Nancy Grace Roman

For the space telescope, see Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. For the American legal commentator and television journalist, see Nancy Grace.

Nancy Grace Roman
Roman in 1969
Born	(1925-05-16)May 16, 1925 Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.
Died	December 25, 2018(2018-12-25) (aged 93) Germantown, Maryland, U.S.
Education	Swarthmore College University of Chicago
Known for	Planning of the Hubble Space Telescope
Awards	See list Federal Woman's Award Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal, NASA NASA Outstanding Scientific Leadership Award Fellow, American Astronautical Society William Randolph Lovelace II Award, American Astronautical Association Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Lifetime Achievement Award – Women in Aerospace
Scientific career
Fields	Astronomy
Workplaces	Yerkes Observatory, University of Chicago, NASA, Naval Research Laboratory
Thesis	Ursa Major Moving Group  (1949)
Doctoral advisor	William Wilson Morgan
Other academic advisors	W.W. Morgan, Peter van de Kamp

Nancy Grace Roman (May 16, 1925 – December 25, 2018) was an American astronomer who made important contributions to stellar classification and stellar motions. The first female executive at NASA, Roman served as NASA's first chief of astronomy throughout the 1960s and 1970s, establishing her as one of the "visionary founders of the US civilian space program".

Roman created NASA's space astronomy program and is known to many as the "Mother of Hubble" for her foundational role in planning the Hubble Space Telescope. Throughout her career, Roman was an active public speaker and educator, and an advocate for women in the sciences.

In May 2020, NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine announced that the Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope would be named the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope in recognition of her enduring contributions to astronomy.