Ginger Kerrick is an American

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate caus ...

at NASA's Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center. She is the first Hispanic female to be flight director at NASA.

Education

Kerrick graduated second in her class from

Hanks High School J. M. Hanks High School, commonly referred to as Hanks High School, is one of seven public secondary schools in Ysleta Independent School District, which encompasses much of east El Paso, Texas. Hanks' primary feeder school is J.M. Hanks Middle ...

in El Paso, Texas, and was named El Paso Female Athlete of the Year. She started her college degree at the

University of Texas at El Paso The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is a public research university in El Paso, Texas. It is a member of the University of Texas System. UTEP is the second-largest university in the United States to have a majority Mexican American stud ...

, where she walked onto their women's basketball team. During the first game of the season, she blew out her knee, ending her basketball career. She then transferred to

Texas Tech University Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sys ...

to get her

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

and a

Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...

in physics. Her 1993 master's thesis was entitled ''Infrared deep level transient spectroscopy''.

Career

Kerrick was a summer intern at NASA in 1991, which led to first a co-op position and then full-time employment as a materials research engineer with NASA in May, 1994. Kerrick interviewed for the astronaut program, but was disqualified for kidney stones. She became the first non-astronaut Capsule Communicator (Capcom), first Russian-training-integration instructor, and the first Hispanic female NASA

flight director Flight controllers are personnel who aid space flight by working in such Mission Control Centers as NASA's Mission Control Center or ESA's European Space Operations Centre. Flight controllers work at computer consoles and use telemetry to mon ...

in 2005. She served as flight director with NASA's

Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center The Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC) is NASA's center for human spaceflight (originally named the Manned Spacecraft Center), where human spaceflight training, research, and flight control are conducted. It was renamed in honor of the late U ...

from 2005 to 2012. There, she created plans for scenarios of astronauts in space which assisted ISS and shuttle operations, making her a dual-certified flight director. She currently is the division chief of the Flight Integration Division in FOD (Flight Operations Directorate) since August 2016. Kerrick is a member of the

American Physical Society The American Physical Society (APS) is a not-for-profit membership organization of professionals in physics and related disciplines, comprising nearly fifty divisions, sections, and other units. Its mission is the advancement and diffusion of k ...

(APS). In November 2021 Kerrick decided to quit her engagement at NASA and moved t
Barrios Technology, LTD
in Houston, Texas where she took over the role as Chief Strategy Officer.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kerrick, Ginger Living people 21st-century American physicists American women physicists Texas Tech University alumni NASA people 1970 births 21st-century American women scientists