From collection Member List
A veteran of three space shuttle flights, Dr. Rhea Seddon, Lambda, University of Califorrnia, Berkeley, is a physician and retired astronaut.
Rhea Seddon was born in Murfreesboro, Tennessee on November 8, 1947. She attended the University of California, Berkeley, where she was a member of Lambda chapter and graduated with a B.A. in physiology. In 1973, she received a doctorate of medicine from the University of Tennessee. As a young physician, Dr. Seddon worked as an Emergency Department doctor, a surgeon, and performed clinical research into the effects of radiation therapy on nutrition in cancer patients.
In 1978, Dr. Seddon was selected as one of the first six women to enter the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Astronaut Program. She served as a Mission Specialist on flights aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery in 1985 and on the Space Shuttle Columbia in 1991 and as a Payload Commander in charge of all science activities on her final flight on the Space Shuttle Columbia in 1993. Dr. Seddon has spent a total of 30 days in space.
Leaving NASA after 19 years in 1997, Dr. Seddon became the Assistant Chief Medical Officer of the Vanderbilt Medical Group in Nashville, a position she held for 11 years. There, she used her NASA training to lead an initiative to improve patient safety, quality of care, and team effectiveness through the use of an aviation-based model of Crew Resource Management. Now with LifeWings Partners, LLC she teaches this concept to healthcare institutions across the country.
Rhea Seddon was born in Murfreesboro, Tennessee on November 8, 1947. She attended the University of California, Berkeley, where she was a member of Lambda chapter and graduated with a B.A. in physiology. In 1973, she received a doctorate of medicine from the University of Tennessee. As a young physician, Dr. Seddon worked as an Emergency Department doctor, a surgeon, and performed clinical research into the effects of radiation therapy on nutrition in cancer patients.
In 1978, Dr. Seddon was selected as one of the first six women to enter the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Astronaut Program. She served as a Mission Specialist on flights aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery in 1985 and on the Space Shuttle Columbia in 1991 and as a Payload Commander in charge of all science activities on her final flight on the Space Shuttle Columbia in 1993. Dr. Seddon has spent a total of 30 days in space.
Leaving NASA after 19 years in 1997, Dr. Seddon became the Assistant Chief Medical Officer of the Vanderbilt Medical Group in Nashville, a position she held for 11 years. There, she used her NASA training to lead an initiative to improve patient safety, quality of care, and team effectiveness through the use of an aviation-based model of Crew Resource Management. Now with LifeWings Partners, LLC she teaches this concept to healthcare institutions across the country.
Related Items
Rhea Seddon to Lois Vernon Letter, August 3, 1984
Astronaut Rhea Seddon,Lambda, University of California, Berkeley, writes that her next flight has been rescheduled to February 1985. She also mentions items she is taking with her into space.
First Sigma Kappa in Space
Dr. Rhea Seddon, Lambda, University of California, Berkeley, becomes the first Sigma Kappa in space. She carried her Sigma Kappa badge on the space shuttle with her.
Crew Arrives in Florida for Launch of Space Shuttle Newspaper Clipping, April 10, 1985
This article from the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal discusses the upcoming launch of the Space Shuttle Discovery, which included among its astronauts Sigma Kappa Rhea Seddon, Lambda, University of California, Berkeley. The article includes a...
