Natalie Panek loves being a space roboticist. She’s worked on Mars rovers, studied the impact of lunar dust on sensors, and even helped create robots that can repair satellites still in orbit. Natalie admits that her career probably isn’t one that her younger self would have picked – but now

It’s not surprising that a ballet dancer would think balance is important, but for physicist/ dancer Dr. Merritt Moore, balance has to do with more than just her feet.    Each time Merritt tried to choose between physics and dance – something mentors throughout her life have insisted she do

Dr. Kate Biberdorf has blown up more than her fair share of stuff, and she prefers to do it while wearing one of her favorite pairs of heels. Whether on a stage or at the front of a classroom, Kate could not be more enthusiastic about getting people excited about

Inspiration can come from the strangest moments if you are willing to embrace them. For Emily Graslie, the first-ever Chief Curiosity Correspondent for The Field Museum in Chicago, that inspiration came in the form of severed wolf heads on lunch trays and a dead mouse in a plastic bag. Before

Looking at Anouk Wipprecht’s designs, it might be hard to believe that she was drawn to fashion in part because of her introverted nature. Her current designs feature dramatic and bold technological couture that involves as much 3D printing and servos as fabric and stitching. But Anouk started with a

Mae Jemison’s childhood curiosity and love of learning It’s easy to imagine an elementary school Mae Jemison – future doctor and astronaut – picking out astronomy books at the library. It takes a little more effort to picture young Mae’s mother handing her novels and reminding her daughter that she

Limor Fried has always loved making things. And once she realized what some electronics and programming skills would let her create, she adopted the moniker of Ladayada in honor of the pioneering Ada Lovelace and never looked back. But it wasn’t Limor’s MIT degrees that landed her as the first

As a pilot, Shaesta Waiz knows the power of looking at something from a new perspective. It would be pretty easy to look at her accomplishments – from completing an around-the-world solo flight to founding an international non-profit that introduces girls to STEM – and think of her as exceptional.

It was 1986 and Halley’s comet was making its once-in-every-75-years journey past the Earth. Two-year-old Emily was out in the backyard watching with her family. One look up at the star-studded sky and little Emily was hooked! Looking at the stars has since grown from a personal fascination into a

One out of 10 babies in the world are born premature and keeping them warm is often a problem in many developing countries. No baby should die from being cold,” “says Jane, who with her team invented the low-cost infant warmer. Jane spoke to Smore magazine and shared how she went