Farah Alibay | |
|---|---|
 Systems engineer Farah Alibay | |
| Born | |
| Alma mater | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| Organization(s) | Engineering career |
| Discipline | Systems Engineering |
| Employer | NASAJet Propulsion Laboratory |
| Projects | InSight Mars Cube One Mars 2020 |
Farah Alibay is a Canadian systems engineer at theNASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory who has worked on theInSight,Mars Cube One, andMars 2020 missions.[1]
The daughter of immigrants fromMadagascar, Alibay was born inMontréal,Quebec.[2] She grew up inSaint-Charles-Borromée, Quebec, and moved with her family toManchester,England for high school.[3]French is her native language.[1] The journey by the Canadian astronautJulie Payette to space inspired Alibay in middle school; as Payette was from her province, she served as a role model. She went to theUniversity of Cambridge, where she received her bachelor's and master's degrees inaerospace and aerothermal engineering in 2010.[4]
She earned her PhD in aeronautics and astronautics engineering from theMassachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 2014.[4] Her PhD research with advisorJeffrey Hoffman focused on the use of spatially and temporally distributed multi-vehicle systems for the exploration of planetary bodies in theSolar System.[5]
In 2013, Alibay was awarded the AeroAstro Graduate Teaching Assistantship Award at MIT for her outstanding work as a teaching assistant in implementingConcurrent Design Facility software into the curriculum.[6]
After her master's degree, Alibay participated in theNASA Academy internship atGoddard Space Flight Center through which she was introduced to the manyNASA centres and activities. It was there that she discovered her passion for robotic planetary exploration.[3] She interned at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory while she worked on her PhD.[7]Following graduation in 2014 Alibay was hired on as asystems engineer to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory full-time. Her first project was theMars Cube One CubeSats mission, a companion mission toInSight.[3][7]
In 2016, she became a Payload Systems Engineer on the InSight mission,[3] aroboticlander spacecraft that was designed to study the interior of the planetMars, to where it lifted off on May 5, 2018. Before the launch, Alibay had been responsible for the proper integration and testing of all of the spacecrat's instruments. While the mission waited for the spacecraft to land on the surface of Mars, Alibay helped the teams prepare for operations,[7] and she tested the detector equipment.[8] To celebrate the landing on Mars on November 26, 2018, she had her hair dyed red to match the colour of Mars and of the InSight logo.[9]
In 2019, Alibay joined theMars 2020 mobility team.[1] Her duty was to ensure that the rover did not get lost on Mars. During surface operations after the February 18, 2021 landing, she was the Tactical Integration Lead and an interface between the Perseverance rover and Ingenuity. On April 19, 2021, Alibay was part of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory team that successfully madeIngenuity, the first powered-controlled aircraft to fly on another planet.[10][11][12]
Alibay in 2019 also participated as a speaker during an interactive STEM discussion with students attending the 70th International Astronautical Congress.[13] This STEM discussion was part ofNASAs STEM engagement where the goal is to invest in STEM engagement are focused on building a future STEM workforce, through program elements designed to bolster capacity and to attract, engage and enable students to move toward STEM careers through NASA-unique opportunities.[14]
She works on diversity and inclusion in STEM, both to increase them in her work environment and to prevent others from facing the challenges that she had as anLGBTQ+ immigrant woman of colour.[1]
Alibay has spoken to the value of good mentors when she was an intern, and she mentors women interns as a result of those positive experiences.[7] She indicated that a guidance counsellor had once attempted to dissuade her from engineering since it is a male-dominated career.[15]
Her favourite moon isSaturn'sEnceladus.[7] Alibay often enjoys outdoor activities such as rock climbing, backpacking, mountaineering, and hiking. She also enjoys volunteering and giving back to her community where she volunteers as part of theBig Brothers Big Sisters of America program, as well as a CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocat) inLos Angeles.[3] She also is regularly involved in a variety of outreach activities, including giving talks, mentoring students, and teaching at space camp.[3]
Authority control databases: Academics |
|---|