Adriana C. Ocampo Uria
Personal Information
Born: 1955
Country of Birth: Columbia
Nationality: American
Ethnicity: Hispanic
Education
Pasadena City college AD in Science with an emphasis on Geology 1977; California State University Los Angeles BS Geology 1983; California State University Northridge MS Planetary Geology 1997; Vrije Universiteit in the Netherlands PhD Planetary Science 2012
""When thinking about the great adventure that you have ahead, dream & never give up, be persistent & always be true to your heart. Live life with gusto." science.nasa.gov/people/adriana-ocampo"
— Adriana C. Ocampo Uria
Professional Life
Field of Study: Planetary Geology
Institution/Corporation: JPL; NASA
Degrees & Memberships: Member: American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics; Association of Women in Geoscience; Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers; Society of Women Engineers; The Planetary Society
Awards & Achievements
Awards: 2016 Hispanic Scientist of the Year; 2002 named 1 of the 50 Most Important Women in Science, discover magazine; 1992 Woman of the Year Award in Science, Comision Femenil; 1996 Advisory Council for Women Award, JPL; 1997 Science & Technology Award, Chicano Federation; 2004 Outstanding Alumni, California Community College League; 2007 California State Northridge Outstanding Alumni Award
Achievements: developed Chicxulub Impact Crater Theory which states the impact triggered the extinction of over 50% of the Earth's species; Science Project Manager at NASA & has managed New Frontiers Program since 2015; has led at least 7 expeditions to Mstudy the cenotes , ejecta, & Chicxulub crater &based her masters & PhD theses on her findings; 2005 was a member of the Galileo mission team; led the Juno mission; is an expert in remote sensing; is dedicated to fostering international cooperation in space exploration; has participated in numerous planet mapping projects
born in Columbia, raised in Argentina before family emigrated to the US in 1970 when she was 14
volunteered at JPL during summers in high school, was employed part-time during college & hired full-time after graduation
worked as a senior research scientist at JPL & left after 32 years
wanted to be an astronaut from a young age, making spacecraft out of pots & pans, dressing her dolls as astronauts & her dog Taurus was her co-pilot
became a US citizen in 1980
has an asteroid named after her
has worked at NASA since 2005