By Eshal Rizvi, Research Team Member
Often in the history of STEM, especially in the sciences, most discoveries, theories, and laws seem to be brought to life by the stereotypical “old white male”. That being said, when on the topic of women in STEM, it is worthwhile to talk about Kalpana Chawla, an aerospace engineer and astronaut for NASA, widely known as the first Indian woman to go to space.
Chawla’s interest began at a young age, wanting to learn about aerospace and all extraterrestrial life, only to be shut down by her father who claimed those were “boyish” interests. This did not stop Kalpana from pursuing her dreams, as later she took basic engineering courses at Dayal Singh College in Karnal, India. Once she graduated college, she earned her bachelor of science from the aeronautical engineering school at Punjab Engineering College, a master of science in aerospace engineering from the University of Texas, and then a PhD in aerospace engineering from the University of Colorado (NASA, 2004).
Chawla’s specialty was in fluid dynamics, so she was initially placed in research, then bumped to technical troubleshooting, then to a mission specialist operating the robotic arm of STS-87, and then finally to a member of the flight crew for STS-87. She was on the flight for 30 days, 14 hours, and 54 minutes (NASA, 2004). On this mission, she focused on how the zero-gravity environment of outer space can alter physical processes beyond Earth’s atmosphere, plus research on the sun’s outer atmospheric layers (NASA, 2004). They also took notes on the potential for future space station assembly.
Chawla went on a second mission, STS-107 along with her crew, where the 16-day flight tragically ended up perishing. After completing 80 experiments, when the spacecraft was coming back to Earth it began disintegrating, taking the lives of all 7 crew members. After all the work she has done for aerospace engineering, Kalpana Chawla will always be remembered as one of the most brilliant women in STEM, carving out the path for female engineers worldwide.
References:
NASA. (2004). Biographical data. Kalpana Chawla.
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