Catherine Grace (cady) Coleman PhD

Cady Coleman is a scientist and recently retired NASA astronaut who logged more than 180 days in space aboard the International Space Station.

Coleman graduated from Wilbert Tucker Woodson High School, Fairfax, Virginia, in 1978; in 1978–1979, she was an exchange student at Royken upper secondary school in Norway with the AFS Intercultural Programs. She received a B.S. degree in chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1983, and a Ph.D. degree in polymer science and engineering from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 1991 as a member of the Air Force ROTC. She was advised by Professor Thomas J. McCarthy on her doctorate. She was a member of the intercollegiate crew and was a resident of Baker House.

After completing her regular education, Coleman joined the U.S. Air Force as a Second Lieutenant while continuing her graduate work for a Ph.D. at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. In 1988 she entered active duty at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base as a research chemist. During her work, she participated as a surface analysis consultant on the NASA Long Duration Exposure Facility experiment. In 1991, she received her doctorate in polymer science and engineering. She retired from the Air Force in November 2009.