ISSUE 48/DEC2022 - Flipbook - Page 77
Dr Wendy Okolo
NIGERIA
NASA Scientist
SCIENCE & INNOVATION: Brainbox
“
Bring all of you to
work. Your innovation,
creativity, and
contributions are
stifled when you
attempt to fit in a box
not made for you.”
Dr Wendy Okolo is an Aerospace
research engineer with a
passionate interest in intelligent
systems, flight mechanics, as
well as Guidance, Navigation and
Control (GNC) for aerospace
applications.
She was only 26 years old when
she obtained a PhD in aerospace
engineering from the University
of Texas at Arlington in 2015 —
becoming the first and youngest
Black woman to do so. Today,
she is one of the most admired
aerospace research engineers at
NASA.
Her official bio on the NASA
website is an inspirational read: Dr
Okolo is an aerospace engineering
researcher in the Intelligent
Systems Division at NASA Ames.
She leads the controls team on
the STMD Early Career Initiative
project Pterodactyl to advance the
guidance and control technologies
that will enable precision landing
for deployable entry vehicles. She
is also a sub-project manager on
the System-Wide Safety Project,
leading a team to develop the
monitoring, predictive, and
mitigation capabilities that will
enable the safe operations of
unmanned vehicles in the national
airspace.
Prior to joining NASA in 2016, she
had spent time at the Air Force
Research Laboratory (AFRL) at
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base,
working on aircraft formation
flight for fuel savings and the
|
Aerospace Genius
Advanced Development Programs
of Lockheed Martin (Skunkworks),
utilizing performance optimizing
control techniques to improve fuel
efficiencies for the U.S. NAVAIRs
Joint Strike Fighter F-35C aircraft.
Dr. Okolo is also the recipient of
the 2019 NASA Ames Early Career
Researcher Award, the 2019 Black
Engineer of the Year Award for
Most Promising Engineer in U.S.
Government, the 2019 Women In
Aerospace Award for Initiative,
Inspiration & Impact, and the
2019 U.T. Arlington Distinguished
Recent Graduate Award.
She is also a special Emphasis
Programs Manager and a Research
Scientist in the Intelligent Systems
Division at NASA Ames Research
Center, where she conducts
research in control systems and
systems health monitoring to
develop solutions to aerospace
engineering problems as a
member of the Diagnostics and
Prognostics team in the Discovery
and Systems Health (DaSH) area.
In her spare time, the brainbox
whose favourite food is Nigerian
fried yam, loves to travel, exercise,
and mentor young women in
STEM.
According to a NASA blog, her
advice to anyone seeking a career
like hers: “Bring all of you to work.
Your innovation, creativity, and
contributions are stifled when you
attempt to fit in a box not made
for you.”
■
l
Dec 2022 New African Woman
l 77