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Aisha Bowe

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Aisha Bowe
Born1985 or 1986 (age 38–39)[1] November 4, 1986
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Alma materUniversity of Michigan
OrganizationSTEMBoard
Known forAerospace Engineering, Entrepreneurship and Innovation
Websitewww.aishabowe.com
www.stemboard.com
stemlingo.com

Aisha Bowe is a Bahamian-American aerospace engineer, founder, STEM advocate, and entrepreneur. She is the founder of CEO of STEMBoard, a technology company, and LINGO, an educational tech company featuring tutorials and online resources featuring NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace In 2020, STEMBoard landed on the Inc. 5000 list of the fastest-growing privately owned U.S. companies.

Bowe is the recipient of NASA Equal Employment Opportunity Medal, US Women's Chamber of Commerce Emerging Star Award and Virginia Business magazine’s Black Business Leaders Award.

On February 27, 2025, it was announced that Bowe would be part of the crew for Blue Origin's eleventh flight to space under the New Shepard program, along with Katy Perry, Amanda Nguyen, Kerianne Flynn and journalists Gayle King and Lauren Sánchez. The launch is expected to take place in spring 2025.[2]

Early life and education

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Bowe grew up in the United States in a working-class family. Although her high school guidance counselor recommended that she become a cosmetologist, Bowe's father encouraged her to take a mathematics class at her local community college. This foundation in mathematics then allowed Bowe to transfer into engineering programs at the University of Michigan from Washtenaw Community College.[3][4]

Bowe completed her undergraduate degree in aerospace engineering in 2008, and master's degree in space systems engineering in 2009, both at the University of Michigan.[5][6] She has said she chose aerospace engineering because of an interest in science fiction.[7] One of her graduate professors, Thomas Zurbuchen, was a mentor and inspiration to Bowe to pursue a career at NASA.[8]

Career

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Bowe worked in the Ames Research Center, in the Flight Trajectory Dynamics and Controls Branch of the Aviation Systems Division.[9] She joined the AST Flight and Fluid Mechanics group in 2009, assisting in the development and of algorithms in support of Air Traffic Management.[10] In 2012 she received the National Society of Black Engineers award for Outstanding Technical Contribution for her paper "Evaluation of a Fuel Efficient Aircraft Maneuver for Conflict Resolution".[11] As a Bahamian-American, Bowe wants "to see more Bahamians in the science and technology field."[12][1]

While at NASA, she served as liaison to the Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement (MESA) Program.[13] In this role, she mentored students, held interview workshops and led NASA site tours.[14]

Bowe is a part of the U.S State Department Speaker Program and has delivered lectures in South Africa, Israel and Kuwait.[15][16][17][18]

Bowe was awarded 2024 Woman of the Year by STEM FOR HER for her work contributions to the field of aerospace engineering and commitment to inspiring and mentoring young women in STEM. She also received the 2024 Luminary Award at Black Enterprise's Women of Power Summit and being named Essence Magazine's POWER 40.[19]

Bowe will travel with Blue Origin in 2025 on the New Shepard launch vehicle making her the first black woman to travel with Blue Origin.[20] Bowe is expected to be the sixth Black woman to cross the Kármán line, the internationally recognized boundary of space.[21]. She will share the mission with guests Gayle King, Katy Perry, Amanda Nguyen, and Kerianne Flynn.

In an interview with ABC News, Bowe shared that she mentored a 13-year-old girl who is now an aerospace engineer working for Blue Origin on one of the same rockets Bowe will be taking flight on.[22]

On February 18, 2025 SpaceX’s Falcon 9 booster landed off the coast of The Exumas. The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism (BMOTIA) hosted a delegation of Cabinet ministers, parliamentarians and special guests led by Prime Minister Phillip Davis at Cape Eleuthera Resort and Marina to witness the event.[23] Bowe was invited for her role in creating space protocols in The Bahamas and her work in creating opportunities in STEM fields in the Bahamas.

Bowe attended the 56th Annual NAACP Image Awards where Kamala Harris received the Chairman Award.[24]

Bowe is a member of the National Society of Black Engineers and a certified Program Management Professional by PMI. She is also a certified SSI scuba diver and a mountain climber.[3]

STEMBoard

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Bowe is a co-founder and CEO of STEMBoard, a company that provides professional advisory services to organizations in the U.S Government. The company was founded in 2013 and is an SBA 8(a) Certified Economically Disadvantaged Women-Owned Small Business (EDWOSB) supported by the U.S. Women's Chamber of Commerce.[25][26][27]

STEMBoard was ranked on Inc. Magazine's Inc. 5000 list of fastest growing private companies in 2020.[28][29] The company was also the recipient of the Nunn-Perry Award 2022 presented by the United States Department of Defense.[30]

LINGO

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Bowe founded LINGO, an education technology company in 2022.[31] The company makes projects-based activities for kids.[32][33][34] The activities are available in the form of kits including coding kit that teaches hardware and software design.[35][33] The lessons are self-paced.[36] The first kit was called "In the Driver’s Seat" which taught kids to create and code a back-up sensor for an autonomous car.[36] The company provides kits to children in over 10 countries.[20]

