UPDATE : July 7, 2010- Thomas A. Edison was selected with 32.6% of the popular vote to be the new Ohio representative for the National Statuary Hall Collection in Washington, D.C.
Akron native and astronaut Judith Resnik was another candidate for the new statue. She received 2.8% of the vote. Other contenders for the position were the Wright Brothers, President Ulysses S. Grant, and Jesse Owens.
Please read more about Resnik and her important contribution to history below.
Judith Arlene Resnik
April 5, 1949 – January 28, 1986
Judith Resnik was born into a world on the verge of major social and technological change. Her journey to adulthood encountered a country experiencing enormous turmoil and social and political change including the Korean War, Vietnam War, Cold War, Civil Rights Movement, and the Women’s Rights Movement.
Amidst this environment of change and uncertainty Resnik pursued her passion and excelled regardless of obstacles faced. Resnik was a diligent student who persisted at any activity she engaged in. She practiced the piano for an hour everyday even though she often hated it. Barbara Cheek, a childhood friend recalls this about Judy, “She could see things that I, as a child, couldn’t. She could delay gratification: Perhaps I don’t want to practice piano now, but maybe it will be useful later.” Resnik attended Firestone High School and was a member of many clubs including the French club, chemistry club, and math club. She was the only girl in her math club. Donald Nutter, her math teacher recalls “I can still see this little, short brunet in bobby socks and saddle shoes, quiet as a mouse. If you had a question no one else could answer, you could call on her.” No doubt! Resnik achieved perfect scores on her Scholastic Aptitude Test – she definitely knew a few answers. She also was valedictorian of her class graduating with a 4.2 grade point average.
Resnik’s math and science credentials made her a highly pursued candidate by colleges across the country. She attended Carnegie Mellon University, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering in 1970, a rare feat for a female of that time. Resnik remained goal focused throughout a time of anti-war marches and serious social and political turmoil, going on to become employed with RCA Corp. in Moorestown, N.J. and pursuing her doctorate from the University of Maryland. After she obtained her Ph.D. in electrical engineering in 1977 she moved to El Segundo, California where she was employed by Xerox Corp. By that time Resnik had applied to the astronaut training program.
Resnik learned of the astronaut training opportunity from a bulletin board on campus. It wasn’t until after she moved to Segundo that she learned she was accepted. She took a huge cut in pay leaving Xerox to become an astronaut. Resnik was one of the first women to be accepted into the astronaut program. Apart from her pioneering role as a female astronaut she earned the respect of her peers. Mike Mullane, a self-described “male-sexist pig”, professed respect and affection for Judy and shares many humorous male/female anecdotes about the time he shared with Resnik aboard the space shuttle, Discovery, in his book “Riding Rockets: The Outrageous Tales of a Space Shuttle Astronaut”. He states, “Judy opened my male sexist-pig eyes to the reality that women could do the astronaut job as well as any man.”
Judy Resnik was part of the seven-person crew of the first mission of the space shuttle “Discovery.” During this mission Resnik performed biomedical research and helped deploy satelite equipment. Two years later Resnik was a mission specialist aboard the Challenger space shuttle. Shortly after lift-off the Challenger exploded killing eveyrone on board.
It is certain that Resnik would not want to be remembered as someone killed in a disaster. Her legacy is one of courage, focus, kindness and singularity, qualities that made her a pioneer of her time. Yet, Resnik still remained a grounded individual who made time to play piano, sing songs, and ride bikes with a latchkey child in her Jacksonville, Florida neighborhood. Resnik not only overcame gender barriers in pusuit of her goals but she also became a great role model for generations to come. As one young fan wrote, “Everyone should remember how … wisely she spent her time on Earth.”
Vote to have Judith Arlene Resnik stand for Ohio in the National Statuary Hall in Washington, D.C. You can obtain a ballot and learn more about the Ohio Statuary Initiative here.
Galloway, Barbara. “A Private Astronaut.” Akron Beacon Journal. 17 June 1984.
Images courtesy of the NASA Johnson Space Center. http://images.jsc.nasa.gov
Mullane, Mike. Riding Rockets: The Outrageous Tales of a Space Shuttle Astronaut. New York: Scribner, 2006.
On July 23, 2004 President George W. Bush posthumously awarded Dr. Resnik the Congressional Space Medal of Honor, recognizing astronauts who have distinguished themselves by exceptionally meritorious efforts and contributions to the welfare of the nation and of mankind. Her contributions to society, science, and history as well as her intellectual and personal strengths make her a perfect candidate to represent Ohio in National Statuary Hall in Washington, D.C.
