Description:

In conjunction with Northwestern One Book selection for 2019-2020, Hidden Figures, Deputy Space Grant Manager Dr. Erica J. Alston will highlight how NASA collaborated with 20th Century Fox to bring the film to life. This talk is for anyone, but will certainly focus on a perspective that heightens the possible challenges that women and people of color may experience during their careers. Refreshments will be provided. Please RSVP.

About Dr. Erica Alston:

Dr. Erica J. Alston is currently the Deputy Program Manager for NASA’s Space Grant College and Fellowship Program. In this position she manages a large program that funds student awards, K-12 activities and public outreach projects in all 50 states and Washington, DC and Puerto Rico, and she ensures alignment of these state-based projects with NASA’s mission.

Erica began her career at NASA 15 years ago, as a computer engineer in the Atmospheric
Science and Data Center (ASDC), i.e., the Langley Distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC), which houses satellite data from atmospheric data from both the Terra, Aqua, Aura and CALIOP satellites to name a few. While at the ASDC, Dr. Alston focused on improving user support services and facilitating educational/public outreach (E/PO) activities. Since completing her Ph.D. in Atmospheric Sciences at the Georgia Institute of Technology, she spent years exploring the linkages climate change and air quality in the southeastern U.S. by extensively mining NASA’s vast satellite data repositories.

In 2016, Dr. Alston was named as one of NASA Langley Research Center’s Modern Figures.
These Modern Figures were chosen as the current day embodiment of the trails that the women from Hidden Figures laid decades ago. Additionally, Dr. Alston was named as a Women of Color Technology Rising Star. Outside of work, Dr. Alston speaks to local schools, civic groups and non-profit organizations about the need for growing the numbers of students interested in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM). Mathematics is near and dear to Dr. Alston’s heart as she earned her B.S. in Mathematics and M.S. in Applied Mathematics from Clark Atlanta University in Atlanta, GA. Finally, Dr. Alston is actively raising a future STEM practitioner in her 5-year old daughter.