Dr. Catherine Jackson, professor of exercise science and former chair of the Department of Kinesiology, is retiring at the end of this academic year. A retirement celebration for her will be held from noon to 2 p.m. Thursday, May 8, in the South Gym, Room 132.

Jackson was the founding chair of the Department of Kinesiology when it was created in 1997 and served in this position until 2005. She led the development of the department into a top-rated educational program. She also spearheaded the construction and transformation of the Human Performance Lab, establishing the lab as a state-of-the-art facility. In a long and distinguished career as a classroom instructor, she taught several highly successful students, including major league baseball player Aaron Judge. A highlight of her teaching career was being awarded an Outstanding Academic Advisor Award in 2016. She was also a Fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine and the Chair of Public Education for a number of years,

She is a noted researcher in exercise physiology, human performance, muscle physiology and space physiology. A NASA researcher from the early days of the “Space Race” until now, Jackson did pioneering research in human performance aspects of spaceflight and the physiological effects of microgravity, in support of the Mission to Mars. She coordinated and supervised several NASA launch and recovery laboratories, and was the chief research technician of the Amoeba Project. This was one of the earliest research projects on living organisms in space. She contributed to the development of the rehydration formula for astronauts, which is now commercially available as The Right Stuff. She is also an internationally acclaimed author, having published numerous peer-reviewed journal articles. She edited the two books “Nutrition for the Recreational Athlete” (1995) and “Nutrition and the Strength Athlete” (2001).

Jackson competed, coached and taught fencing for decades. She won over 100 medals in competitive fencing and was twice the State of Colorado Women’s Foil Champion. She was a singer for many years with the Fresno Master Chorale, and performed at Carnegie Hall in New York City with a different choir.

She plans to spend her retirement working on a second edition of “Nutrition and the Strength Athlete,” and spending time with her family.