Obama nominates MIT professor for NASA's No. 2 spot

NASA's second-highest ranking office has been vacant for more than a year since Lori Garver departed as deputy administrator under Charlie Bolden.

Last week, President Barack Obama nominated MIT Prof. Dava Newman to fill the post, subject to Senate approval.

"It's very exciting, and an enormous honor," Newman told the university's news office. "Aerospace engineering, of course, is my passion."

A professor of aeronautics and astronautics, Newman is known for work including the design of a more mobile, lighter and form-fitting spacesuit. MIT said her research has focused on quantifying astronaut performance in space.