Cecilia R. Aragon facts for kids

Cecilia Rodriguez Aragon is an amazing American computer scientist, a university professor, and an author. She is also a champion aerobatic pilot! She is famous for helping to create something called the treap data structure. This is a special way to organize information in computers. She also received a very important award for her work with large amounts of data.

Education and Early Career

Cecilia Aragon studied a lot to become a computer scientist. She earned her first degree in mathematics from the California Institute of Technology in 1982. Later, she got her master's degree in 1987 and her Ph.D. in computer science in 2004 from the University of California, Berkeley. For her advanced studies, she worked with a well-known professor named Marti Hearst.

Career in Computer Science

Today, Dr. Aragon is a professor at the University of Washington in Seattle. She teaches about how people and computers can work together better. Her research helps scientists understand huge amounts of information. She looks at things like how to show data visually and how people work together creatively.

Before joining the University of Washington, she worked as a computer scientist for many years. She was at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory for six years. She also spent nine years at the NASA Ames Research Center. Before all that, she was a professional airshow pilot and even started her own business! In 2009, a magazine called Hispanic Business named her one of the Top 25 Women.

Presidential Early Career Award

On July 9, 2009, Cecilia Aragon received a very special award. It was the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers. This is the highest honor the United States government gives to young scientists and engineers. It recognizes their amazing research at the start of their careers.

She was honored for her important work in managing scientific data. She also developed new ways to analyze and visualize large datasets. This included creating special computer algorithms.

Aerobatic Flying Career

Cecilia Aragon is not just a brilliant scientist; she's also an incredible pilot! She first joined the United States Aerobatic Team in 1991. This team represents the U.S. in flying competitions. She holds a record for how quickly she went from flying solo for the first time to joining the national team. It took her less than six years! She was also the first Latina woman to earn a spot on the U.S. Team.

She was a team member from 1991 to 1994. During this time, she won a bronze medal at the U.S. National Aerobatic Championships in 1993. She also won a bronze medal at the World Aerobatic Championships in 1994. She has won over 70 trophies in regional flying contests. In 1990, she was the California State Unlimited Aerobatic Champion. Since 1990, she has also performed in professional airshows.

Dr. Aragon has been a flight instructor since 1987. In 1989, she started one of the first flight schools in Northern California. This school taught people how to fly aerobatic planes. She also helped create special training for pilots. This training teaches them how to recover from difficult situations in the air. Between 1987 and 2008, she taught flying at several airports. She spent thousands of hours teaching people how to fly and understand airplanes.

Author and Autobiography

In September 2020, Cecilia Aragon's book, Flying Free, was published. This book is her autobiography, which means it tells the story of her own life. Her book was featured in Ms. Magazine in September 2020. It also won the 2021 PNWA Nancy Pearl award.