Lady Diana Trujillo Pomerantz (born 1983) is a

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

n-American

aerospace engineer Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is si ...

at the

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...

Jet Propulsion Laboratory The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is a federally funded research and development center and NASA field center in the City of La Cañada Flintridge, California, United States. Founded in the 1930s by Caltech researchers, JPL is owned by NASA an ...

. She currently leads the engineering team at

JPL The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is a federally funded research and development center and NASA field center in the City of La Cañada Flintridge, California, United States. Founded in the 1930s by Caltech researchers, JPL is owned by NASA an ...

responsible for the robotic arm of the Perseverance rover. On February 18, 2021, Trujillo hosted the first ever Spanish-language NASA transmission of a planetary landing, for the Perseverance rover landing on Mars.

Early life and education

Trujillo was born in 1980, in

Cali Santiago de Cali (), or Cali, is the capital of the Valle del Cauca department, and the most populous city in southwest Colombia, with 2,227,642 residents according to the 2018 census. The city spans with of urban area, making Cali the second ...

. Her mother was a medical student when she got pregnant and had to leave her studies to look after her daughter. Trujillo attended Colegio Internacional Cañaverales, a bilingual school accredited by the

International Baccalaureate The International Baccalaureate (IB), formerly known as the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), is a nonprofit foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and founded in 1968. It offers four educational programmes: the IB Dip ...

, formerly the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO). During her school years, she had an interest in science and questioned the roles that are traditionally associated with women. Uncertain but determined to overcome the economic difficulties that her family faced in Colombia, Trujillo moved to the United States at the age of seventeen with only $300. In order to improve her language skills, she started English lessons at Miami Dade College while working as a housekeeper, among other jobs. Trujillo enrolled initially at the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

to pursue studies in aerospace engineering, inspired by a magazine article about the role of women working on aerospace missions and having self-confidence in her strong mathematical skills. While studying at the university, she decided to apply for the NASA Academy, being the first Hispanic immigrant woman admitted to the program. She was one of the two participants to get a job offer from

. During her work at the Academy, she met NASA robots expert Brian Roberts, who convinced her to move to Maryland with the aim of increasing her chances in the Aerospace industry. Trujillo attended the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...

where she was part of Roberts' research team, focusing on robots in space operations. In 2007, she earned a bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering from the

. Her story was turned into a children's science book titled "Mars Science Lab - Engineer" by Kari Cornell and Fatima Khan. She was a member of

Sigma Gamma Tau Sigma Gamma Tau () is the American honor society in Aerospace Engineering. It seeks to identify and recognize achievement and excellence in the Aerospace field within the United States. Sigma Gamma Tau's collegiate chapters elect annually to m ...

Career

Trujillo joined

in 2007, working at

Goddard Space Flight Center The Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) is a major NASA space research laboratory located approximately northeast of Washington, D.C. in Greenbelt, Maryland, United States. Established on May 1, 1959 as NASA's first space flight center, GSFC empl ...

on the

Constellation program The Constellation program (abbreviated CxP) was a crewed spaceflight program developed by NASA, the space agency of the United States, from 2005 to 2009. The major goals of the program were "completion of the International Space Station" and a " ...

and the

on human and robotic space missions. She has served many roles, including Surface Sampling System Activity Lead and Dust Removal Tool Lead Systems Engineer. She was responsible for ensuring

Curiosity Curiosity (from Latin '' cūriōsitās'', from ''cūriōsus'' "careful, diligent, curious", akin to ''cura'' "care") is a quality related to inquisitive thinking such as exploration, investigation, and learning, evident by observation in humans ...

's sampling fulfilled its science objectives dust-free whilst maintaining operational safety. The Dust Removal Tool took her six months to develop, and brushes the dust of the surface of Mars to allow scientists to investigate the surface below. It was used on Curiosity's 151st day on Mars. In 2009 she was appointed telecom systems engineer for the

Rover. Trujillo was responsible for the communications between the spacecraft and scientists on Earth. She has also been Flight Ground Systems Engineer and Vehicle System Testbed Mars Surface Lead. She was at the

when the rover landed on Mars. In 2014, Trujillo was promoted to Mission Lead. That year, she was listed as in the 20 most influential Latinos in the Technology Industry. Trujillo worked as flight director on the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover robotic arm and in February 2021, she hosted NASA's first Spanish-language planetary landing show. She has been involved in several initiatives to inspire young women from Latin America and African-American women to pursue a career in science and engineering. She took part in a discussion about Hidden Figures at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

alongside Octavia Spencer and

Pharrell Williams Pharrell Lanscilo Williams (; born April 5, 1973) is an American record producer, rapper, singer, and songwriter. Alongside close colleague Chad Hugo, he formed the hip hop and R&B production duo the Neptunes in the early 1990s, with whom he ...

. She has been a mentor for the

Brooke Owens Fellowship The Brooke Owens Fellowship is a non-profit program in the United States that provides paid internships and executive mentorship for undergraduate women seeking a career in aviation or space exploration. The fellowship was created to honor the mem ...

, which she created with her husband Will Pomerantz. In June 2020, Trujillo was appointed to the Brooke Owens Fellowship's Executive Board She was awarded the

Bruce Murray Award for ''Excellence in Education and Public Engagement''. She was featured on CBS' 2018 celebration of Women's History Month.

Personal life

Trujillo married Will Pomerantz in 2009. They have two children.

Awards

*''2011'' Shared the STEM Award from the

Hispanic Heritage Foundation The Hispanic Heritage Foundation is a non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C. that works to increase the number of Latina and Latino leaders in society. As of 2010, the Chairman was Pedro José Greer. The foundation hosts several lon ...

. *''2021'' Awarded the rank of Commander (''Comendador'') in the

Order of Boyaca Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...

, the highest honor that can be awarded to Colombian citizens for exceptional service to Colombia *''2021'' Awarded by the Congress of Colombia the

order of merit The Order of Merit (french: link=no, Ordre du Mérite) is an order of merit for the Commonwealth realms, recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or for the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by K ...

''Policarpa Salavarrieta'' on March 8, 2021. *''2019'' City of STEM Icon Award. *''2017'' Named one of ''Los 22 Más'' by the Colombian Embassy in the United States. *''2017'' Bruce Murray Award for Excellence in Education and Public Management.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Trujillo, Diana Aerospace engineers Colombian women engineers University of Maryland, Baltimore alumni 21st-century women engineers Mars 2020 NASA people Colombian emigrants to the United States 1983 births Living people People from Cali