Biography:Dana Bolles
Dana Bolles | |
|---|---|
| Alma mater |
|
| Known for | disability rights advocacy |
| Awards | 2014 NASA Equal Employment Opportunity Medal |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Rehabilitation engineering |
| Institutions | NASA |
Dana Bolles is an American spaceflight engineer and advocate for those with disabilities in STEM. She has worked at NASA since 1995 in a variety of fields. She is also an ambassador for the American Association for the Advancement of Science's If/then initiative.[1]
Early life and education
Bolles was born without arms or legs.[2] She has stated that she became interested in visiting space at an early age since it would allow her to move without the assistance of her wheelchair.[3][4]
She credited teachers who accepted her in mainstream classrooms as very important to setting her on a path for success in her chosen career.[5] [6]
Bolles earned a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from California State University, Long Beach in 1993,[4] and has a master's degree in rehabilitation engineering and technology from San Francisco State University.[7]
Career
Bolles started working at NASA in 1995 as an engineer in regulatory compliance, including work on environmental regulations.[8] This later expanded to work in protecting humans in outer space and scientific communications.[3]
She also volunteers as an advocate for women,[9] people with disabilities, and members of the LGBT community. Her advocacy has a particular focus on the challenges that people with disabilities encounter in their lives,[4] and has spoken about the stereotypes they often face, mentioning that people tend to respond the most to disability compared to other intersectionalities.[8]
In 2021 Bolles joined a group of people with physical disabilities in a zero gravity parabolic flight.[10][11]
Bolles was one of the women depicted in the Smithsonian Institution's 2022 exhibit spotlighting women in STEM.[12]
Awards and recognition
- NASA Equal Employment Opportunity Medal (2014)[13]
References
- ↑ Whelan/ABC7, Eileen (2020-10-08). "Of 29% of women in STEM careers only 4% are Latinas; How 2 women are changing that". https://wjla.com/news/local/women-stem-careers-latinas.
- ↑ "Congenital amputee learns to walk on her new legs". La Mirada Review: pp. 5. 1977-08-14. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/104996971/congenital-amputee-learns-to-walk-on/.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Newby, Kara. "Dana Bolles" (in en-US). https://theworks.org/dana-bolles/.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "| IF/THEN® Collection". https://www.ifthencollection.org/dana.
- ↑ ""I love the fact that we're serving the public." An interview with Dana Bolles." (in en-US). https://archive.storycorps.org/interviews/i-love-the-fact-that-were-serving-the-public-an-interview-with-dana-bolles/.
- ↑ "Thank You, Teachers! - NASA Science" (in en). https://science.nasa.gov/learning-resources/science-activation/teacher-appreciation/.
- ↑ "National Disability Employment Awareness Month". ASEE Prism; Washington 26 (2): pp. 47. October 2016.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 "New Science: Dana Bolles" (in en). https://www.calacademy.org/new-science/dana-bolles.
- ↑ "Supreme Court abortion ruling touches off second day of raucous protests nationwide" (in en). June 25, 2022. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/supreme-court-ruling-touches-second-day-raucous-protests-nationwide-rcna35333.
- ↑ Morris, Amanda (26 October 2021). "Floating the Possibility Of Disabled Astronauts". New York Times, Late Edition (East Coast); New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y].: pp. D.1.
- ↑ Richardson, Brandon (2021-10-25). "The future of space will be ADA accessible thanks to Mission: AstroAccess • Long Beach Business Journal" (in en-US). https://lbbusinessjournal.com/aerospace/the-future-of-space-will-be-ada-accessible-thanks-to-mission-astroaccess.
- ↑ Tran, David (2022-03-21). "Meet Five DC-Area Women Depicted by Those Bright Orange Smithsonian Statues - Washingtonian" (in en-US). https://www.washingtonian.com/2022/03/21/meet-five-dc-area-women-depicted-by-those-bright-orange-smithsonian-statues/.
- ↑ Kovo, Yael (2018-03-23). "Awards received by Space Biosciences staff since 2008". http://www.nasa.gov/ames/research/space-biosciences/nasa-honor-award-recipients.
External links
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