Ying Chu Lin (Susan) Wu
1958, 1959 & 1962 Fellow

•  The only three-time winner of the Amelia Earhart Fellowship. 

• Enrolled in mechanical engineering at National Taiwan University in 1951 as the only woman in the program.

• First woman to receive a doctoral degree from the prestigious Graduate Aeronautics Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology in 1963.

• Led the program in coal-fired magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) at the University of Tennessee Space Institute.

• Often testified before Congress to explain United States progress in MHD as well as collaborative efforts with other countries.

• Founded and ran Engineering, Research, and Consulting, Incorporated. 

Monika Auweter-Kurtz
1979 & 1980 Fellow

• Member of the Zonta Club of Stuttgart, Germany since 1980.
• Named the President of the University of Hamburg in November 2006.
• Received the Federal Service Cross First Class award honoring her achievements in aeronautics and space technology as well as her efforts to promote women in science.
• Served on a German delegation discussing the peaceful use of space and space technology (2004).
• Director of the German Aerospace Academy (ASA) since January 2011.

Andrea Ghez
1987 Fellow

• Physics and astronomy professor at the University of California, Los Angeles.

• Became the fourth woman to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics, for her pioneering research on the Milky Way’s supermassive black hole.

Naoko Yamazaki
1994 Fellow

• Named to The Earthshot Prize Council 2020. 

• Former Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut and only the second Japanese woman to qualify as an astronaut (1999).

• Selected by NASDA (now JAXA) as one of three Japanese astronaut candidates for the International Space Station (ISS) in 1999.

• Made her first space flight as a crew member aboard the space shuttle Discovery. During this two-week mission, the Discovery carried equipment and materials to the International Space Station where Ms. Yamazaki was responsible for operating the robotic arms on the space shuttle and space station (1999).

• Serving as member of Space Policy Committee of Cabinet Office, devoting herself to space education as an adviser of Young Astronaut Club and a chairperson of "Sorajo (women in aerospace)" under Japanese Rocket Society. 

• Served as official supporter of Education for Sustainable Development.

• Co-founded Space Port Japan Association in 2018, serving as its representative director.

• Named a Zonta International Honorary Member in 2012.

Neha Satak
2011 Fellow

• CEO of Astrome Technologies, a deep-tech startup that develops innovative products that can deliver fiber-like bandwidth at a fraction of the cost of fiber, helping telecom operators provide reliable internet services in rural areas.

• 2020 Unreasonable Fellow. As an organization, the Unreasonable Group builds community between select growth-stage entrepreneurs, institutions, and investors to profitably solve pressing global problems.

• Word as a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Florida in collaboration with the Air Force Research Laboratory at Eglin Air Force Base.

• Co-founder of non-profit organization, Scientific Preparatory Academy for Cosmic Explorers (SPACE), whose goal it is to promote hands-on space education for young people to get involved in developing disruptive technology to make space habitation possible.

Wendy A. Okolo
2012 Fellow

• Aerospace engineering researcher in the Intelligent Systems Division at NASA Ames Research Center, focusing in the area of systems health monitoring and control systems design with applications to air and space components, vehicles, and systems.

• Sub-project manager for the System Wide Safety Project (NASA).

• Leads controls team on a Space Technology project, Pterodactyl, to advance the guidance, navigation, and control capabilities that will make precision landing for deployable entry vehicles a reality for planetary exploration (NASA).

• First Black woman to obtain a Ph.D. degree in aerospace engineering from University of Texas at Arlington.

• Interned for two summers with Lockheed Martin working on NASA’s Orion spacecraft, first in the Requirements Management Office in Systems Engineering and then with the Hatch Mechanisms team in Mechanical Engineering.

• Recent awards include: Black Engineer of the Year Award (BEYA) for Most Promising Engineer in Government (2019); NASA Ames Superior Accomplishment Award (2018);NASA Ames Innovation Fair Winner (2018); NASA Ames Honor Award (2018); NASA Group Achievement Honor Award (2018); NASA Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) Early Career Initiative Award (2017).

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