Women in Aerospace

If you missed the screening for GOOD NIGHT OPPY a few weeks ago, you can still experience the remarkable true story of Opportunity. GOOD NIGHT OPPY is now available to watch anytime on Amazon Prime.

Watch now: https://www.amazon.com/Good-Night-Oppy-Ryan-White/dp/B0B8JMCCJR

Happy Tuesday! Today's is Dr. Dava Newman, WIA's 2001 Aerospace Educator Award and 2017 Leadership Award recipient. Dr. Newman is the director of the MIT Media Lab and a former deputy administrator of NASA, where she made a significant impact on NASA’s human exploration efforts, specifically developing and articulating the Human Journey to Mars plan, advocating for transformative aeronautics capabilities, and advocating for diversity and inclusion for NASA and the nation’s STEM initiatives.

Dr. Newman is a leader in advanced spacesuit design, astronaut performance, leadership development, innovation, and space policy. Her experiments have flown onboard the space shuttle, the Mir space station, and the International Space Station. Dr. Newman’s BioSuit™ was named by Time magazine a Best Invention of 2007, and the spacesuit has been exhibited at museums around the world. A dedicated educator and passionate STEM advocate, Newman is also a frequent lecturer and a prolific writer, authoring more than 300 research publications in journals and refereed conferences. She holds numerous patents for her compression technology designs.

WIA is honored to promote such a distinguished innovator and champion for women in STEM!

Dr. Sally Ride is this week's ! Dr. Ride was selected as a mission specialist astronaut with NASA Astronaut Group 8, the first class of NASA astronauts to include women. in 1983, she became the first American woman and the third woman to fly in space. She was the youngest American astronaut to have flown in space, having done so at the age of 32, and she is also the first astronaut known to have been a part of the LGBTQ+ community.

In 2001, she cofounded Sally Ride Science along with Dr. Tam O'Shaughnessy, Dr. Karen Flammer, and two like-minded friends to inspire young people in STEM and to promote STEM literacy. Their goal is to motivate more students—especially girls and minorities—to stick with STEM as they go through school.

Women in Aerospace honors Dr. Sally Ride's accomplished career and commitment to the future of women in STEM.

The WIA Foundation is excited to announce a new scholarship opportunity for undergraduate women studying engineering, math or science. Sponsored by , The Amr ElSawy Scholarship awarded by the WIA Foundation will award one student a $5,000 scholarship each year for the next five years. The first award will be granted for the 2023-2024 academic school year.

This Scholarship honors the work of its namesake, Noblis' former President and CEO, who retired last month. Mr. ElSawy's 15 years of leadership at Noblis largely fostered a more diverse and equitable workplace.

The Amr ElSawy Scholarship awarded by the WIA Foundation will not only encourage women to enter careers in the aerospace field, but will expand women's opportunities for leadership in aerospace and increase women's visibility in the aerospace community.

To learn more about The WIA Foundation's scholarship opportunities, visit https://www.womeninaerospacefoundation.org/foundation/

And it’s off! The Orion spacecraft has launched and will enter a distant retrograde orbit of the moon, traveling 40,000 miles beyond it and going further than any spacecraft intended to carry humans. Artemis I will pave the way for future missions to the lunar vicinity, including landing the first woman and first person of color on the surface of the Moon. 🚀 🌕

This week's is Estelle Condon, WIA's 2004 Lifetime Achievement Award recipient! Ms. Condon serves as the Associate Center Director for astrobiology and space programs at NASA's Ames Research Center. She began her NASA Ames career in 1980 as a research scientist in the Space Science Division, where she worked on a variety of stratospheric and tropospheric airborne experiments. She is also the first woman to fly an experiment on a NASA platform aircraft.

Today's is Kalpana Chawla, an Indian-born American astronaut and mechanical engineer who was the first woman of Indian origin to go to space. She first flew on Space Shuttle Columbia in 1997 as a mission specialist and primary robotic arm operator.

Her second flight was on STS-107, the final flight of Space Shuttle Columbia in 2003. Chawla was one of the seven crew members who died in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster when the spacecraft disintegrated during its re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere on 1 February 2003. Chawla was posthumously awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor, and several streets, universities, and institutions have been named in her honor. She is regarded as a national hero in India. Women in Aerospace is proud to highlight Chawla as a pioneer for women in the aerospace industry.

The deadline to register is today!

Join WIA on November 10th for our Webinar Series: How to Prepare Yourself for Promotions and Success at the Next Level with Emily Barrosse! In this webinar, we will look at ways to increase your career success through setting career goals, networking, communicating boldly, and developing and implementing a short and long-term plan.

