Tracy Drain
NASA flight systems engineer
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Tracy Drain is a flight systems engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. She is the deputy chief engineer for the JUNO mission, which arrived at Jupiter in June 2016.
Tracy Drain | |
|---|---|
Official NASA profile photograph, 2008 | |
| Education | Mechanical Engineering, University of Kentucky |
| Occupation | Systems Engineer |
| Employer | NASA |
| Spouse | Ted Drain (Married 2003 - present) |
Education
Tracy Drain was born in Louisville, Kentucky.[1] She was always curious about space and the formation of the Solar System, and decided to study mechanical engineering in 11th Grade while at Waggener High School.[2] Drain was a big fan of Star Trek, Star Wars and Battlestar Galactica.[3] Throughout high school she competed in mathematics competitions and insisted on watching Space Shuttle launches on television.[4] Drain received a bachelor's degree Mechanical Engineering from University of Kentucky in 1998 and a master's degree in mechanical engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2000.[5] She was the first person in her immediate family to receive a college degree.[6] Whilst studying at university, she spent two summers as an intern for NASA Langley.[7][2] She interviewed for several aerospace companies before settling on JPL, which she chose because she felt "that their mission was my mission: the robotic exploration of space".[2]
Career
Drain joined JPL immediately after graduating in 2000, working on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.[7] After the launch in 2005, Drain was promoted to lead systems engineer.[7] Drain joined the Kepler project in 2007 as the Missions Readiness Lead, hunting for Earth-like planets, staying until Kepler checked-out in 2009.[7] In 2009 she joined Juno, which is studying the gravity and magnetic fields of Jupiter.[1] She is Technical Group Supervisor for the Flight Systems Engineering group.[7] She has worked for NASA for more than 17 years.[6] Drain worked on the Psyche mission, studying the largest known metal asteroid in the Solar System, launching in 2022.[3][8] Drain is currently the lead flight system systems engineer for NASA's Europa Clipper mission, set to launch in 2024 to the Jupiter system to study one of Jupiter's moons.[9]
Public engagement
Tracy Drain is involved with a range of activities to communicate her enthusiasm for engineering with the public.[10] She is an Exchange Consultant for the National Academy of Sciences, a program that connects the entertainment industry with scientists and engineers to create accurate science in both film and TV.[11][3] Drain was a Jury Member for the 2017 Sundance Festival.[12] She has spoken about women in film and engineering alongside Diane Kruger at the Sloan Film Summit.[13] She takes every opportunity to encourage girls and young people into STEM careers.[14][15][16] Drain was involved with the promotion of the 2016 20th Century Fox film Hidden Figures, in a series of films entitled Hidden Figures, Modern Figures, and took part in several panel discussions.[17][18][19] In 2017 Drain gave a TEDx talk at the ArtCentre College of Design, "Beauty of the Fall".[20][21]
Awards
2007 - NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal for exceptional performance in the development of the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Mission's transition to Science Phase Activities[22]
2009 - NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal for exceptional achievement in guiding and managing the Kepler Launch, Commissioning and Science Operations readiness effort[23]
2015 - JPL Bruce Murray Award for exceptional support for the education of minority and female STEM students through community programs, distance learning and public events[24]
2015 - Women in Engineering ProActive Network Women in Engineering Champion Award[25]
Personal
Tracy Drain is married to fellow JPL engineer, Ted Drain.[26]