Shirley Thomas (USC professor)
Encyclopedia
Shirley Thomas Ph.D. was a radio/television actress/writer/producer, author, and professor in the Master of Professional Writing Program
at the University of Southern California
.
, the daughter of an electrical engineer and a homemaker, Dr. Shirley Thomas earned her B.A. in 1960 and her Ph.D. in Communications in 1967 from the University of Sussex
. She was also awarded a diploma by the Russian Federation of Cosmonautics in 1995.
She died from cancer on July 21, 2005.
.
http://www.lastc.org/technograph/tg_1998_09.pdf. She authored fifteen books, including her eight volume series on astronaut
s Men of Space (published between 1960 and 1968). She also organized and chaired the Woman's Space Symposia from 1962-1973. In 1961 Thomas was the recipient of the Air Force Association's Airpower Arts and Letters Award and in 1991 she received the Aerospace Excellence Award from the California Museum Foundation. She was a Fellow in the British Interplanetary Society and acted as a consultant for the Stanford Research Institute (SRI) and Jet Propulsion Laboratory
(JPL).
Beginning in the 1970s, Thomas organized the Theodore von Karman
Stamp committee, succeeding in 1992 in getting a U.S. stamp issued in his honor http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://www.geocities.com/space_stamps/space/karman.html&date=2009-10-25+22:14:58. She also founded and chaired the Aerospace Historical Society, an organization that for 22 years has presented the international Von Karman Wings award to outstanding and innovative contributors to the world of aerospace.
(as well as the local Los Angeles Chapter, LASTC) taught “Technical and Fundamental Writing” in the Master of Professional Writing Program
, University of Southern California for well over three decades http://www.lastc.org/technograph/tg_1997_07.pdf.
Master of Professional Writing Program
The Master of Professional Writing Program is a graduate creative writing program which offers a variety of courses at the University of Southern California's College of Letters, Arts & Sciences....
at the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
.
Background
Born in Glendale, CaliforniaGlendale, California
Glendale is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the city population is 191,719, down from 194,973 at the 2000 census. making it the third largest city in Los Angeles County and the 22nd largest city in the state of California...
, the daughter of an electrical engineer and a homemaker, Dr. Shirley Thomas earned her B.A. in 1960 and her Ph.D. in Communications in 1967 from the University of Sussex
University of Sussex
The University of Sussex is an English public research university situated next to the East Sussex village of Falmer, within the city of Brighton and Hove. The University received its Royal Charter in August 1961....
. She was also awarded a diploma by the Russian Federation of Cosmonautics in 1995.
She died from cancer on July 21, 2005.
Hollywood
Active in Hollywood for a number of decades, Thomas conducted red carpet interviews at motion picture premiers and special event broadcasts from 1952 to 1956. She was also involved in the coverage of the New Year’s Day Rose Parade for CBS and later did broadcasts for Voice of AmericaVoice of America
Voice of America is the official external broadcast institution of the United States federal government. It is one of five civilian U.S. international broadcasters working under the umbrella of the Broadcasting Board of Governors . VOA provides a wide range of programming for broadcast on radio...
.
NASA
Thomas was also a prominent figure in the early days of the United States Space ProgramNASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
http://www.lastc.org/technograph/tg_1998_09.pdf. She authored fifteen books, including her eight volume series on astronaut
Astronaut
An astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft....
s Men of Space (published between 1960 and 1968). She also organized and chaired the Woman's Space Symposia from 1962-1973. In 1961 Thomas was the recipient of the Air Force Association's Airpower Arts and Letters Award and in 1991 she received the Aerospace Excellence Award from the California Museum Foundation. She was a Fellow in the British Interplanetary Society and acted as a consultant for the Stanford Research Institute (SRI) and Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Jet Propulsion Laboratory is a federally funded research and development center and NASA field center located in the San Gabriel Valley area of Los Angeles County, California, United States. The facility is headquartered in the city of Pasadena on the border of La Cañada Flintridge and Pasadena...
(JPL).
Beginning in the 1970s, Thomas organized the Theodore von Karman
Theodore von Karman
Theodore von Kármán was a Hungarian-American mathematician, aerospace engineer and physicist who was active primarily in the fields of aeronautics and astronautics. He is responsible for many key advances in aerodynamics, notably his work on supersonic and hypersonic airflow characterization...
Stamp committee, succeeding in 1992 in getting a U.S. stamp issued in his honor http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://www.geocities.com/space_stamps/space/karman.html&date=2009-10-25+22:14:58. She also founded and chaired the Aerospace Historical Society, an organization that for 22 years has presented the international Von Karman Wings award to outstanding and innovative contributors to the world of aerospace.
Technical Writing
Thomas, an Associate Fellow and advocate for the national Society for Technical CommunicationSociety for Technical Communication
The Society for Technical Communication is a professional society for the advancement of the theory and practice of technical communication.-Overview:...
(as well as the local Los Angeles Chapter, LASTC) taught “Technical and Fundamental Writing” in the Master of Professional Writing Program
Master of Professional Writing Program
The Master of Professional Writing Program is a graduate creative writing program which offers a variety of courses at the University of Southern California's College of Letters, Arts & Sciences....
, University of Southern California for well over three decades http://www.lastc.org/technograph/tg_1997_07.pdf.
Scholarship
- The Thomas mss., Manuscripts Department, Lilly Library, Indiana University
- Men of Space: Profiles of the Leaders in Space Research, Development, and Exploration, vol. 1-8, (1960–1968).
- Theodore von Kármán Memorial Seminar, 1965: Proceedings of the Seminar ... Held in Los Angeles 12 May 1965 (1966).
- Computers: Their History, Present Applications, and Future (1965).
- Satellite Tracking Facilities (1963).
Obituaries
- LASTC Obituary (scroll down to p. 5)