and professor emerita at the University of Virginia’s School of Engineering and Applied Science, will deliver the keynote address for the School of Medicine’s advanced degree awards and recognition ceremony for graduate students and hooding ceremony for M.D. students.
Thornton earned her M.S. and Ph.D. in physics from UVA and began her career as a civilian physicist at the U.S. Foreign Science and Technology Center in Charlottesville, Va. In 1984, she was selected by NASA to join the 10th class of astronauts, and the third including women. Over the course of 12 years, she logged more than 975 hours in space, including a classified Department of Defense mission, a satellite rescue and redeployment and the first service mission to the Hubble Space Telescope.
In a 2024 interview with Wired Magazine, when asked why space research is worthwhile “when we have so many issues to solve on Earth,” Thornton said she believes space travel has the global effect of bringing people together.
“I think we are programmed to explore,” she told the interviewer. “Despite all the geopolitical stuff going on in the world, we have been working together on the space station for almost 25 years without cease. And so that's my evidence that a goal like exploring space brings humanity together, and that can help it solve some problems.”
Following her career with NASA, Thornton returned to Charlottesville, where she spent 22 years teaching at UVA. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including NASA Space Flight Medals, the Explorer Club Lowell Thomas Award, the University of Virginia Distinguished Alumna Award, the Freedom Foundation Freedom Spirit Award and the National Intelligence Medal of Achievement.
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