Published works

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Some of Bowe's selected publications are:[37]

  • Lauderdale, Todd A; Cone, Andrew C; Bowe, Aisha R (2011). "Relative significance of trajectory prediction errors on an automated separation assurance algorithm" (PDF). 9th USA/Europe ATM R&D Seminar (ATM2011). Archived from the original (PDF) on February 26, 2013.
  • Cone, Andrew; Bowe, Aisha; Lauderdale, Todd (2012). "Robust conflict detection and resolution around top of descent" (PDF). 12th AIAA Aviation Technology, Integration, and Operations (ATIO) Conference and 14th AIAA/ISSMO Multidisciplinary Analysis and Optimization Conference. doi:10.2514/6.2012-5644. ISBN 978-1-60086-930-3. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 8, 2017.
  • Bowe, Aisha; Santiago, Confesor (2012). "An approach for balancing delay and fuel burn in separation assurance automation" (PDF). 12th AIAA Aviation Technology, Integration, and Operations (ATIO) Conference and 14th AIAA/ISSMO Multidisciplinary Analysis and Optimization Conference. doi:10.2514/6.2012-5416. ISBN 978-1-60086-930-3. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 15, 2015.
  • Bowe, Aisha; Lauderdale, Todd (2010). "Selecting conflict resolution maneuvers based on minimum fuel burn". 29th Digital Avionics Systems Conference. IEEE. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.719.4632. doi:10.1109/DASC.2010.5655529. ISBN 978-1-4244-6616-0. S2CID 16101938.

Media

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Articles
Talks
Podcasts
Television

Awards

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Bowe has been recognized for her contributions to engineering, diversity, and equal opportunity by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, National Society of Black Engineers, and US Women's Chamber of Commerce.[38][11] Some selected awards are:

