UVM Graduate Named to NASA‘s Newest Astronaut Class
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Imelda Muller, a 2017 graduate of the University of Vermont’s Larner college of Medicine, has been selected as one of ten candidates in NASA’s latest astronaut class, the agency announced today. Chosen from a pool of over 8,000 applicants, Muller represents a historic cohort - the first in NASA’s history to include more women than men.
Muller, originally from Copake Falls, New York, was a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy and, at the time of her selection, was completing a residency in anesthesia and critical medicine at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. Her selection marks a important achievement for UVM and its medical program,known for producing physicians who impact both Vermont and the wider world.
“Medicine gives you the opportunity to mesh with all types of different entities,” Muller said, reflecting on her career path.
UVM President Marlene Tromp lauded Muller’s accomplishment, stating, “UVM’s larner College of Medicine has always produced physicians who make a positive and profound impact on Vermont and the wider world. It’s fantastic to think that Dr. Muller has already extended that mission to the depths of the seas,in her work for Naval Sea Systems,and now into the stars.”
Larner College Dean Richard Page echoed this sentiment, calling the appointment “a testament to her unusual dedication but also a shining moment for our entire medical community.”
The new astronaut candidates will embark on a rigorous two-year foundational training program encompassing robotics, geology, space medicine, and other critical disciplines. Successful completion of the program and subsequent evaluations will lead to their inclusion in NASA’s active astronaut corps.
Muller fondly remembers her time in Vermont, citing the state’s active lifestyle, seasonal sports, maple creemees, and supportive community. she intends to leverage her medical background, particularly her focus on how the human body adapts to extreme environments, during her astronaut training.
“When I was a little kiddo, I definitely spent a lot of time staring up at the stars,” Muller recalled. “I grew up in a small town in upstate New York, and the nights were really really dark, and you could see what felt like almost every star in the universe.” She says that feeling of limitless possibility persists today, stating, “like the limits of the universe don’t exist.”
