Dr. Linda J. Spilker, a planetary scientist, was the Cassini mission Project Scientist. Her research interests include the evolution and dynamics of Saturn’s rings. She joined the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in 1977, initially working on the Voyager missions that were launched the same year. She became a Cassini mission scientist in 1990. Since 2010, she was the Cassini mission project scientist, a role in which she directed the entire team’s scientific investigations. She is the author of dozens of scientific studies and recipient of more than 20 professional awards.