Claudia Alexander

thumb|Claudia Alexander Claudia Alexander (May 30, 1959 – July 11, 2015) was a Canadian-born American research scientist specializing in geophysics and planetary science. She worked for the United States Geological Survey and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. She was the last project manager of NASA's Galileo mission to Jupiter and until the time of her death had served as project manager and scientist of NASA's role in the European-led Rosetta mission to study Comet Churyumov–Gerasimenko. Quotes There's a deep thirst and hunger to know more about space, literally because of the Star Trek phenomenon. http://www.msgphoto.com/scientists/alexander.html Interview and photograph of Alexander by Max S. Gerber We want to find [life]. Absolutely. And even now it's really disappointing when you think that, if there is extraterrestrial life, it’s probably bacteria and microbial life. Because you want Star Wars. I want to meet Spock. I think that, as intellectual beings, we fantasize about meeting other intellects similar to our own. It's just a basic human desire.http://www.msgphoto.com/scientists/alexander.html Interview and photograph of Alexander by Max S. Gerber …you go home and maybe on the evening news you see something that reminds you that you're exploring space. Something that reminds me that I am one of a four-hundred member squad that is flying a spacecraft, exploring the solar system. Every once in a while you step back and you see that this is really amazing.http://www.msgphoto.com/scientists/alexander.html Interview and photograph of Alexander by Max S. Gerber I love working in the space program on one-of-a-kind engineering applications, like flying spacecraft, which is really a team effort. There are so many aspects of keeping a piece of engineering working and operating when it's thousands of kilometers away from you. The ingenuity required is amazing. To be an effective leader you have to be a good listener -- listening even to those who disagree with you -- and a good communicator; you have to be persuasive. References External links Category:Geologists from the United States Category:People from Vancouver Category:Scientists from California Category:1959 births Category:2015 deaths Category:University of California, Berkeley alumni Category:University of California, Los Angeles alumni