Dr. Wendy Okolo is helping shape NASA’s future of space and flight through groundbreaking research and innovation while also inspiring the next generation of women and African engineers.
A proud Nigerian-American, Wendy Okolo made history in 2015 as the first Black woman to earn a Ph.D. in aerospace engineering from the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA). She was just 26 years old at the time.
Okolo was born in 1989 and spent her early years in Lagos, Nigeria, and attended Queen’s College before moving to the United States for university. At UTA, she earned her undergraduate and doctoral degrees and was president of the school’s Society of Women Engineers chapter, showing signs of her leadership and passion for lifting others.
Her early career began with internships at Lockheed Martin, one of the world’s largest aerospace companies, where she worked on the NASA Orion spacecraft. She also spent a summer doing research with the U.S. Air Force. Before officially joining NASA, she helped improve the flight performance of advanced fighter jets like the F-35C while at Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works—a team known for developing some of the most advanced aircraft in history.
Today, Wendy Okolo works as an aerospace research engineer at NASA’s Ames Research Centre in California. She leads projects that make air travel and space exploration safer and more efficient. Her work includes developing landing systems for space missions and tools to keep unmanned aircraft safe while flying.
She also manages a project that tests new ways to help spacecraft land more accurately on other planets. Okolo’s ideas help save fuel, improve flight performance, and make space missions more successful. Her work has even been tested in real U.S. Air Force flight experiments, and she’s a co-inventor on a U.S. patent for new flight control systems.
NASA has recognised her achievements with several awards, including the Exceptional Technology Achievement Medal in 2021.
But Okolo isn’t just a scientist—she’s also a leader and mentor. At NASA, she was a manager for women-focused programs, working to support diversity and help more women succeed in aerospace. She also dedicates time to mentoring students and young professionals in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics), always encouraging creativity, collaboration, and curiosity.
Wendy Okolo is more than a brilliant engineer—she’s a trailblazer. Her journey from Lagos to NASA proves that young women from anywhere in the world can lead in science and space with vision, hard work, and support.
