Kristi Barnes, a 2023 Astronaut Scholar from North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University, has built an impressive foundation at the intersection of engineering, research, and healthcare innovation.

Winter Jones is a senior mathematics and aerospace engineering student at Spelman College. Hailing from Atlanta, Miss. Jones was raised on the principle that education is the foundation of success. 

In 2016, Terelle Cadd was stacking boxes at a UPS warehouse and pursuing an associate degree in business. Realizing his current path wasn’t fulfilling, he boldly chose to switch his major to engineering. Why? Because he wanted to make a difference in the world.

Astronaut Scholar alum, Michael Markesbery, CEO, and co-founder of OROS, recently sat down (virtually!) with two fellow Astronaut Scholars to talk about “finding their beyond.” Meet NASA Flight Director Fiona Turett and neuroscientist Ashley Hayden as they share their inspiration and work in science and technology.

NASA Astronaut and 2000-2001 Astronaut Scholar, Christina Hammock Koch, completed the first all-female spacewalk with crewmate Jessica Meir on October 18th, 2019– a milestone for NASA.

Astronaut Scholar Ben Cromey is in the last year of his PhD in optical sciences, where he designs and uses multiphoton microscopes, to help diagnose diseases faster. One of his projects has been using that microscope to increase the odds of survival in pancreatic cancer surgery.

At the age of 13, I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes; an autoimmune form of diabetes that effects 1.25 million Americans. At the time, I knew nothing about the disease, but the burden it had on my life encouraged me to get involved in research. Currently, I am working towards an Electrical Engineering major and a Bio-Engineering minor at the University of Central Florida. Being distinguished as an Astronaut Scholar has really given me the confidence to pursue my research and confirms that I have made a huge step in my professional endeavors. Being a Type 1 Diabetic, I understand the adversities of living with diabetes and I am personally motivated to pursue research in this field for a cure.

Astronaut Scholar Joey Wilson at Cambridge University where we had just submitted his thesis for a second master’s degree of Philosophy. His research has been focused on senescence, a non-autonomous cellular response to stress associated with aging and age-related pathologies like cancer.

Astronaut Scholar Michael Markesbery is the co-founder & CEO of OROS. In the last 6 months, OROS has moved its headquarters and team to Portland, Oregon, received a multi-million dollar contract from the United States Department of Defense, raised over $10M of Venture capital, supported STEM by partnering with Ad Astra (the school co-founded by Elon Musk & Josh Dahn), and launched our Fall 2019 line of products.

Astronaut Scholar Emily Boster had the opportunity to work on the monumental launch of the Mars Lander, InSight. “As I stood in the darkness, listening to the launch countdown, surrounded by JPL and Lockheed Martin Engineers, I couldn’t help but think back to my own history. Five years earlier, I was brought onto the program as a Mechanical Design Intern.”