Last chance to register: https://www.womeninaerospace.org/secure/eventreg/220.html

You're Invited! Multiple Locations Across the U.S.!

In addition to the screening of GOOD NIGHT OPPY that WIA is co-hosting with Amazon Prime this Thursday in Washington, DC, other locations around the United States have just been shared. If you are in one of these areas below, you are invited to screen the movie as a member and friend of Women in Aerospace.

Get passes for a theater near you: https://amazonscreenings.com/main/blp/T1BQWW1vdmll

On behalf of Amazon and Women in Aerospace, we are happy to invite you and a guest to the special screening of GOOD NIGHT OPPY this Thursday, November 3rd at 7 PM ET at Landmark's E Street Cinema (555 11th St NW, Washington, DC 20004). Watch the Official Trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggRJlI0GEcM

Check-in will begin at 6:15 PM ET and seating will be first come, first served. To RSVP, please click here: https://forms.gle/n9V6FaWvdoAAYGSS8

We look forward to seeing you there!

Today's is WIA's 1997 Outstanding Achievement Award Recipient, Dr. Ellen Ochoa! Dr. Ellen Ochoa, a veteran astronaut, was the 11th director of the Johnson Space Center. She was JSC's first Hispanic director, and its second female director. Dr. Ochoa became the first Hispanic woman to go to space when she served on the nine-day STS-56 mission aboard the space shuttle Discovery in 1993. She has flown in space four times, including STS-66, STS-96 and STS-110, logging nearly 1,000 hours in orbit. She is also a co-inventor on three patents and author of several technical papers.

Dr. Ochoa has been recognized with NASA's highest award, the Distinguished Service Medal, and the Presidential Distinguished Rank Award for senior executives in the federal government. She has received many other awards and is especially honored to have six schools named for her. Women in Aerospace gladly promotes such a distinguished and exemplary woman in our industry!

Join WIA on November 10th for our Webinar Series: How to Prepare Yourself for Promotions and Success at the Next Level with Emily Barrosse! In this webinar, we will look at ways to increase your career success through setting career goals, networking, communicating boldly, and developing and implementing a short and long-term plan.
Register today: https://www.womeninaerospace.org/secure/eventreg/220.html

On behalf of Amazon and Women in Aerospace, we are happy to invite you and a guest to the special screening of GOOD NIGHT OPPY on Thursday, November 3rd at 7 PM ET at Landmark's E Street Cinema (555 11th St NW, Washington, DC 20004). Watch the Official Trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggRJlI0GEcM

Check-in will begin at 6:15 PM ET and seating will be first come, first served. To RSVP, please click here: https://forms.gle/n9V6FaWvdoAAYGSS8

We look forward to seeing you there!

Eileen Collins, retired NASA astronaut and United States Air Force colonel, is this week's ! Collins became one of four women admitted to Air Force Undergraduate Pilot Training at Vance Air Force Base in Oklahoma, and, in 1979, she became the Air Force’s first female flight instructor teaching both flying and math for the next 11 years. Selected as an astronaut in 1990, Collins became the first woman pilot of a U.S. space shuttle in February 1995, serving on the orbiter Discovery for a rendezvous and docking mission to the Russian space station Mir. She piloted a second shuttle flight in May 1997, successfully docking the Atlantis with Mir to transfer personnel, equipment, and supplies. With hundreds of hours in space to her credit, Collins became the first woman to command a shuttle mission in July 1999, taking Columbia into Earth orbit to deploy the Chandra X-ray Observatory. WIA honors all of Col. Collins' accomplishments and contributions to advancing women in the aerospace community!

We are still reflecting on what a great night WIA’s 37th Awards Dinner & Ceremony was on October 13th. To look back at this night of honor and a full gallery of photos from the evening, please click here: https://www.womeninaerospace.org/news/10-20-2022_1.html

We’re thrilled that one of WIA’s Board Members, Mile Corrigan, is reaching new heights by recently stepping into her new role as President & CEO of one of our Platinum Corporate Members, Noblis, Inc: https://www.womeninaerospace.org/news/10-18-2022_1.html

