Dr. Cady Coleman is a chemist, a retired United States Air Force Colonel, and former NASA Astronaut with more than 180 days in space, accumulated during two space shuttle missions and a six-month expedition to the International Space Station (ISS). She launched and landed aboard the Russian Soyuz spacecraft, and acted as the Lead Robotics and Lead Science officer during her tenure aboard the ISS, performing the second-ever free flyer robotic capture from the station.

In her spare time aboard the ISS, Cady played the flute 220 miles above the earth, joining Jethro Tull flutist Ian Anderson for a duet between earth and space and coached actress Sandra Bullock in preparation for Bullock’s role as a stranded astronaut in the movie “Gravity.” After returning to Earth, she became an Innovation Lead and managed LAUNCH.ORG for NASA’s Office of the Chief Technologist at NASA Headquarters, before retiring from NASA after a 26-year career.

Currently, she is a public speaker, advocating for inclusion in STEM and STEAM fields and on teams everywhere, and a technical consultant for microgravity research. She serves on several boards, including the Smithsonian Natural History Museum and Dent the Future. She received a bachelor of science degree in chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a doctorate in polymer science and engineering from the University of Massachusetts.