Dr. Jennifer Levasseur received her BA in history from the University of Michigan in 1999, an MA in American Studies from The George Washington University in 2002, and a PhD in history at George Mason University in 2014. Her forthcoming book, Through Astronaut Eyes: Photography from Early Human Spaceflight (Purdue University Press, July 2020), looks at the cultural significance of astronaut photography. She currently serves as the responsible curator for the National Air and Space Museum's astronaut cameras and chronographs, as well as the Space Shuttle and International Space Station programs.
Prior to her work at the National Air and Space Museum, she worked as a historic interpreter at George Washington's Mount Vernon. She started her Smithsonian career with an internship in the National Portrait Gallery's Department of Photography. There, she cataloged photographs acquired through donation and developed strategies for recording portrait information in the museum's electronic database.
Since 2002, Jennifer has also worked at the Air and Space Museum on artifact loans, serves as the Program Committee chair for the biennial Mutual Concerns of Air and Space Museums conference, and as a department representative on digital projects. She curated the 2015 spacewalk anniversary exhibit Outside the Spacecraft: 50 Years of Extra-Vehicular Activity and currently serves as exhibition curator for the Moving Beyond Earth exhibition.