Nancy Roman

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Lore & Background

Nancy Grace Roman was born in Nashville, Tennessee, on May 16, 1925, to music teacher Georgia Frances Smith Roman and physicist/mathematician Irwin Roman. Her family moved frequently due to her father's work, eventually settling in Baltimore, Maryland, when she was about 12. Roman formed an astronomy club at age 11 and knew by seventh grade she would dedicate her life to astronomy, despite discouragement from those around her. She attended Western High School in Baltimore, graduating in three years. Roman studied astronomy at Swarthmore College, where the dean of women was not encouraging, but she worked with Peter van de Kamp at the Sproul Observatory processing astronomical photographic plates. She earned her Ph.D. in astronomy from the University of Chicago in 1949, having written a dissertation on the Ursa Major Moving Group. She then worked at Yerkes Observatory for six years as a research associate and later instructor and assistant professor, focusing on stellar spectroscopy. Her research included a survey of all naked-eye stars similar to the Sun, discovering that stars with smaller amounts of elements heavier than hydrogen and helium move faster than stars that have more heavy elements, and that not all common stars were the same age. She also discovered that the emission spectrum of the star AG Draconis had completely changed since earlier observations, a state the star is in only 2–3% of the time. Roman left the University of Chicago because of the paucity of tenured research positions available to women and joined the Naval Research Laboratory in 1954, entering the radio astronomy program. She rose to become head of the microwave spectroscopy section and provided astronomy consultation for the Project Vanguard satellite program. She later created NASA's space astronomy program and served as NASA's first Chief of Astronomy throughout the 1960s and 1970s, earning recognition as the 'Mother of Hubble' for her foundational role in planning the Hubble Space Telescope.

Reader's Guide

Nancy Grace Roman's significance lies in her foundational contributions to both stellar astronomy and the U.S. civilian space program. Her research on stellar motions and chemical content provided early clues to the structure and formation of the Milky Way galaxy, with her paper selected as one of the 100 most important papers in 100 years by the Astrophysical Journal. She discovered that stars with smaller amounts of heavy elements move faster, and that not all common stars were the same age, proven by comparing hydrogen lines of the low dispersion spectra in the stars. As NASA's first Chief of Astronomy, she created the agency's space astronomy program and played a key role in planning the Hubble Space Telescope, earning her the informal title 'Mother of Hubble.' Her legacy is further cemented by the naming of the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope (formerly the Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope) in May 2020, announced by NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine. Throughout her career, she was an active public speaker and educator, and an advocate for women in the sciences.

Did You Know?

• Roman formed an astronomy club when she was 11 years old, gathering with classmates once a week to learn about constellations from books.
• She discovered that the star AG Draconis had completely changed its emission spectrum since earlier observations—a state the star is in only 2–3% of the time.
• Roman was the first civilian to visit Armenia after the start of the Cold War, in 1956 for the dedication of the Byurakan Observatory.
• Her paper on stellar motions was selected as one of the 100 most important papers in 100 years by the Astrophysical Journal.
• The Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope was renamed the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope in May 2020.