The WIA 34th Annual Awards Dinner and Ceremony. Photo: WIA

Women in Aerospace (WIA), a professional organization dedicated to expanding women’s opportunities for leadership, education, and visibility in the aerospace community, honored five women for their contributions to the aerospace industry and to the advancement of women in the field. These women were honored at the 34th Annual WIA Awards Dinner and Ceremony on Oct. 17 in Arlington, VA.

The 2019 Women in Aerospace Award recipients area:

• Outstanding Achievement Award: Ronna Kirchoff, Greeneblt, MD, in recognition of her unwavering dedication to NASA missions and her commitment to the advancement of underrepresented women and minorities in the STEM field.
• Aerospace Awareness Award: Cori Lupton, Cleveland, OH, in recognition of being the first woman Qualified Supersonic Wind Tunnel Operator at the NASA Glenn Research Center. The Supersonic Wind Tunnel has been in operation for 70 years.
• Aerospace Educator Award: Dr. Seetha Raghavan, Orlando, FL, for her leadership in advancing the technical, professional and global impact of aerospace students and mentorship of young women in aerospace.
• Initiative, Inspiration, Impact Award: Dr. Wendy A. Okolo, NASA Moffett Field, CA, in recognition of her work in systems health monitoring and unconventional control techniques for air vehicles/spacecraft and for being an inspiration to the next generation of scientist/engineers.
• Leadership Award: Stephanie Murphy, Houston, TX, is recognized for successful commercial development of a permanent space-testing platform, significantly expanding technology advancements through research in the harsh environment of space.
• Lifetime Achievement Award: Betty Sapp, Alexandria, VA, is recognized for her steadfast leadership and dedication to the mission and people of the NRO, and her enduring commitment to public service and national security space.

Additionally, as part of the Awards Ceremony, the Women in Aerospace Foundation also presented four merit-based scholarships. These receipients were: Aigneis Frey at the Massachusestts Institute of Technology; Abigail Gries at the Iowa State University, Shu Yu (Michelle) Lin at the University of Colorado Boulder, and Kristen Susuki at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.