JSC Director Ellen Ochoa receives 2015 National Space Grant Distinguished Service Award
2015-03-18
NASA Johnson Space Center director and astronaut Ellen Ochoa was recognized Feb. 27 with the 2015 National Space Grant Distinguished Service Award for her dedicated service to the space program by the National Space Grant Foundation.
The award was established to recognize individuals whose life and career have had a long-lasting impact in a science, engineering or education field that is related to aeronautic, aviation or space endeavors. Jeffrey Hoffman, former astronaut and director of the Massachusetts Space Grant Consortium, presented the award to Ochoa.
According to Eric Day of the National Space Grant Foundation, Ochoa’s prolific career in technology, which includes a patented optical system to detect defects in a repeating pattern, as well as co-patents for an optical inspection system, an optical object-recognition method and a method for noise removal in images, made her an exceptional candidate.
“The National Space Grants support wonderful educational opportunities around the country, often getting students directly engaged in NASA's mission,” Ochoa said. “It’s an honor to be recognized by the foundation for the role I've played, which has all been enabled by the amazing accomplishments of everyone who works in human spaceflight.”
Ochoa was the first Hispanic woman to go to space when she served on a nine-day mission aboard the shuttle Discovery in 1993. She also is the first Hispanic and second woman to serve as director of JSC.
“At JSC, we support people in space 24/7 and also work on spacecraft and technology developments that will move us beyond low-Earth orbit,” Ochoa said. “By studying math, science and engineering, students can prepare themselves to become part of that team.”
She has flown in space four times, logging nearly 1,000 hours in orbit. Before her astronaut career, she was a research engineer and inventor, with three patents for optical systems. She is honored to have four schools named for her: the Ellen Ochoa Middle School in Pasco, Washington; the Ellen Ochoa Learning Center in Cudahy, California; the Ellen Ochoa STEM Academy at Ben Milam Elementary in Grand Prairie, Texas; and the Amino Ellen Ochoa Charter Middle School in Los Angeles.
Ochoa earned a bachelor's degree in physics from San Diego State University and a master's degree and doctorate in electrical engineering from Stanford University in Palo Alto, California.
As a doctoral student at Stanford and later as a researcher at Sandia National Laboratories and NASA Ames Research Center in California, Ochoa investigated optical systems to perform information processing.
At Ames, she managed the Intelligent Systems Technology Branch before being selected as an astronaut in 1990. She flew on shuttle missions STS-56 in 1993, STS-66 in 1994, STS-96 in 1999 and STS-110 in 2002, logging a total of 978 hours in space.
She became deputy director of flight crew operations at Johnson in December 2002 and director of flight crew operations in September 2006.
Ochoa has been recognized with NASA's Distinguished Service Medal, Exceptional Service Medal, Outstanding Leadership Medal and four Space Flight Medals. She also is a recipient of numerous awards, including the Harvard Foundation Science Award, Women in Aerospace Outstanding Achievement Award, The Hispanic Engineer Albert Baez Award for Outstanding Technical Contribution to Humanity, the Hispanic Heritage Leadership Award and San Diego State University Alumna of the Year.
“It's an exciting and challenging field to be in--one that is rewarding because you become part of a team whose purpose goes beyond the individual and brings benefits to people around the world,” Ochoa said.
She is married to Coe Fulmar Miles of Molalla, Oregon. They have two children.
Anna Seils
NASA Johnson Space Center
The award was established to recognize individuals whose life and career have had a long-lasting impact in a science, engineering or education field that is related to aeronautic, aviation or space endeavors. Jeffrey Hoffman, former astronaut and director of the Massachusetts Space Grant Consortium, presented the award to Ochoa.
According to Eric Day of the National Space Grant Foundation, Ochoa’s prolific career in technology, which includes a patented optical system to detect defects in a repeating pattern, as well as co-patents for an optical inspection system, an optical object-recognition method and a method for noise removal in images, made her an exceptional candidate.
“The National Space Grants support wonderful educational opportunities around the country, often getting students directly engaged in NASA's mission,” Ochoa said. “It’s an honor to be recognized by the foundation for the role I've played, which has all been enabled by the amazing accomplishments of everyone who works in human spaceflight.”
Ochoa was the first Hispanic woman to go to space when she served on a nine-day mission aboard the shuttle Discovery in 1993. She also is the first Hispanic and second woman to serve as director of JSC.
“At JSC, we support people in space 24/7 and also work on spacecraft and technology developments that will move us beyond low-Earth orbit,” Ochoa said. “By studying math, science and engineering, students can prepare themselves to become part of that team.”
She has flown in space four times, logging nearly 1,000 hours in orbit. Before her astronaut career, she was a research engineer and inventor, with three patents for optical systems. She is honored to have four schools named for her: the Ellen Ochoa Middle School in Pasco, Washington; the Ellen Ochoa Learning Center in Cudahy, California; the Ellen Ochoa STEM Academy at Ben Milam Elementary in Grand Prairie, Texas; and the Amino Ellen Ochoa Charter Middle School in Los Angeles.
Ochoa earned a bachelor's degree in physics from San Diego State University and a master's degree and doctorate in electrical engineering from Stanford University in Palo Alto, California.
As a doctoral student at Stanford and later as a researcher at Sandia National Laboratories and NASA Ames Research Center in California, Ochoa investigated optical systems to perform information processing.
At Ames, she managed the Intelligent Systems Technology Branch before being selected as an astronaut in 1990. She flew on shuttle missions STS-56 in 1993, STS-66 in 1994, STS-96 in 1999 and STS-110 in 2002, logging a total of 978 hours in space.
She became deputy director of flight crew operations at Johnson in December 2002 and director of flight crew operations in September 2006.
Ochoa has been recognized with NASA's Distinguished Service Medal, Exceptional Service Medal, Outstanding Leadership Medal and four Space Flight Medals. She also is a recipient of numerous awards, including the Harvard Foundation Science Award, Women in Aerospace Outstanding Achievement Award, The Hispanic Engineer Albert Baez Award for Outstanding Technical Contribution to Humanity, the Hispanic Heritage Leadership Award and San Diego State University Alumna of the Year.
“It's an exciting and challenging field to be in--one that is rewarding because you become part of a team whose purpose goes beyond the individual and brings benefits to people around the world,” Ochoa said.
She is married to Coe Fulmar Miles of Molalla, Oregon. They have two children.
Anna Seils
NASA Johnson Space Center
Jeffrey Hoffman, former astronaut and director of the Massachusetts Space Grant Consortium, presenting the 2015 National Space Grant Distinguished Service Award to Dr. Ellen Ochoa