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National Academy of Engineering (NAE) member Ellen Ochoa, Ph.D. has been named a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Ochoa is the first Hispanic woman in space and the second female director of National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Johnson Space Center.
As noted in a White House press briefing, she’s “flown in space four times, logged nearly 1,000 hours in orbit, and continues to inspire young generations of scientists.”
Ochoa was elected to the NAE in 2020 “for service as an astronaut, a technical leader in government, and an optical scientist/engineer.”
Source: National Academy of Engineering (NAE)