Irene Duhart Long (November 16, 1950 – August 4, 2020) was an American

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

and was an official at the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. She was the first female chief medical officer at the

Kennedy Space Center The John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC, originally known as the NASA Launch Operations Center), located on Merritt Island, Florida, is one of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) ten field centers. Since December 1968 ...

Early life and education

Long, the second of two children was born to Andrew and Heloweise Davis Duhart in Cleveland, Ohio. She graduated from East High School in Cleveland, and in 1973, she received her bachelor's degree in biology from

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

. In 1977, Long received her medical degree from the

Saint Louis University School of Medicine Saint Louis University School of Medicine is a private, Jesuit medical school. Part of Saint Louis University, the institution was established in 1836. The school has an enrollment of around 700, with about 550 faculty members and 550 residents in ...

followed by residencies at the Cleveland Clinic, Mt. Sinai Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio, and Wright State University in

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater D ...

, as the second civilian to enter the Wright State University School of Medicine's aerospace medicine program, and where she received her Masters of Science degree in

aerospace medicine Aviation medicine, also called flight medicine or aerospace medicine, is a preventive or occupational medicine in which the patients/subjects are pilots, aircrews, or astronauts. The specialty strives to treat or prevent conditions to which airc ...

Career

In 1982 Long went to work for NASA as a physician. There, she contributed to the creation of the Spaceflight and Life Sciences Training Program. Notably, she was the medical officer on duty Jan. 28, 1986, the day of the space shuttle ''Challenger'' disaster. In 1994, she was appointed director of the Biomedical Operations and Research Office at the Kennedy Space Center. In 2000, she was appointed as Chief Medical Officer and associate director of Spaceport Services at the Kennedy Space Center. She retired at the age of 63 and David Tipton assumed the duties as Chief Medical Officer in 2013. She worked for NASA for 31 years. Director Hortense Diggs. “She was Kennedy’s first ‘Hidden Figure.’”

Awards

*1986 - Kennedy Space Center Federal Woman of the Year Award *1995 - Society of NASA Flight Surgeons Presidential Award *1998 - Women in Aerospace Outstanding Achievement Award *2001 -

Ohio Women's Hall of Fame The Ohio Women's Hall of Fame was a program the State of Ohio's Department of Job and Family Services ran from 1978 through 2011. The Hall has over 400 members. In 2019, the Hall's physical archives and online records were transferred to the ...

*2005 - Lifetime Achievement Award, Women of Color Technology Awards Conference *2010 - Strughold Award, Space Medicine Association

Notes

References

* Staff (January 2004) "Irene D. Long 1951-" ''Biography Today'' 13(1): pp. 92–104 * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Long, Irene Duhart 1950 births 2020 deaths Northwestern University alumni Saint Louis University alumni Wright State University alumni NASA people Physicians from Cleveland Physicians from Ohio