Dr. Mary Ellen Weber was a NASA Astronaut for ten years and is the veteran of two Space Shuttle flights. She is among the youngest Astronauts ever to venture into space, having traveled 297 earth orbits and 7.8 million miles. In 2000, she flew aboard Atlantis on mission STS-101, a pioneering and critical early construction mission for the International Space Station. She also flew aboard Discovery in 1995 on mission STS-70, launching a $200 million communications satellite into Earth orbit and performing groundbreaking biotechnology experiments. In addition to her experience in the Astronaut Corps in mission operations and development, she held key positions reporting to NASA’s highest executives, in building businesses from space research, in strategic communications, and in program oversight. She is the recipient of the NASA Exceptional Service Medal.
Dr. Weber received an M.B.A. from Southern Methodist University, a Ph.D. in physical chemistry from the University of California at Berkeley, and a B.S. in chemical engineering from Purdue University. She has published eight scientific papers and received one patent. In 2003, she joined the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, a top-tier medical school, research, and hospital complex in Dallas,Texas, becoming Vice President for Government Affairs and Policy. Having logged over 4,000 skydives, Mary Ellen is an active skydiver, with twelve silver and bronze medals to date at the U.S. National Skydiving Championships and a world record for the largest freefall formation with 300 skydivers. In addition, she is an instrument-rated pilot with over 600 hours in NASA’s jet aircraft.
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