Wendy A. Okolo is an aerospace engineering researcher and associate project manager in the Intelligent Systems Division at NASA Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley.
Her technical expertise in vehicle flight dynamics, novel control techniques, and autonomous air vehicle safety has been demonstrated by her United States patent in aerospace vehicle flight path control, numerous technical publications, research collaborations, and teaching engagements across the aerospace engineering industry, academia, and the government.
The 2021 recipient of the NASA Exceptional Technology Achievement Medal, Okolo’s research experiences include stints at the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, where she conducted research in aircraft formation flight for fuel savings. Her efforts were demonstrated with flight tests by the U.S. Air Force to realise easily attainable fuel efficiencies with existing and new aircraft.
At 26-year-old, Wendy became the first black woman to obtain a Ph.D. in aerospace engineering from the University of Texas at Arlington. Her graduate studies were recognised and funded by the U.S. Department of Defense through the National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship, Zonta International through the Amelia Earhart Fellowship, the American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics, and the Texas Space Grant Consortium.
Wendy is an avid supporter of changing the narrative of under-representation in STEM on a global scale, particularly for young girls, career women, and people of colour. In addition to her role as an aerospace researcher, she has served as the Special Emphasis Programs Manager for women, working to demonstrate and ensure NASA’s commitment to the recruitment, retention, and promotion of women.
Wendy serves as a bridge between U.S. STEM and non-profit aerospace organisations and the African continent, offering first-hand knowledge, tools, and recommendations to better serve underprivileged regions and students.
An author, her latest book ‘Learn to fly’ is fast becoming a great and inspiring read.
How did you get into NASA? Why NASA and what makes NASA tick?
I literally just applied on usajobs.gov I am not even kidding. I didn’t know anyone in the group I applied to. I found the job posting and applied, got an interview, and was hired. I found out after the fact most employees first do an internship, a pathways program, or come in as contractors and then transition to a full-time civil servant role at NASA.
I enjoy research and answering questions no one has, with the relative independence to define the question and conduct the research to answer it. NASA is the right place for that.
What makes NASA tick is that I get to work with some bright, curious, and genuinely helpful people to do work that makes the world better – from better baby formula to invisible braces. I surely don’t do it for the money, because we all know government salaries are not exceptional. It’s all about the work and impact.
What has sustained you thus far?
My amazing family, exceptional mentors, and a supportive tribe of friends. I see God’s hand in every one of them.
You are in a terrain not common to women, how are you ensuring to shine this light on others?
Seventy percent of my work mentees/interns have been women. Seventy! I don’t know if this is intentional, but I don’t even look at their GPAs when I peruse their resumes. I look at their capabilities demonstrated by their breadth/depth of work experience, and I move. In one year, I self-nominated four women for awards. I developed nomination packages and even explicitly wrote the nominations for three of them – a time-consuming effort. Three of them won them – a 75% success rate. Serving as the special emphasis programs manager for women was also an important role for me to not just facilitate the pipeline for young women to enter this terrain, but to retain them through strategic initiatives like a formal mentoring program, creation of lactation rooms, and studying/recommending gender neutral language use in position descriptions.
You are one of several people projecting Nigerians in the positive light with your achievements, how does this make you feel?
I’m thankful for the positive projection. I am also aware that it comes with the responsibility to tell the right stories. The stories we would want our children to hear. The importance of faith, family, and support. The importance of sharing that it takes a village and “It’s not all you!” contrary to popular opinion. There are bad stories in the world, but there are also good stories. We need to share more of those.
Why did you write your latest book and what responses have you gotten so far? What do you hope it achieves and inspires and where can it be purchased?
After receiving a Black Engineer of the Year Award in 2019, I went viral for being a black woman that received a Ph.D. in aerospace engineering at 26, that now happens to work at NASA. This precipitated numerous global requests for mentoring, keynotes, interviews, and features with the same underlying questions from students and parents, “How?” These requests motivated the book ‘Learn To Fly.’ Learn To Fly provides my “how?” From securing scholarships to networking etiquette, from adept time management to extracurricular involvement, this book covers the gamut of academic success. In Learn To Fly, I share my story of turning down an internship with the CIA, working on a spacecraft that will take people to the moon, and embarking on a Ph.D., with nuggets to teach people that there are multiple ways to the stars. They just have to find their way.
