In honor of Women's History Month, the achievements of Dr. Nancy Grace Roman are being commemorated.

In a time when women were discouraged from studying math and science, Dr. Roman became a research astronomer and the first chief of astronomy at NASA.

She earned her Ph.D. in astronomy in 1949 from the University of Chicago in 1949.

Known today as the “Mother of Hubble,” she was instrumental in taking the Hubble Space Telescope from an idea to reality and establishing NASA’s program of space-based astronomical observatories.

Dr. Roman died on Christmas Day, 2018, at the age of 93.

Hear her recount her story in the video above.

To learn more about Dr. Roman’s life and work, visit the American Institute of Physics Web site and read an in-depth oral history from an interview she gave in 1980s.