Aprille Ericsson Headshot
Report a problem with this profile
[email protected]

Aprille Ericsson      

Rocket Scientist, Technologist & STEM Educator

Dr. Aprille Ericsson is an aerospace engineer at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. She became the first African American female to receive a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Howard University, and the first African American female to receive a Ph.D. in Engineering at Goddard, where she currently serves as New Business Lead for the Instrument Systems and Technology Division. Additionally, in 2023, Dr. Ericsson was nominated by President Biden to serve as the first Assistant Secretary of Defense for Science and Technology within the Department of Defense’s research office.

Throughout her thirty-plus year career with NASA, Dr. Ericsson has worked as an aerospace engineer, technologist, project and program manager and executive. She has made many notable contributions, including as the project manager for the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter aboard the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter that has been orbiting the Moon since 2009, and the ICESat-2 Atlas (Ice, Cloud, & Land Elevation Satellite) that provides measurements over the ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica to quantify changes in ice-sheet mass that impact global sea level.

Dr. Ericsson has taught at both Howard University, University of Maryland, and Bowie State University. She has been recognized as one of the Top 50 Minority Women in Science and Engineering by the National Technical Association and has received the NASA Goddard Honor Award for Excellence in Outreach; the Washington Award for engineering achievements that advance the welfare of mankind; and a Science Trailblazers award from the Black Engineers of the Year Award Conference. In 2022, Dr. Ericsson was awarded the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Ralph Coates Roe Medal, the highest award bestowed by American Society of Mechanical Engineers.

She speaks to young people across the country – especially minorities and women – to encourage them to follow in her footsteps.

Speech Topics


A Rocket Scientist Grows Up in Brooklyn, NY

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in STEM/STEAM

A Cool Geek: STEM & Women in Science

How to Do Outstanding Technical Presentations

Brief History of Aerospace Technology and Current Achievements

Hidden and Modern Women Figures in the field of Aerospace

Show more speech topics
Historic African America Figures in STEM

Show less speech topics

News


15 Awesome Black Female Scientists
Luckily, researchers later found proof of her work in the university's archives. 5. Aprille Ericsson-Jackson.
Former Howard University professor ushered generations of ...
Aprille Ericsson, an engineer at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, earned a PhD at Howard under Peter Bainum's guidance. “We called him 'the ...

Related Speakers View all


More like Aprille