NEWS | April 8, 2021
Webinars--Taking Flight: How Girls Can Grow up to Be Engineers
Do you like solving problems, working with other people, and making a difference? Consider a career in engineering! NASA engineers may help build a spacecraft to shoot through our solar system or soar above our home planet, or they may fly a helicopter above Mars. April is the month of Ingenuity—when the Mars Helicopter will attempt its first flight. In our three-part series of live webinars, meet some women engineers working on the helicopter at NASA/JPL, who will explain how they got their start, share useful tips, and take audience questions.
Each episode will include a brief helicopter update, then focus on a specific career planning topic--including how to get into engineering, and the benefits of internships, camps, and clubs.
All webinars start at 1 p.m. PDT/4 p.m. EDT.
April 15: Chart Your Path — How to match your interests to career opportunities and plan how to achieve your goals. Speakers from JPL:
- Kim Steadman, systems engineer
- Nagin Cox, engineering operations deputy team chief
- Samantha Hatch, human resources specialist
April 22: Internships and Other Opportunities — Many companies and institutions, including NASA, offer internships where you can work side-by-side with pros, learning as you go. Speakers from JPL:
- Vandi Verma, chief engineer, robotic operations for the Mars 2020 mission
- Jessica Gonzales, software systems engineer
- Ota Lutz, elementary and secondary education lead
- Leslie Lowes, STEM informal education specialist
April 29: Get Your Ideas Off the Ground — Mars Helicopter Ingenuity Project Manager MiMi Aung and other NASA engineers will explain how they transformed their dreams into reality. Speakers from JPL:
- MiMi Aung, Ingenuity Mars Helicopter project manager
- Jessica Samuels, surface systems manager for the Mars 2020 mission
- Priyanka Sharma, systems engineer for NISAR and president of JPL’s Advisory Council for Women