Aisha Bowe facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Aisha Bowe
Born	1985/1986 (age 37–38) Ann Arbor, Michigan
Alma mater	University of Michigan
Organization	STEMBoard
Known for	Aerospace Engineering, Entrepreneurship and Innovation

Aisha Bowe is a Bahamian-American aerospace engineer, founder, and CEO of STEMBoard, a technology company.

Early life and education

Bowe grew up in the United States in a working-class family. Her father immigrated from the Bahamas. Her father was a taxi driver in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Although her high school guidance counselor recommended that she become a cosmetologist, Bowe's father urged her to take a mathematics class at her local community college, which she quickly aced. This foundation in mathematics then allowed Bowe to transfer into engineering programs at the University of Michigan from Washtenaw Community College.

Bowe completed her undergraduate degree in aerospace engineering in 2008, and master's degree in space systems engineering in 2009, both at the University of Michigan. She has said she chose aerospace engineering because of an interest in science fiction. One of her graduate instructors, Thomas Zurbuchen, was working on the Mercury Messenger. She worked as an intern in the Ames Research Center in 2008, before joining as an Engineer.

Career

Bowe worked in the Ames Research Center, in the Flight Trajectory Dynamics and Controls Branch of the Aviation Systems Division. In 2012 she received the National Society of Black Engineers award for Outstanding Technical Contribution for her paper "Evaluation of a Fuel Efficient Aircraft Maneuver for Conflict Resolution". She joined the AST Flight and Fluid Mechanics group in 2009, assisting in the development and of algorithms in support of Air Traffic Management. As a Bahamian-American, Bowe wants "to see more Bahamians in the science and technology field."

Whilst at NASA, she served as liaison to the Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement (MESA) Program. In this role, she mentored students, held interview workshops and led NASA site tours.

In 2019, Bowe visited Johannesburg, Bloemfontein, and Pretoria in South Africa for a series of invited talks from October 7–18 as part of the U.S. Speaker Program. She has also lectured in many other countries, including Israel and Kuwait.

Bowe is a member of the National Society of Black Engineers and a certified Program Management Professional by PMI. She is also a certified SSI scuba diver who has now completed dives in South Africa, The Bahamas, California, and the Cayman Islands.

She is also a mountain climber and ascended Mount Kilimanjaro in 2016.

STEMBoard

Aisha is founder and CEO of STEMBoard, a company that solves technology challenges for government and private-sector clients. STEMBoard is a Certified Economically Disadvantaged Women-Owned Small Business supported by the U.S. Women's Chamber of Commerce. They are working to close the educational achievement gap of minority ethnic groups, through STEM camps, partnerships with historically black colleges and universities and career opportunities for young people.

STEMBoard ranked 2,284 on Inc. Magazine's Inc. 5000 list of fastest growing private companies in 2020.

“LINGO” Coding Kit

Aisha Bowe is the creator of the LINGO coding kit. The LINGO coding kit teaches hardware and software design. The lessons are self-paced. The kit has hardware, an instructional guide and instructional videos. The first kit is called "In the Driver’s Seat." In the Driver's Seat instructs how to create and code a back-up sensor for an autonomous car.

Published works

Some of Bowe's selected publications are:

Media

Articles

Talks

• LCL Season 4 EP10: How To Overcome Self Doubt with Aisha Bowe & Gerard Adams

Podcasts

• Aisha Bowe: Rocket Science and Start-ups

Television

Awards

Bowe has been recognized for her contributions to engineering, diversity, and equal opportunity by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, National Society of Black Engineers, and US Women's Chamber of Commerce. Some selected awards are as follows.

• 2020 Entrepreneur of the Year by the Black Data Processing Associates (BDPA) of Washington, D.C.
• 2020 - Outstanding Alumna Award, Department of Aerospace Engineering, University of Michigan
• 2020 - INC 5000 2020 List of Fastest Growing Companies
• 2015 - US Women's Chamber of Commerce “Emerging Star” Award
• 2014 - Silicon Valley's National Coalition of 100 Black Women's Women in Technology of the Year Award
• 2012 - NASA’s Engineering Honor Award
• 2012 - NASA Equal Employment Opportunity Medal

See also

In Spanish: Aisha Bowe para niños