When Senator Barbara Mikulski of Maryland was little, her parents took her to a movie about chemist and physicist Marie Curie. Thus began her lifelong love of science. Later she got a chemistry set and imagined herself winning two Nobel Prizes. But she was clumsy in the lab, so she switched to debate and drama, then became a social worker.
Once elected to the House of Representatives, Mikulski says, “I figured if I wasn’t going to develop the cure for cancer, discover a planet, or develop a tsunami warning system, I could be on the committees that support all of this.”
Although Mikulski—elected to the Senate in 1986—is committed to medical research, her true love is space.
“I’d be a Trekkie in two hot seconds,” she says. But she admits a more realistic job would be an astronomer.
“While I would love to go up to the distant planets and find new galaxies,” she says, “I wouldn’t want to be an astronaut. I don’t quite see myself in the costume.”
Nancy Doyle Palmer is a DC writer whose fantasy is to be a backup singer with Kool and the Gang.
This article appears in our October 2005 issue of Washingtonian.
Barbara Mikulski: "I’d be a Trekkie in two hot seconds."
Maryland Senator Barbara Mikulski is leaving her post in 2016. Perhaps, a career in astronomy is next?
When Senator Barbara Mikulski of Maryland was little, her parents took her to a movie about chemist and physicist Marie Curie. Thus began her lifelong love of science. Later she got a chemistry set and imagined herself winning two Nobel Prizes. But she was clumsy in the lab, so she switched to debate and drama, then became a social worker.
Once elected to the House of Representatives, Mikulski says, “I figured if I wasn’t going to develop the cure for cancer, discover a planet, or develop a tsunami warning system, I could be on the committees that support all of this.”
Although Mikulski—elected to the Senate in 1986—is committed to medical research, her true love is space.
“I’d be a Trekkie in two hot seconds,” she says. But she admits a more realistic job would be an astronomer.
“While I would love to go up to the distant planets and find new galaxies,” she says, “I wouldn’t want to be an astronaut. I don’t quite see myself in the costume.”
Nancy Doyle Palmer is a DC writer whose fantasy is to be a backup singer with Kool and the Gang.
This article appears in our October 2005 issue of Washingtonian.
Most Popular in News & Politics
What to Expect From the Lady Gaga Concert Tonight at Nats Park
A Facebook Group Is Helping DC Women Dig Up Dirt on Potential Dates
This New DC Bookstore Sells Only Queer-Focused Books
Donald Trump and Ketchup: A History
Washington DC’s 500 Most Influential People
Washingtonian Magazine
August 2022: Taco Town
View IssueSubscribe
Follow Us on Social
Follow Us on Social
Related
Guest List: 5 People We’d Love to Hang Out With This August
Why Do We Care So Much About Presidential Pooches?
The Tiny DC Art Space With a 20-Year History
Telling the Stories of 7,700 People Buried at Arlington Cemetery
More from News & Politics
Adams Morgan’s 18th Street Will Become a Pedestrian Zone on Select Sundays
Virginia Drivers Are Buying More Pro-Choice License Plates
Monkeypox: What Washingtonians Need to Know
Guest List: 5 People We’d Love to Hang Out With This August
This New DC Bookstore Sells Only Queer-Focused Books
STUDY: Commanders Fans Are NFL’s Least Optimistic
What to Expect From the Lady Gaga Concert Tonight at Nats Park
Covid, Inflation, Politics—They’re All Affecting Your Sleep. Here’s How to Snooze More Soundly.