The first time AerE alum Elizabeth Bierman thought about engineering was when she saw the astronaut picture on her new lunch box in fourth grade. Bierman, who currently works for Honeywell as a principal systems engineer, found a flyer for NASA’s Young Astronaut program in that lunchbox and joined the program shortly after.
Six months after she joined, the Challenger accident occurred, but instead of pushing her away from engineering, the accident only pushed her to learn more about the astronauts who were aboard. When she found out that three of the astronauts had degrees in aeronautical engineering, she quickly decided she would do the same.
She later went to NASA’s Space Camp and eventually found her way to Iowa State to study aerospace engineering.
For the original story by Kasey Panetta of ECN Magazine, click here.