Penn State University sends legions of young adults off on careers each year.
But one of its graduate students could be headed into space.
Zena Cardman, who is pursuing a doctoral degree in Penn State's College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, is a member of this years's NASA class of astronauts, the space agency and Penn State announced Wednesday.
Ms. Cardman is among 12 men and women introduced by the space agency during a ceremony at the Johnson Space Center in Houston and attended by Vice President Mike Pence.
The group was culled from 18,000 applicants for the astronaut program, handily eclipsing by two-fold the last record set in 1978, officials said.
Also part of the astronaut class is Warren Hoburg, an assistant professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Born and raised in Pittsburgh, he graduated from North Allegheny High School, according to the space agency. His parents now live in New Hampshire.
As an astronaut candidate, she and her peers will train for two years with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, beginning in August. It is a step toward qualifying for astronaut status and spaceflight.
Ms. Cardman, from Williamsburg, Va., is pursuing a doctorate in geosciences, focusing on microbe-rock interactions and what it says about life on early Earth and outside the planet, Penn State officials said.
She could not immediately be reached for comment, but a statement released by Penn State quoted her as saying, "I am beyond humbled" by the selection.
"I’m thrilled to join my experience in microbiology and field research with the test pilots, medical doctors, engineers and everyone else," she said. "I am so grateful for the mentors and colleagues who helped me along the way.”
If she passes her training in spacewalking systems, spacewalking and other studies, she will follow four Penn Staters who have flown in space, unviversity officials said.
The four are Paul Weitz, Robert Cenker and Guion S. Bluford Jr., the first African-American astronaut, and Associate Professor of Kinesiology James Pawelczyk.
At MIT, he teaches undergraduate level Dynamics and Flight Vehicle Engineering. According to NASA, his research involves efficient methods for design of engineering systems.
Bill Schackner: bschackner@post-gazette.com, 412-263-1977 and on Twitter: @BschacknerPG.
First Published: June 7, 2017, 8:01 p.m.
Updated: June 7, 2017, 8:53 p.m.
