NASA Scientist Dr. Nicola Fox Honored with the 2024 Woman of Consequence Award

The Bryn Mawr School honored NASA scientist Dr. Nicola “Nicky” Fox with the 2024 Howard P. Colhoun Family Woman of Consequence Award on October 24, 2024, for her groundbreaking contributions to space science research. Dr. Fox is the associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington, overseeing more than 140 NASA missions at any given time. 

The Howard P. Colhoun Family Woman of Consequence Award, named in honor of a loyal Bryn Mawr volunteer leader, inspires the next generation of changemakers by celebrating and supporting women who have used their voices and actions to make positive contributions to the world. Previous recipients have been renowned artist Amy Sherald, Rebecca Corbett P’05, Investigations Editor at The New York Times, and Dr. Redonda G. Miller P’23 ‘27, President, The Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Meeting with students in all divisions during the school day, Dr. Fox shared her professional journey, the many different career paths at NASA, and the types of missions she is involved with, from launching the historic Parker Solar Probe—humanity’s first-ever mission to a star—to collecting rock samples on Mars (and figuring out how to bring them back to Earth). Dr. Fox emphasized the importance of turning failures into opportunities and always asking questions. “Everyone is a scientist if you like asking questions,” she told Bryn Mawr students. 

In the evening, Dr. Fox accepted the 2024 Woman of Consequence Award during a private event on campus. Presenting the award, Nina Colhoun Wilson ’84 said, “Your work, quite literally taking us from the earth to the sun, embodies Bryn Mawr’s motto, Ex Solo Ad Solem. Your dedication to exploring and understanding our universe exemplifies curiosity, perseverance and innovation. You are an inspiration to young women everywhere, demonstrating the power of bold inquiry and passionate commitment to science.” 

Professor McKinley Brumback ’10, assistant professor of physics at Middlebury College, then led a conversation with Dr. Fox about her inspiring journey into astrophysics and how she overcome challenges such as imposter syndrome. Dr. Fox highlighted the crucial role of inspiration and mentorship, particularly for young women pursuing STEM careers. She shared that being offered a post-doc position with NASA was like being offered an Olympic gold medal or an Oscar—she couldn’t imagine anything better.

“The thing I love about my current job is that I feel like I'm enabling thousands of scientists all over the U.S. and all over the world to be able to do really amazing science,” said Fox. “I have the best job both on and off the planet.”

Howard “Pete” Colhoun P’82 ‘84 ‘92, Bryn Mawr trustee emeritus, offered brief remarks during the event on the importance of supporting the Woman of Consequence Award. “I want to bring together dreamers and achievers to show the dreamers what they can do.”