As every incoming first-year student currently making their first stay on Grounds knows, one of the main reasons to attend the University is its distinguished faculty and the access undergraduate students have to it.
That access will be demonstrated today as Kathryn Thornton, former astronaut and professor in both the Engineering School's division of technology, culture and communication and its department of mechanical and aerospace engineering, has lunch with students as part of University Program Council's Picnic with Professors series.
The goal of the series, according to the Student Activities Calendar Web site, is to bring students and faculty together in an informal setting.
Thornton is also an alumna of the University, graduating with a Ph.D. in physics in 1979. She came to the faculty in 1996 with a distinguished background in both physics and as an astronaut for NASA.
Thornton joined NASA in 1985 and spent 12 years as an astronaut there, including over 16 million miles in space and 21 hours of spacewalking -- she was the second American woman and the first American mother to walk in space, according to the University's Top News Daily.
According to the Engineering Web site, she also holds the records for both number and duration of extravehicular activity for women.
Thornton served on missions including retrieval, repair and deployment of the International Telecommunications Satellite and servicing of the Hubble Space Telescope, according to Alumni News.
Thornton said that while she is prepared to talk about her experiences both at and previous to the University, she expects to spend most of the picnic talking about space.
"I've talked to a lot of student groups, and I usually end up talking about spaceflight," Thornton said. "I segue into that, because that's why they asked me."
She said she also frequently gets questions about graduate school, and what path to follow at the end of an undergraduate career.
Interested students can meet Thornton at 12:30 p.m. today on the steps of Old Cabell Hall. The rain site is the big white tent outside Newcomb Hall. Lunch will be provided, and is free. The program will last approximately one hour.
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