-
-
Menu
-
NASA Scientist Dr. Nicola Fox to be Honored as 2024 Woman of Consequence
The Bryn Mawr School will present the 2024 Howard P. Colhoun Family Woman of Consequence Award to Dr. Nicola "Nicky" Fox, associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
In her role at NASA, Dr. Fox directs more than 100 NASA missions to explore the secrets of the universe–missions that use the view from space to assess questions as practical as hurricane formation, as enticing as the prospect of lunar resources, as amazing as behavior in weightlessness, and as profound as the origin of the universe.
Back
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 building of a more equitable and just world. “Leadership not only comes from experience but seeing others do it well,” Howard “Pete” Colhoun P’82 ‘84 ‘92, Bryn Mawr trustee emeritus, has said of supporting this initiative. Previous recipients have been Rebecca Corbett P’05, Investigations Editor at The New York Times, Dr. Redonda G. Miller P’23, President, The Johns Hopkins Hospital, and renowned artist Amy Sherald.
Dr. Fox will visit The Bryn Mawr School in late October to meet with students and faculty in all divisions. The Howard P. Colhoun Family Woman of Consequence Award will be presented during a private event in the evening, featuring a moderated conversation between Dr. Fox and Bryn Mawr alumna McKinley Brumback '10, an Assistant Professor of Physics at Middlebury College.
“Inspiring the hearts and minds of the next generation of STEM students across the world is paramount for the future,” said Fox. “The power of education at institutions like Bryn Mawr produces the next generation of leaders today that will change space exploration, scientific discovery and innovation tomorrow.”
About Dr. Nicola Fox
Dr. Fox joined NASA in 2018 as the Director of the Heliophysics Division in the Science Mission Directorate, where she led a world-class team in understanding Earth’s most important and life-sustaining star. She oversaw NASA’s work to study key space phenomena and improve situational awareness of the very space NASA astronauts, satellites, and robotic missions travel through as they explore the solar system and beyond. Her portfolio also included NASA’s robust space weather research to help the U.S. government better predict space weather, which can interfere with radio communications, affect GPS accuracy, and even–when extreme–affect electrical grids on the ground.
Dr. Fox has authored numerous scientific articles and papers, in addition to delivering science presentations worldwide. She is known for her keen ability to make science accessible to a broad range of audiences, as well as her stellar leadership, creating a sense of purpose and belonging in her teams. In 2021 she was awarded the American Astronautical Society’s Carl Sagan Memorial Award for her demonstrated leadership in the field of heliophysics. In 2020 she was awarded NASA’s Outstanding Leadership Medal.
Prior to August 2018, Dr. Fox worked at the Applied Physics Lab at the Johns Hopkins University, where she was the chief scientist for heliophysics, as well as the project scientist for NASA’s Parker Solar Probe–humanity’s first mission to a star. Dr. Fox’s extensive project, program, and supervisory experience included serving as the Deputy Project Scientist for the Van Allen Probes and the operations scientist for the International Solar Terrestrial Physics program.
Dr. Fox graduated from The Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine in London with a B.S. in Physics. She received an M.S. in Telematics and Satellite Communications from the University of Surrey. She then returned to Imperial College to complete a Ph.D. in Space and Atmospheric Physics.
More information about Dr. Fox is available here.
