Iowan astronaut Peggy Whitson, Grinnell College grad Kumail Nanjiani make Time's 100 most influential people list

Aaron Young
The Des Moines Register

Iowa-born NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson and comedian Kumail Nanjiani, a Grinnell College graduate, landed on Time Magazine’s Top 100 most influential people list.

Peggy Whitson and Kumail Nanjiani were selected to Time Magazine’s Top 100 most influential people list

The 2018 list features some of the world’s most significant artists, leaders, scientists, activists and entrepreneurs selected by the magazine's editors.  

"Time’s annual list of the world’s most influential people is a designation of individuals whose time, in our estimation, is now," Time's editor-in-chief Edward Felsenthal said. "The Time 100 isn’t a measure of power, though many on the list wield it. Nor is it a collection of milestones accumulated. As our staff considers candidates, we often find ourselves wowed by those with stunning lifetime achievements. 

"But editorial director Dan Macsai, maestro of the Time 100, brings us back to the key question: Was this their year?"

For Whitson and Nanjiani, it most certainly was.

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Peggy Whitson holding her National Geographic March 2018 cover issue Friday, April 13, 2018. She holds the U.S. record for 665 days in space during her three missions aboard the International Space Station.

Whitson, 58, made the list as a pioneer. She grew up near tiny Beaconsfield in southern Iowa and graduated from Mount Ayr High School in 1978.

She returned to Earth in September after commanding the International Space Station, spending 665 days in outer space. That total is more than any other American and any other woman worldwide.

Furthermore, Whitson is no stranger to breaking records. She's set new marks for the most spacewalks by a woman (eight) and most hours spent spacewalking (50-plus). Whitson's also the oldest woman to be in space.

She recently accepted the Robert D. Ray Pillar of Character Award in Des Moines.

In her Time 100 report, Thomas Pesquet, a French aerospace engineer and European Space Agency astronaut, said that when he first learned he was partnering with Whitson in space, he "felt an unusual tinge of pressure."

"I would have to meet a very high professional standard — that’s what her name means in the astronaut community," Pesquet said of Whitson. "I could only imagine the challenges she had to overcome, moving from a farm in rural Iowa to academia to the International Space Station, cracking through the glass ceiling with every step."

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He called Whitson "the most hardworking and strong-willed person I’ve ever met" who "never accepts limitations."

"It’s no wonder that Peggy has almost single-handedly redefined the role of women in space exploration," Pesquet said.

You can read Pesquet's full write-up about Whitson here.

Kumail Nanjiani: Feb. 21, 1978.

Nanjiani, 39, was born and raised in Karachi, Pakistan, but moved to the U.S. to go to Grinnell College. He graduated in 2001, double majoring in computer science and philosophy.

In May 2017, he returned to Grinnell's campus and gave a commencement speech at the college's graduation ceremony.

"Before America was my home, Iowa was my home," he said.

Nanjiani stars as Dinesh Chugtai in HBO’s “Silicon Valley." He and his wife, Emily V. Gordon, recently wrote and starred in "The Big Sick," a romantic comedy film that was an Academy Award nominee in the original screenplay category.

Fellow comedian and director Judd Apatow called the couple's script "so strong, it was undeniable."

"There are so many neglected stories in movies today," Apatow said in Nanjiani's Time 100 report. "Kumail and Emily took theirs and made it heartfelt and funny, and at an enormous personal risk — because there’s nothing more humiliating than sharing the most important story in your life and having the movie be awful."

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Apatow added how Nanjiani, who also made the list as a pioneer, "is the new comedic voice that we need."

"He reminds people how fundamental a misunderstanding it is that a community of almost 2 billion people is to be feared," he said. "We’re lucky to have Kumail. We need a thousand more." 

You can read Apatow's full write-up about Nanjiani  here. To view the full list, check it out here.

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