COLUMBUS, Ohio — Two Ohio State alumni and NASA scientists get the opportunity of a lifetime on Saturday at the 'Shoe during halftime of the Buckeyes' game against Marshall.
Jeff and Molly Radigan graduated from Ohio State in 2005; Jeff with his master's in electrical engineering and Molly with a degree in aeronautical and astronautical engineering.
"We actually got married six days later here in Columbus. That was a lot all at once. I don't know if I'd recommend it, but we wanted to get married here while our friends were," Molly said.
Nearly two decades later, the couple posed together in the same spot in front of Ohio Stadium. The couple was recognized during the Buckeye game Saturday afternoon for their leadership contributions at NASA.
"We have so many great memories, so many ways. We had fun here with our friends at the time and then Ohio State has meant a lot to us in our career as well, and it really prepared us well for working at NASA," Jeff said.
Jeff is a flight director who will be the lead on the Artemis II team, sending humans back to the moon for the first time since 1972. Molly also contributes to NASA's human space missions as the deputy chief of the Spaceflight Systems Division managing the team in mission control.
"We work with so many wonderful people at NASA, and so to be the two who get to come here and represent is very special," Molly said.
The Ohio State University Marching Band performed a special NASA-themed halftime show on Saturday, honoring the Radigan's careers and celebrating NASA accomplishments.
"We do such amazing missions and it gets the attention of the public, and mostly it inspires other people to go into science and engineering careers," Molly said.
There are 201 Ohio State alumni who work agency-wide at NASA More than 100 work at NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland.