NASA Astronaut Will Be Honored Guest at Zavtra.ua Awards Event

KIEV, JANUARY 23rd -- A NASA astronaut will be the guest of the Victor Pinchuk Foundation during events at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, and at an educational awards ceremony in Ukraine this week.

Stefanyshyn-Piper is invited to visit Ukraine by Victor Pinchuk, founder of Interpipe Corporation. The first trip to her father's native country will spend for four days - since January 28th to January 31st.

Heidemarie M. Stefanyshyn-Piper, a Captain in the U.S. Navy, will attend the Davos-Ukrainian Lunch at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Friday, January 26. The luncheon, organized by the Victor Pinchuk Foundation and Interpipe, will include discussions of Ukraine's political and economic future. Ukraine's Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, EU Commissioner for Enlargement Olli Rehn, former President of Poland Aleksander Kwasniewski and George Soros will attend.

Following the events in Davos, Stefanyshyn-Piper will travel to Kiev to participate in the award ceremony for Zavtra.ua, an educational stipend program funded by the Victor Pinchuk Foundation. The ceremony will take place on January 31st at the "Antonov's" plane-building plant near Kiev. Zavtra.ua  is the first large-scale educational stipend program in Ukraine under which the nation's most talented students are selected and provided with financial support as well as networking opportunities to continue their education and better serve their country.

Stefanyshyn-Piper was born in St. Paul Minnesota, graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1984, and received a Masters Degree from MIT in 1985. She served in various positions in the U.S. Navy before being selected as an astronaut candidate by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in 1996. She served as a mission specialist on a space shuttle flight in September 2006, spending 12 days in space, including 13 hours and 8 minutes outside the shuttle working on the International Space Station.

The Victor Pinchuk Foundation is one of the largest private Ukrainian philanthropic foundation. Its goals are to contribute to the modernization of Ukraine and to support the emergence of a new generation of Ukrainians who are committed to serving the development of their country.

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