Wendy Okolo

Wendy A. Okolo is an aerospace research engineer and associate project manager in the Intelligent Systems Division at NASA Ames Research Center. Her work sits at the intersection of flight controls, autonomy, and spacecraft or aircraft health monitoring. [NASA biography](https://oh.larc.nasa.gov/oh/openhouse/presentations/speakers/wendy-okolo/)

Her research includes vehicle flight dynamics, aircraft formation flight, autonomous air-vehicle safety, and systems health monitoring. NASA also describes earlier work involving formation-flight fuel savings and control techniques for the F-35C. [NASA biography](https://oh.larc.nasa.gov/oh/openhouse/presentations/speakers/wendy-okolo/)

At age 26, she became the first Black woman to earn a Ph.D. in aerospace engineering from the University of Texas at Arlington. Her doctoral and later NASA work both centered on aerospace controls and intelligent systems. [NASA biography](https://oh.larc.nasa.gov/oh/openhouse/presentations/speakers/wendy-okolo/)

NASA's biography lists her as the 2021 recipient of the NASA Exceptional Technology Achievement Medal. It also notes the 2019 NASA Ames Early Career Researcher Award and several engineering and STEM honors. [NASA biography](https://oh.larc.nasa.gov/oh/openhouse/presentations/speakers/wendy-okolo/)