2016, leading to speculation that she might be appointed NASA administrator under Donald Trump. Awards and honors As well as USAF Command Pilot (Astronaut) wings, Collins' awards and decorations include the Legion of Merit, the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal with an oak leaf cluster, the Air Force Commendation Medal with an oak leaf cluster, the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal, NASA Exceptional Service Medal, and four NASA Space Flight Medals. She received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement in 2001, the Free Spirit Award, National Space Trophy, and Adler Planetarium Women in Space Science Award in 2006, the Space Foundation Douglas S. Morrow Public Outreach Award in 2007, the Harmon Trophy in 2020, and the Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy in 2022. Collins was inducted into the National Women's Hall Of Fame in 1995, the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 2009, the United States Astronaut Hall of Fame on 19 April 2013, and the Texas Aviation Hall Of Fame at the Lone Star Flight Museum in Houston, Texas, on 6 May 2020. She was recognized by the Encyclopædia Britannica as one of 300 women who have changed the world. An astronomical observatory—the Eileen Collins Observatory run by Corning Community College—is named in her honor, as is the main entrance boulevard to Syracuse Hancock International Airport. One of her graduate school alma maters, Webster University, awarded her an honorary Doctor of Science in 1996, and in 2021, she received Syracuse University's highest alumni honor, the George Arents Award. University College Dublin of the National University of Ireland also conferred an honorary Doctor of Science degree on her on 14 June 2006. Publications Notes References Further reading External links Official website 1956 births American women flight instructors American flight instructors American people of Irish descent American test pilots Aviators from New York (state) Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur Corning Community College alumni American women aviators Harmon Trophy winners Living people Military personnel from New York (state) NASA civilian astronauts People from Elmira, New York Recipients of the Defense Superior Service Medal Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) Space Shuttle program astronauts Stanford University alumni Syracuse University College of Arts and Sciences alumni U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School alumni United States Air Force Academy faculty United States Air Force astronauts United States Air Force officers United States Astronaut Hall of