This week's is WIA's 2018 Aerospace Awareness Award recipient, Dr. Sandra H. Magnus! Dr. Magnus is the former Deputy Director for Engineering within the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering. She served as the DoD’s Chief Engineer for Advanced Capabilities. Formerly the Principal of AstroPlanetview, LLC, Dr. Magnus is also the former Executive Director of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), the world’s largest technical society dedicated to the global aerospace profession. Selected to the NASA Astronaut Corps in April 1996, Dr. Magnus flew on the STS-112 shuttle mission in 2002 and on the final shuttle flight, STS-135, in 2011. She flew to the International Space Station on STS-126 in November 2008 and served 4 months on board as flight engineer and science officer. Following her assignment on Station, she served at NASA Headquarters in the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate and as the deputy chief of the Astronaut Office. A recipient of the NASA Space Flight Medal and the NASA Exceptional Service Medal, WIA excitedly spotlights such a pioneer and role model for women in the aerospace industry.

Thank you to everyone who joined us at last night’s Women in Aerospace Awards Dinner & Ceremony! WIA is so appreciative to all of those who supported our 2022 awardees and this year’s dinner. It was such a pleasure to see the aerospace community come together to celebrate women’s excellence in our field. It was a blast! 🚀

More photos and a recap of the evening to come!

Join WIA on November 10th for our Webinar Series: How to Prepare Yourself for Promotions and Success at the Next Level with Emily Barrosse! In this webinar, we will look at ways to increase your career success through setting career goals, networking, communicating boldly, and developing and implementing a short and long-term plan.
Register today: https://www.womeninaerospace.org/secure/eventreg/220.html

WIA is proud to highlight all of WIA Foundation’s 2022 Scholarship recipients! These outstanding young women will be presented their awards at WIA’s 36th Annual Awards Dinner & Ceremony on October 13th – join us in celebrating them!
https://www.womeninaerospace.org/events/awards.html

The WIA Foundation Scholarship, awarded to Omokhuwele Umoru of Texas Southern University.

The WIA Foundation Scholarship in memory of Molly K. Macauley, awarded to Lauren Bansberg of the University of Central Florida.

The WIA Foundation & AIAA Digital Avionics Scholarship, awarded to Simran Dhoju of The University of Alabama. (Alabama Rocketry Association)

The WIA Foundation & Northrop Grumman Corporation Scholarship, awarded to Jordyn Amoy of California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly).

WIA is immensely proud to highlight today's , Dr. Mae Jemison! Dr. Jeminson is an engineer, physician, and former NASA astronaut. She became the first African American woman to travel into space when she served as a mission specialist aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour in 1992. In addition to her many awards, Jemison has been inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame and the International Space Hall of Fame. Currently, Dr. Jemison is leading the 100 Year Starship project through the United States Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). This project works to make sure human space travel to another star is possible within the next 100 years. She also serves on the Board of Directors for many organizations including; the Kimberly-Clark Corp., Scholastic, Inc., Valspar Corp., Morehouse College, Texas Medical Center, Texas State Product Development and Small Business Incubator, Greater Houston Partnership Disaster Planning and Recovery Task Force, and the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering.

Meet Breanne Rohloff, one of the youngest people ever to drive a NASA crawler and one of the only women! 25-year-old Rohloff began an internship with Jacobs during her senior year at the University of Central Florida in 2018, and, upon graduation, accepted a position as a mechanical engineer for the crawler transporter structures and mobile launcher facilities group as part of a team of drivers/engineers.

Breanne has advice for young girls in STEM:
"Build a support system. Especially as young women—there's not a ton of us (and thankfully, we are growing), but having mentors that can help boost your confidence is so important as you go on this extremely rewarding journey."

Read more: https://landline.media/article/breanne-rohloff-is-one-of-few-females-to-drive-a-nasa-crawler/

WIA is proud to highlight this year's Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, The Honorable Heather Wilson, of The Univerity of Texas at El Paso, . Dr. Wilson is recognized for her dedication to the advancement of the aerospace industry and her championship for future generations through education. Dr. Wilson will be presented her award at WIA's 37th Annual Awards Dinner and Ceremony on October 13th - join us in celebrating her!

https://www.womeninaerospace.org/events/awards.html

Barbara Mikulski, the longest-serving woman in congressional history and WIA's 1994 Leadership Award recipient, is today's ! Elected to the U.S. Senate in 1986, Senator Mikulski became the second woman in U.S. history to serve in both chambers. Senator Mikulski championed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, helped establish the Office of Research on Women's Health at the National Institutes of Health, worked to expand access to higher education and protect the final resources of the nation’s seniors, and supported investments in research and innovation, including the Hubble Space Telescope. WIA is honored to highlight such a fierce leader and champion for women and space exploration.