Donald James, the first black NASA Associate Administrator for Education who was hired by the first black NASA administrator, who was in turn hired by President Obama, read the book and wrote the foreword for it. This man has significant expertise in aerospace and education, with thirty-five years of experience at NASA. In the foreword, he writes “Before you is a useful and practical guide to flying, whether it is an aircraft, spacecraft, or any career you choose. Read this book and be inspired to discover your way.” This feedback, among other responses from others at MIT Horizons, to JetBlue Airways, to the largest independent air and space museum in the world (the Museum of Flight), who will carry it in their bookstore, is truly humbling.
More humbling are the comments from young people. A young lady from Guinea who got the book recently told me, “I’m an aerospace engineering major and it’s a bit tough on me but I won’t give up. You inspire me so much to keep going.” That resonated with me. Her feedback is not the only one. This book is necessary because it doesn’t just teach people to believe and overcome struggle, but how to overcome the struggle – financial or mental. I don’t want to preach to the choir, I want to arm the choir. I saw and still see the choir quit. We’ve got to keep singing!
I hope the book inspires people to see that there are many ways to the stars. I hope this book helps them find their own way.
Learn To Fly is available for pre-order at https://rhbooks.com.ng/product/learn-to-fly-on-becoming-a-rocket-scientist/. It will also be available across stores after pre-order ends. For U.S/UK based customers, it is available on Amazon.
What is the unique thing about the book and when you wrote it?
Everyone that was involved in the creation of Learn To Fly, from the reviewers to the writer of the foreword, to my book cover designer believed in it or believed in me and did not accept compensation for it.
The exceptional book cover designer, who is also creating the marketing material for Learn To Fly, did all of it in exchange for jollof rice. I was her resident assistant and looked out for her like my little sister when we were both students. She was what you would call my school daughter.
I met Donald James, the author of the foreword at NASA in 2019. He had just given a keynote speech in honour of Black History Month and was greatly celebrated by the African American Advisory Group with a painting by teen prodigy, Tyler Gordon. After his talk, I thanked him for his talk and let him know what I enjoyed about it. We exchanged contact information after which he asked me to review his upcoming book, Manners. I spent the initial part of my “Detty December” in 2019 reading and providing a thorough review for his book before heading off to Accra and Cape Town for enjoyment. I had no idea I would later write mine and ask him to be a part of it. When I did, he didn’t hesitate. He even said he was honoured.
The stories are similar with my reviewers. One of them is a brilliant scientist with a Ph.D. from Purdue University. He was a friend and mentee whom I met at a conference by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. We published a journal paper together, routinely talk about his career development, and I provided recommendation letters for his advancement. I had no idea I would have this ask when I did this. I could tell a story about every reviewer, but I’ll save it for another day.
Bringing Learn To Fly to fruition required withdrawals from my “goodwill bank account.” An account I didn’t realise I was making deposits in.
How are you balancing work and family? What is motherhood teaching you?
I have an extremely supportive nuclear and extended family. My husband for instance, is a superhero who is exceptionally organised and proactive. At home, I am wife and mum, but not really an adult. I don’t have to put gas in the car, change a light bulb, buy toothpaste or toilet paper, pay a bill, or even book trips. Things I’d have to do if I didn’t have him. He gets things done before I can even blink. My home/personal affairs are like a well-greased machine because of him. He’s surely a different kind of engineer than I am, literally. He’s mechanical and I’m aerospace. I call him at the slightest hint of adversity (it used to be and is sometimes still my older sisters). They spoilt me and he took over.
We also have a sleep schedule in our household – our kids are in bed by 7:30pm at the latest and they’re there till 7am. The 8-month-old included. There’s no time to waste time. This gives me time to work out religiously on weekday mornings, make/drink coffee, and start my day early. My kids are in bed by 7:30pm at the latest and they’re there till 7am.
Motherhood has humbled me and taught me grace, patience, and compassion. I am significantly more tolerant of shenanigans now. When I serve my toddler my wonderful afang soup that he happily ate the previous day, and he promptly rejects it, I just humble myself. I give him a banana and take my loss with grace. When I only have two minutes to get him into the car and he insists he must wear his shoes himself, who am I to complain? I pick my battles and choose to fight another day.
Are you doing anything to encourage the youth in Africa on sciences/your field?
Before the pandemic, I facilitated an outreach project to bring a STEM workshop to students in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. My collaborator Julia Marines, from the Ad Astra academy, funded by the National Geographic, was the lead on this initiative.
My mother, a Rivers State native, was instrumental in providing the underserved schools from which the students were selected. We had grander plans to return and partner with public/federal schools and girls STEM programmes in other underserved parts of the country, but the pandemic halted it. There will be more opportunities in the future, though. I want to do my part to provide them.
