Linda Spilker is an American

planetary scientist Planetary science (or more rarely, planetology) is the scientific study of planets (including Earth), celestial bodies (such as moons, asteroids, comets) and planetary systems (in particular those of the Solar System) and the processes of their ...

who served as the project scientist for the

Cassini mission Cassini may refer to: People * Cassini (surname) * Oleg Cassini (1913-2006), American fashion designer :Cassini family: * Giovanni Domenico Cassini (1625–1712), Italian mathematician, astronomer, engineer, and astrologer * Jacques Cassini (167 ...

exploring the planet

Saturn Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second-largest in the Solar System, after Jupiter. It is a gas giant with an average radius of about nine and a half times that of Earth. It has only one-eighth the average density of Earth; h ...

. Her research interests include the evolution and dynamics of

Saturn's rings The rings of Saturn are the most extensive ring system of any planet in the Solar System. They consist of countless small particles, ranging in size from micrometers to meters, that orbit around Saturn. The ring particles are made almost entirel ...

. She is presently the Project Scientist for the Voyager missions.

Career

Spilker received a B.A.in Physics from

California State University, Fullerton California State University, Fullerton (CSUF or Cal State Fullerton) is a public university in Fullerton, California. With a total enrollment of more than 41,000, it has the largest student body of the 23-campus California State University (CSU) ...

in 1977 and an M.S. in Physics from

California State University, Los Angeles California State University, Los Angeles (Cal State LA) is a public university in Los Angeles, California. It is part of the 23-campus California State University (CSU) system. Cal State LA offers 142 bachelor's degrees, 122 master's degrees, ...

in 1983. She obtained a Ph.D. in Geophysics and Space Physics from

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

in 1992. She joined the

Jet Propulsion Laboratory The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is a federally funded research and development center and NASA field center in the City of La Cañada Flintridge, California, United States. Founded in the 1930s by Caltech researchers, JPL is owned by NASA an ...

in 1977, initially working on the Voyager missions that were launched the same year. She became a Cassini mission scientist in 1990. In 1997, she was the editor of a

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...

publication that summarizes the mission's legacy. In 2010 she became the Cassini mission project scientist, a role in which she directed the entire team's scientific investigations. She has appeared as herself in multiple television documentary programs, including several in the

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

Nova A nova (plural novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", which is Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. Causes of the dramati ...

series.

Honors and awards

* NASA Exceptional Service Medal (2013) * NASA Group Achievement Award (2011, 2009, 2000, 1998, 1982–1989) * NASA Scientific Achievement Award (1982)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spilker, Linda American scientists Living people 1955 births University of California, Los Angeles alumni California State University, Fullerton alumni Recipients of the NASA Exceptional Service Medal American planetary scientists Women planetary scientists NASA people

Career

Honors and awards

See also

References