“I never truly thought of being the first or second someone, or being a small-town girl. This is just something I wanted to do. If you want to do something, what does it matter where you are ranked?” – Kalpana Chawla
Dr. Kalpana Chawla was an Indian-born American astronaut and aerospace engineer. Chawla’s passion for aviation originated at a young age from going to local flying clubs to watch planes with her father. She earned a B.S. in aeronautical engineering from Punjab Engineering College, where along her path she was dissuaded by professors due to lack of opportunities of women in India following this career path. Persisting despite this, after becoming a U.S. citizen, Chawla achieved an M.S. from UT-Arlington (1984) and a Ph.D. from the UC-Boulder (1988). Beginning work at NASA upon earning her Ph.D., Chawla performed research on computational fluid dynamics around aircrafts. To provide opportunities for young girls interested in science, Chawla’s secondary school was invited to participate in the NASA Summer Space Experience Program. Further, after applying to be an astronaut, she became the first woman of Indian origin to go to space, which she achieved on Space Shuttle Columbia (1997) as a mission specialist and primary robotic arm operator. She was also selected for a second flight in 2003, but unfortunately, the crew was killed due to Columbia disintegrating upon re-entry into the atmosphere, leading to significant organizational changes at NASA. For her contributions, multiple celestial objects are named after her. Chawla was posthumously awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor. Also, numerous institutions in the United States and India have named buildings in her honor and set up scholarship funds to encourage girls to pursue careers in science.