Last year, I sponsored a few students to virtually attend the world’s largest event for aerospace research, development, and technology, the SciTech conference, organised by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. It is important for students and young adults in Africa to be inspired by developments seemingly out of their reach including flying taxis and fighter jets. I also routinely share scholarship, internship, and full-time employment opportunities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics for students and early-career professionals.
You were recently seen recording in the studio with children for a TV show. Tell us more about this
I got approached to film a show that lies at the intersection of innovation, technology, and entertainment, for kids. Although, I can’t share much yet, I can say that it will be in 200+ million households around the world with the goal of inspiring kids and families to embrace STEM careers by learning about the cool technologies developed by thinkers, innovators, and inventors. I can’t wait to tell you when and where to watch.
What latest feat have you achieved/received?
Speaking of inventors, I’m officially one. I was the controls lead on a NASA Early Career team that won 2.5million dollars to develop innovative techniques to guide and control an unconventional spacecraft. This spacecraft was built like an umbrella so you may imagine, it was a non-trivial problem.
However, we had a really great team and were able to develop and demonstrate a successful solution. We submitted a patent application, with the help of our legal office but didn’t think much of it. However, I got the news last month that we got it. The U.S. patent and trademark office has deemed my name worthy to be listed as an inventor. With my middle Igbo name too. I never thought I’d see this day. I never even thought about such a day. I am grateful to my exceptional team and mentors who supported and encouraged the work. I can add inventor to my biography now. Dr. Wendy A. Okolo – Rocket Scientist, Inventor, Author, has a nice ring to it.
What happened to you that you are yet to recover from?
5 months ago, I lost my father suddenly and tragically. He was killed by an intoxicated driver who was driving a truck at 113 mph. When it happened, I was on maternity leave, still exclusively nursing my second child. She was four months old. Can you imagine being the only food source for a baby and knowing that the amount of food you can provide is dependent on your emotional state, which has been severely impacted by the loss of your father.
My older sister, who was also grieving, told me in no uncertain terms, “Please don’t give my goddaughter stress milk.” The laughter from that alleviated some of the pain, but it was hard to laugh during that period. I developed a fear of the dark. I couldn’t sleep alone. I functioned on autopilot, like a robot, just going through the motions.
Recovering from the loss of a parent is a nonlinear process.
Today, I realised it had been a week and I hadn’t received an email response from a collaborator and mentor. He’s a little older so I frantically sent him a WhatsApp message asking him if he was okay. My loss and grief now make me a little nervous when I don’t hear from someone. I forget that they may just be busy. I fear that they’re not okay.
Losing my father pushed me to complete and release Learn To Fly. He would always say “when the going gets tough, the tough get going.” I had to get the tough out when he passed. I hope I always remember to get it out any time it’s hard. Especially when it’s tough.
To that young girl that wants to follow your path, what advice do you have for her?
There’s always a way. Before you quit, move differently. There’s usually a way, I promise.
You have achieved a lot as a young lady. When you look at all you have achieved in the duration of time that you have, what are you grateful and hopeful for?
I am grateful for support, inspiration, and the giants on whose shoulders I stand. God’s hand is in every facet of my story. His grace is evident in the people that have surrounded and uplifted me. In the people that have shone a light on me. People like you Kemi, whom God has given a torch and asked to shine it on women. I go viral every other month and I think that has God’s hand in it. It’s my reminder to continue to do important work, to tell the right stories, and make a difference.
I hope to continue to be at the forefront of science, technology, and aerospace. To be bold enough to bring my voice to the table and create solutions that reduce inequities. I look forward to a world in which my work enables a transformation that bridges the inequities in mortality rates, quality of life, and wealth. I am hopeful for drone technology that can bring medicine rapidly to remote areas. I am hopeful for autonomous air transportation that is cost-effective and capable of transporting accident victims quickly to healthcare. I am hopeful that existing and future satellite technology can be used to help farmers determine optimal times to plant and harvest, thus increasing crop yield. More importantly, I hope that African leaders, who are a reflection of the people, let it happen.
What next?
Fun, impactful work, a book tour, and conscious intentional rest too. God created the world in 6 days and on the 7th day, He rested. If He could rest, then who am I not to?
Concluding words
There are giants all around us. It is up to us to find them and stand on their shoulders. It’s also up to us to be the giants on whom others can stand. That’s how we go far. That’s how we see further. Even beyond the stars.
