Aaron Yazzie

Aaron Yazzie (born 1986) is a Diné (Navajo) mechanical engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. His work involves planetary sample acquisition and handling. He has worked on the Mars Science Laboratory, InSight, and Mars 2020 missions.

Aaron Yazzie
Aaron Yazzie in 2019
Born1986 (age 36–37)
Tuba City, Arizona
EducationStanford University
Engineering career
DisciplineMechanical engineering
Employer(s)Jet Propulsion Laboratory
ProjectsMars Science Laboratory
InSight
Mars 2020
Websitehttps://www.aaronyazzie.com

Early life and education

Yazzie is Ashįįhí (Salt Clan) and born for Todích'íi'nii (Bitter Water Clan).[1] He was born in 1986[2] in Tuba City, Arizona, part of the Navajo Nation, and raised in Holbrook, Arizona, where his father was a civil engineer and his mother was a math teacher.[3]

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.[4] While at Stanford, he interned at two NASA research centers: the Goddard Space Flight Center and the Glenn Research Center.[4] He graduated from Stanford in 2008 with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering.[1][3]

Jet Propulsion Laboratory career
Photograph of the Painted Desert landscape on the Navajo Nation

Yazzie joined the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in 2008.[3] At JPL, he is a mechanical engineer working on planetary sample acquisition and handling.[2][5] He has worked on the Mars Science Laboratory, InSight, and Mars 2020 missions.[2]

Since joining JPL, Yazzie has been involved in recruiting other Native Americans to work at NASA.[3]

Yazzie has said that the surface of Mars reminds him of the landscape near his Tuba City birthplace.[3][6][7]

Personal life

Yazzie's parents were both first generation college students and he credits them with encouraging him to get a college education.[3][4] 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.[8][9]

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.[3][8] Since graduating, he has become an AISES Sequoyah Fellow (lifetime member).[1] Yazzie was featured in the book Notable Native People by Adrienne Keene.[10]

He currently lives in Pasadena, California.[4]

References
  1. "About". Aaron Yazzie. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  2. Leman, Jennifer (October 14, 2019). "7 Indigenous Pioneers You Need to Know". Popular Mechanics. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  3. "NASA Mechanical Engineer Aaron Yazzie Discusses His Work on Mars". Native Business Magazine. March 26, 2019. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  4. "Native in the Spotlight: Aaron Yazzie". Native America Calling. January 11, 2019. Retrieved May 23, 2020.
  5. "Native Americans of NASA" (PDF). NASA. September 2019. Retrieved May 23, 2020.
  6. Bennett-Begaye, Jourdan (December 4, 2018). "Navajo mechanical engineer Aaron Yazzie contributes to Mars landing". Navajo-Hopi Observer. Retrieved May 23, 2020.
  7. Wollan, Maria (April 20, 2021). "How to Imagine an Unfamiliar Place". The New York Times Magazine. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
  8. Hanson, Christy (January 29, 2018). "A STEM Conversation with a NASA JPL Mechanical Engineer". American Indian Republic. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  9. "Mechanical Engineer Aaron Yazzie". NASA. November 30, 2021. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  10. Keene, Adrienne (2021). Notable native people : 50 indigenous leaders, dreamers, and changemakers from past and present (First ed.). California. ISBN 978-1-9848-5794-1. OCLC 1230460916.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
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