Aaron Yazzie

Aaron Yazzie (born 1986) is a Diné (Navajo) mechanical engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.[1][2][3]

Early life and education

Yazzie is Ashįįhí (Salt Clan) and born for Todích'íi'nii (Bitter Water Clan).[4] He was born in 1986 in Tuba City, Arizona[1] and raised in Holbrook, Arizona, where his father was a civil engineer and his mother was a math teacher.[2]

Yazzie had originally planned on attending a public university in Arizona, but he decided to apply to Stanford University after meeting an admissions counselor at a pre-college summer program for Native Americans.[5] While at Stanford, he interned at two NASA research centers: the Goddard Space Flight Center and the Glenn Research Center.[5] He graduated from Stanford in 2008 with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering.[2][4]

Jet Propulsion Laboratory career

Yazzie joined the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in 2008.[2] At JPL, he is a mechanical engineer working on planetary sample acquisition and handling.[1][3] He has worked on the Mars Science Laboratory, InSight, and Mars 2020 missions.[1]

Since joining JPL, Yazzie has been involved in recruiting other Native Americans to work at NASA.[2]

Yazzie has said that the surface of Mars reminds him of the landscape near his Tuba City birthplace.[2][6]

Personal life

Yazzie's parents were both first generation college students and he credits them with encouraging him to get a college education.[2][5] He is actively involved in outreach to Native students and attributes success in his career to the work ethic instilled in him by his Navajo upbringing.[7]

Yazzie has had a long involvement with the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES). He was an AISES college scholarship recipient, as well as the president of the Stanford chapter.[2][7] Since graduating, he has become an AISES Sequoyah Fellow (lifetime member).[4]

He currently lives in Pasadena, California.[5]

References
  1. Leman, Jennifer (October 14, 2019). "7 Indigenous Pioneers You Need to Know". Popular Mechanics. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  2. "NASA Mechanical Engineer Aaron Yazzie Discusses His Work on Mars". Native Business Magazine. March 26, 2019. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  3. "Native Americans of NASA" (PDF). NASA. September 2019. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
  4. "About". Aaron Yazzie. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  5. "Native in the Spotlight: Aaron Yazzie". Native America Calling. January 11, 2019. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
  6. Bennett-Begaye, Jourdan (December 4, 2018). "Navajo mechanical engineer Aaron Yazzie contributes to Mars landing". Navajo-Hopi Observer. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
  7. Hanson, Christy (January 29, 2018). "A STEM Conversation with a NASA JPL Mechanical Engineer". American Indian Republic. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
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