Mechanical Engineer and Astronaut Who is Kalpana Chawla?  It wasn’t until she started school that Kalpana Chawla was named. Her parents called her Montu, but it was Chawla herself who picked her own name from a selection when she entered the educa...

Teenage Founder and CEO Who is Mikaila Ulmer?  At seventeen years old, Mikaila Ulmer, from the state of Texas, is building a lemonade empire and saving the entire species of honey bees while she’s at it. While today she may be the bee queen, it sta...

Chemist and Science Communicator Who is Stephanie Castillo?  Stephanie Castillo is a Ph.D. candidate in Science Communication at Vanderbilt University. However, she didn’t just study for her degree. She is studying to make a difference. How is she ...

Mathematician and Computer Programmer Who is Ada Lovelace?  When Ada Lovelace was twelve-years-old, she knew she wanted to fly. She first approached the problem methodically, examining birds and trying to see if she could make her own wings out of ...

Viral Immunologist and Vaccine Developer Who is Kizzmekia S. Corbett?  Today, Dr. Kizzmekia S. Corbett is a leading research fellow. People look to her for scientific guidance and respect her professional opinion. But she did not start from nowhere...

Banker and Leader of the New York Stock Exchange Who is Stacey Cunningham?  As a very small child, Stacey Cunningham’s father told her he was a stock trader. She heard ‘sock trader.’ He never spoke more about what he did for a living, but there was...

Head of Advanced Engineering Development at NASA Who is Josephine Santiago-Bond?  Josephine Santiago-Bond did not grow up wanting to work for NASA or wanting to have anything to do with space, really. She was raised in the Philippines and so NASA a...

Innovator and Inventor Who is Xóchitl Guadalupe Cruz?  Xóchitl Guadalupe Cruz is an elementary school student from Chiapas, Mexico with more than just an interest in science. She has an interest in change and changemaking. Her science is a tool fo...

Climate Justice Activist Who is Xiye Bastida?  Xiye Bastida is no stranger to the dangers of climate change. Growing up in San Pedro Tultepec, a small town outside Mexico City,  her community suffered from extreme droughts. Then, in an abrupt...

Award-Winning Scientist Who is Anika Chebrolu?  In the beginning of the Coronavirus, scientists raced from around the world to find a treatment for the pandemic. However, among all the scientists, one stood out. Anika Chebrolu is a fourteen-year-ol...