Linda Spilker
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1955 (age 69–70)
- NASA Exceptional Service Medal (2013)
- NASA Group Achievement Awards (2011, 2009, 2000, 1998, 1982–1989)
- NASA Scientific Achievement Award (1982)
Linda Spilker | |
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 Spilker in 2017 | |
| Born | Linda Joyce Bies[1] 1955 (age 69–70) |
| Alma mater | |
| Awards |
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| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Planetary science |
| Institutions | Jet Propulsion Laboratory |
| Thesis | Wave structure in planetary rings (1992) |
| Doctoral advisor | Christopher Russell |
Linda Spilker (born 1955) is an American planetary scientist who served as the project scientist for the Cassini mission exploring the planet Saturn.[2][3][4][5][6] Her research interests include the evolution and dynamics of Saturn's rings.[7] In 2022, she became the project scientist for the Voyager mission after Edward Stone's retirement.[8]
Spilker received a BA in Physics from California State University, Fullerton in 1977 and an MS in Physics from California State University, Los Angeles in 1983. She obtained a PhD in Geophysics and Space Physics from UCLA in 1992. She joined the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in 1977, initially working on the Voyager missions that were launched the same year.[9] She became a Cassini mission scientist in 1990.[2] In 1997, she was the editor of a NASA publication that summarizes the mission's legacy.[10] In 2010, she became the Cassini mission project scientist, a role in which she directed the entire team's scientific investigations.[3][4][5][6][9] She has appeared as herself in multiple television documentary programs, including several in the PBS Nova series.[1]
Honors and awards
- NASA Exceptional Service Medal (2013)[11][2]
- NASA Group Achievement Award (2011, 2009, 2000, 1998, 1982–1989)[2]
- NASA Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal (1982)[2]
