Dr. Linda Godwin

Dr. Linda Godwin is a Professor Emeritus at the Department of Physics and Astronomy of the University of Missouri. She taught in the department for eight years after retiring from NASA in 2010.

Selected by NASA as an astronaut candidate in June 1985, Dr. Godwin became an astronaut in July 1986. Her technical assignments have included working with flight software verification in the Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory (SAIL) and coordinating mission development activities for the Inertial Upper Stage (IUS), deployable payloads, and Spacelab missions. She also has served as Chief of Astronaut Appearances, Chief of the Mission Development Branch of the Astronaut Office and as the astronaut liaison to its Educational Working Group, Deputy Chief of the Astronaut Office, Deputy Director, Flight Crew Operations Directorate, Chief of the Astronaut Office CAPCOM Branch, and Assistant to the Director for Exploration, Flight Crew Operations Directorate at the Johnson Space Center. A veteran of four space flights, Dr. Godwin has logged over 38 days in space, including over 10 EVA hours in two spacewalks. In 1991, she served as a Mission Specialist on STS-37, was the Payload Commander on STS-59 in 1994, flew on STS-76 in 1996, a Mir docking mission, and served on STS-108/International Space Station Flight UF-1 in 2001. She also served as Assistant to the Director for Exploration, Flight Crew Operations Directorate at the Johnson Space Center.

Dr. Godwin has conducted research in low temperature solid state physics, including studies in electron tunneling and vibrational modes of absorbed molecular species on metallic substrates at liquid helium temperatures.

Dr. Godwin holds a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Missouri. She holds a Master of Science degree from the University of Missouri, and a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics and physics from Southeast Missouri State.