About Mazlan Othman
Mazlan binti Othman (Jawi: مصلان بنت عثمان; born 11 December 1951) is a Malaysian astrophysicist whose work has pioneered Malaysia's participation in space exploration. She was her country's first astrophysicist, and helped to create a curriculum in astrophysics at the national university, as well as to build public awareness and understanding of astronomy and space issues. She was appointed director general of Angkasa, the Malaysian National Space Agency and served as the director of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs in Vienna from 2007 to 2014. == Early life and education == Born in Seremban, Malaysia, Mazlan attended Kolej Tunku Kurshiah, a Malaysian prominent boarding school in Seremban, Negeri Sembilan. Her aptitude for mathematics led to enrolment in a science curriculum. Although her family encouraged her to become a physician MD, she decided to pursue physics instead. She attended the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand, on a Colombo plan scholarship, earning a BSc. (Honours) in 1975. She then joined the National University of Malaysia (UKM) as a tutor, but negotiated an extension to her scholarship and returned to Otago, earning her Ph.D. in physics in 1981 – the first woman to do so since the university was founded in 1869. == Career == Mazlan Othman returned to Malaysia as the country's first astrophysicist, and worked to create a curriculum in astrophysics at the national university, as well as to build public awareness and understanding of astronomy and space issues.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.