Professor Emerita Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Dr Mazlan Othman

Malaysia’s first astrophysicist, Professor Emerita Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Dr Mazlan Othman is an accomplished scientist celebrated for her pivotal role in advancing Malaysia’s presence in space exploration and public understanding of astronomy. Her illustrious career has earned her multiple national and international awards, including the Commander of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia (PSM), which conferred upon her the title Tan Sri in 2021.

After obtaining her PhD in astrophysics from the University of Otago in New Zealand—becoming the first woman in the university’s 120-year history to earn a doctorate in physics—Dr Mazlan returned to Malaysia in 1981 to teach at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. There, she pioneered an astrophysics curriculum and was appointed Professor of Astrophysics in 1994, marking a new era for scientific education in the country.

She was seconded to the Prime Minister’s Department in 1990 to establish the National Planetarium, where she became its first Director-General and led the design and manufacture of Malaysia’s first remote-sensing microsatellite, TiungSAT-1, launched in 2000. Her leadership extended internationally when she was appointed Director of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) from 1999 to 2002 and again from 2007 to 2013. Between her two terms at the UN, she served as founding Director-General of ANGKASA, Malaysia’s National Space Agency, from 2002 to 2007, establishing the National Space Centre and the Langkawi National Observatory, and spearheading the Angkasawan Programme that sent Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor to the International Space Station in 2007.

Following her tenure at UNOOSA, Dr Mazlan served as Project Director of Mega Science 3.0 at the Academy of Sciences Malaysia before assuming the role of Director of the International Science Council (ISC) Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (ROAP) from 2017 to 2021. Through these positions, she continued to champion scientific collaboration and policy development across borders.

Expanding her horizons beyond the laboratory and lecture hall, Dr Mazlan has also explored the intersection of science and art. Her collaboration with celebrated Malaysian dancer Ramli Ibrahim, Meniti Cakerawala, merges astrophysics and classical dance into a multi-sensory exploration of cosmic themes. Now in its second iteration in 2025 and inspired by her book Cosmic Connections, the production tours eight Malaysian cities, blending the scientific perspective of the cosmos with the expressive power of performance.