  • 2024 - STEM for Her's Woman of the Year 2024[39]
  • 2023 - Washington Business Journal 40 Under 40[40]
  • 2023 – Black Business Leaders Award by Virginia Business Magazine
  • 2022 – Inc. magazine’s Female Founders 100
  • 2020 - Entrepreneur of the Year by the Black Data Processing Associates (BDPA) of Washington, D.C.
  • 2020 - Outstanding Alumna Award, Department of Aerospace Engineering, University of Michigan[41]
  • 2020 - INC 5000 2020 List of Fastest Growing Companies[42][43][44]
  • 2015 - US Women's Chamber of Commerce “Emerging Star” Award[45]
  • 2014 - Silicon Valley's National Coalition of 100 Black Women's Women in Technology of the Year Award[45]
  • 2012 - NASA’s Engineering Honor Award[46]
  • 2012 - NASA Equal Employment Opportunity Medal[13]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Young Bahamian aerospace engineer pays courtesy call on Ambassador Newry". Embassy of the Bahamas to the United States. November 12, 2015. Retrieved July 13, 2019.
  2. ^ "Blue Origin Announces Crew For New Shepard's 31st Mission". Blue Origin. Retrieved February 28, 2025.
  3. ^ a b Blount, Joresa (January 19, 2018). "From Community College To NASA". Forbes. Retrieved July 13, 2019.
  4. ^ Pope-Chappell, Maya (October 11, 2016). "Meet the former NASA engineer helping to send careers into orbit". LinkedIn. Retrieved July 13, 2019.
  5. ^ Guy, Sandra (June 5, 2019). "Women Engineers You Should Know". SWE Magazine. Retrieved July 13, 2019.
  6. ^ "Former NASA engineer works to connect underrepresented youth to opportunities in science". Made at Michigan. University of Michigan. Retrieved February 9, 2018.
  7. ^ Asabea, Nana Yaa (October 22, 2017). "The Spirited Tech Entrepreneur - Aisha Bowe". The Minutes Publication. Retrieved February 9, 2018.
  8. ^ "Former NASA Engineer Makes Millions with STEMBoard - EBONY". www.ebony.com. July 23, 2016. Retrieved February 9, 2018.
  9. ^ "Bahamian engineer, Aisha Bowe wins 21st Century Trailblazers in Aerospace Award". www.thebahamasweekly.com. February 10, 2012. Retrieved February 9, 2018.
  10. ^ "BEYA Scientists 2013 - Where Are They Now?". US Black Engineer. August 18, 2017. Archived from the original on March 21, 2023. Retrieved February 9, 2018.
  11. ^ a b Bowe, Aisha R.; Santiago, Confesor (2011). Evaluation of a Fuel Efficient Aircraft Maneuver for Conflict Resolution (PDF) (Report). S2CID 51913631.
  12. ^ "Aerospace engineer encourages STEM education". bahamaslocal.com. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
  13. ^ a b Whachel, Robbin (July 13, 2012). "Bahamian-American Engineer Receives Prestigious NASA Honor Award for Equal Employment Opportunity". www.thebahamasweekly.com. Retrieved February 9, 2018.
  14. ^ "NASA engineer finds rewards" (PDF). MESA News. Vol. 36, no. 2. Summer–Fall 2012. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 13, 2015. Retrieved February 9, 2018.
  15. ^ "Inspirational Entrepreneur and STEM Expert, Aisha Bowe, visits South Africa". Startup Magazine. October 11, 2019. Archived from the original on July 19, 2021.
  16. ^ "Ms. Aisha Bowe lectured at FUTURE HIT Center". HIT - News and Events. Holon Institute of Technology. November 11, 2019.
  17. ^ "Zain sponsors virtual talk hosted by GUST and ASCC". Kuwait Times. December 26, 2020.
  18. ^ "Aisha Bowe Interview". U.S Speaker Programs (Interview). Interviewed by Kress, Molly. United States Department of State.
  19. ^ "From Rocket Science To Space Travel, This Unicorn Founder's Journey To Success". Essence.com. November 12, 2015. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
  20. ^ a b Bowe, Aisha (April 2023). "Rocket Scientist Aisha Bowe on a Mission to Inspire Others to Reach for the Stars". WIPO Magazine (Interview). Interviewed by Jewell, Catherine.
  21. ^ Bowe, Aisha (October 27, 2022). "Aisha Bowe Is The First Black Woman Confirmed To Fly To Space with Blue Origin". AD Week (Interview).
  22. ^ Bowe, Aisha (December 13, 2024). "Aisha Bowe prepares for historic space voyage as first Black woman aboard Blue Origin". ABCnews.com (Interview).
  23. ^ Bowe, Aisha (February 18, 2025). "SpaceX Rocket Landing Makes History in The Bahamas". South Florida Caribbean News (Interview).
  24. ^ Bowe, Aisha (February 22, 2025). "NAACP Image Awards 2025 Red Carpet Arrivals Photos, Live Updates: Kamala Harris, Kerry Washington and More". WWD.com (Interview). Interviewed by Botelho, Renan.
  25. ^ "STEMBoard - Advancing the Nation". stemboard.com. Retrieved February 9, 2018.
  26. ^ "Ognsc 10 12 17". Issuu. Retrieved February 9, 2018.
  27. ^ "ESSENCE Presents 'Woke 100 Women'". Essence.com. Retrieved February 9, 2018.
  28. ^ "August 17, 2020". Inc. 2020. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
  29. ^ Robards, Chester (August 17, 2020). "Company run by Bahamian makes Inc. 5000 list". The Nassau Guardian. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
  30. ^ "Department of Defense Announces Winners of the Fiscal Year 2022 Nunn-Perry Award". U.S. Department of Defense. March 6, 2023.
  31. ^ "2023 Virginia Black Business Leaders Awards". content.yudu.com.
  32. ^ "Entrepreneur & engineer Aisha Bowe creates STEMBoard Lingo Coding Kit to inspire". Techstination. December 15, 2020. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
  33. ^ a b Carey, Teresa (June 26, 2020). "New Tech Startup Aims to Teach More Girls to Code". Freethink. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
  34. ^ Zemler, Emily (August 17, 2020). "How To Go Back To School Without Actually Going Back To School". Shondaland. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
  35. ^ Dorsey, Sherrell (July 12, 2020). "These Black Founders Succeeded In Spite of Silicon Valley". Wired. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
  36. ^ a b Faerman, Zlata (February 9, 2021). "Best STEM Toys for Kids". NY Metro Parents. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
  37. ^ "Aisha Bowe". Google Scholar.
  38. ^ "2012 National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) Aerospace Conference Awards". NASA Aviation Systems Division. Archived from the original on February 19, 2013. Retrieved February 9, 2018.
  39. ^ Her, STEM for. "AISHA BOWE NAMED STEM FOR HER'S WOMAN OF THE YEAR 2024". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved February 7, 2025.
  40. ^ Davis, Amanda (July 21, 2023). "40 Under 40: STEMBoard's Aisha Bowe". Washington Business Journal.
  41. ^ Trumbauer, Madeline (March 5, 2021). "Department of Aerospace Engineering alumna Aisha Bowe wins 2020 Outstanding Recent Alumna award". University of Michigan. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
  42. ^ Robards, Chester (August 17, 2020). "Company run by Bahamian makes Inc. 5000 list". The Nassau Guardian. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
  43. ^ "Annual Inc5000 2020". Inc. 5000. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
  44. ^ Ramos, Joseph (August 17, 2020). "Arlington Firms Make Inc. 5,000 Fastest-Growing U.S. Companies List". Arlington Now. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
  45. ^ a b "Aisha Bowe – Digital Diversity Network". digitaldiversitynetwork.com. Retrieved February 9, 2018.
  46. ^ "NASA aerospace engineer Bowe lands at MTSU, Hobgood". MTSU News. April 15, 2014. Retrieved February 9, 2018.
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