Space Jam

NASA astronaut Jeanette Epps is training to fly into the unknown. She shares how she prepares mentally and physically while still managing to stay grounded.

- By Yasmin Gagne. Photographs Jed Whippey

EDUCATION

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE Physics, from Le Moyne College

MASTER’S THESIS “Experimental- Theoretical Study of the Effects of Tip Sweep on the Natural Frequencies of Rotating Composite Beams,” University of Maryland

PHD DISSERTATION “In-flight Tracking of Helicopter Rotor Blades Using Shape Memory Alloys,” University of Maryland

Growing up in Syracuse, New York, as the youngest of seven children, Jeanette Epps dreamed of going to space, just like her hero on TV’s Doctor Who. (The show instilled a lifelong interest in math and science.) When her older brother came home from college and, after glancing at her fourth-grade report card, suggested that she could become an aerospace engineer, the idea stuck. But the path to Houston wasn’t always clear. Here’s how Epps conquered her fears and fought her way to NASA.

WORK FOR WHAT YOU WANT