Natalie Panek facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Natalie Panek
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Natalie Panek, NASA Intern, setting up a transformer for wire fatigue testing with mentor, Dr. Henning Leidecker.
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| Citizenship | Canada |
| Alma mater | University of Calgary University of Toronto |
| Employer | MDA |
| Known for | Aerospace Engineering Science Communication |
Natalie Panek is a super cool Canadian engineer who works on space stuff! She helps build robots and automated systems for a company called MDA, which is all about space technology. She's also a big supporter of getting more girls interested in science and engineering.
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Natalie's Early Life and School
Natalie grew up in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. When she was in high school, she was the only girl in her physics class! This shows how much she loved science and wasn't afraid to be different.
In 2005, she even competed in a big race called the North American Solar Challenge. In this race, teams raced cars powered by the sun!
Studying Engineering
Natalie went to the University of Calgary and finished her first degree in mechanical engineering in 2007. After that, she went to the University of Toronto. There, she earned a master's degree in aerospace engineering in 2009. This means she learned how to design and build things that fly in space!
While she was still studying in 2008, Natalie worked at the Goddard Space Flight Center. This is a famous NASA center where they do amazing space research.
Natalie's Space Career
After finishing her studies, Natalie went to the International Space University. This special school helps people learn even more about space.
Today, Natalie works at the space technology company MDA. She helps with Canadian space exploration and robotics. Imagine building robots that go to space – that's what she does!
Building a Mars Rover
Natalie is part of the engineering team that is building a special robot for Mars. This robot is called the Rosalind Franklin Mars rover. It's for the European Space Agency. Natalie helps design the parts that make the rover move around on Mars. How cool is that?
Inspiring Others
Natalie doesn't just work on amazing space projects. She also wants to inspire other young people, especially girls, to get into science and engineering.
The Panek Room Blog
In 2012, Natalie started a blog called "The Panek Room." A blog is like an online journal. On her blog, she shares advice about careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). She also helps connect girls with mentors who can guide them.
Natalie often gives interviews about her job and talks about why it's important to have more women in science. She has spoken at big events like the Women of Influence conference in 2016 and the Girl Talk Empowerment conference in 2017.
Besides her work and helping others, Natalie loves to go backpacking and explore the outdoors!
Awards and Recognitions
Natalie Panek has received many awards for her amazing work and efforts to inspire others:
- 2013 - University of Calgary Graduate of the Last Decade Award
- 2015 - Forbes 30 under 30 (This means she was named one of the top 30 people under 30 years old by Forbes magazine!)
- 2015 - Flare magazine's 30 under 30
- 2016 - Wings Magazine Top 20 under 40
