COUNTRY OF BIRTH

Malaysia

INDUSTRY

Science and Technology

TOP ACHIEVEMENTS

Mazlan Binti Othman is a Malaysian astrophysicist. She is known for her achievements in Space Science in her as role Director of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs.

EARLY LIFE AND EDUCATION

Mazlan Othman was born in Seremban, Malaysia in 1951. She attended boarding school in Negeri Sembilan where her advanced mathematical ability became apparent, and she was enrolled in a scientific curriculum. Othman’s family encouraged her to pursue a career as a medical doctor, but she decided to pursue a career in physics. After being awarded with a Colombo plan scholarship, she earned her BSc degree with honours at the University of Otago in New Zealand in 1975. She worked at a university in Malaysia as a tutor before she returned to Otago to earn her Ph.D in physics in 1981.

ACHIEVEMENTS

After returning to Malaysia as her country’s first astrophysicist, Mazlan Othman started a campaign to build awareness and foster understanding of astronomy. She was given the responsibility of the Prime Minister’s Department’s Planetarium Division. In her role as Director General of the Space Science Studies Division Othman was involved overseeing the development of the Negara Planetarium in Kuala Lumpur and launching the microsatellite development program. Her next role was that of Director of the UN Office for Outer Space Affairs in Vienna, as appointed by Kofi Annan. After serving in this capacity between 2010 and 2014, Othman was requested to return to Malaysia by the Prime Minister to work as the Director General of the National Space Agency of Malaysia. Her work here led to the first Malaysian astronaut being launched. Throughout her career Othman has extensively dealt with issues that involve the risks posed by near-earth asteroids, space debris collisions and space law between countries.

ADDITIONAL FACTS

First woman to earn a Ph.D in physics since University of Otago was founded in 1869

Performed research at Kiso Observatory in Japan for a semester

It was incorrectly reported that Othman was nominated as earth’s ‘ambassador for extra-terrestrial contact’