Former astronaut Dr. Kathryn D. Sullivan was nominated by President Obama on August 1 to serve as Administrator of the National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration (NOAA) and Undersecretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere. She has been serving as NOAA’s acting administrator since Jane Lubchenco’s retirement in February. Sullivan was NOAA’s Chief Scientist from 1993 to 1996 and served as Deputy Administrator and Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Environmental Observation and Prediction in 2011.  Sullivan holds a bachelor’s degree in earth sciences from University of California Santa Cruz and a Ph.D. in geology from Dalhousie University in Canada. She was the first American woman to conduct a spacewalk on STS-41G in October 1984, and also flew in missions STS-31 in 1990 and STS-45 in 1992.  Confirmation of Dr. Sullivan as NOAA Administrator awaits the Senate’s approval.