Miriam Rodon-Naveira

Dr. Miriam Rodón-Naveira
The first Hispanic woman to hold the Deputy Directorship for the Environmental Sciences Division within the National Exposure Research Laboratory.
Born	San Juan, Puerto Rico
Nationality	Puerto Rican
Occupation	electronics engineer and scientist

Dr. Miriam Rodón-Naveira, Ph. D., is a Puerto Rican scientist. She was the first Hispanic woman to hold the Deputy Directorship for the Environmental Sciences Division within the National Exposure Research Laboratory. She is now responsible for developing, coordinating and maintaining research and educational activities in support of NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center mission. She holds a doctorate in Biology-Aquatic Microbial Ecology.

Early years

Rodón-Naveira was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where she was raised and received both her primary and secondary education. After graduating from high school, she continued her academic education at Georgetown University, Washington D.C. where she earned an undergraduate degree in Psychology. She then went on to earn a Ph.D. in Biology-Aquatic Microbial Ecology at the same university.

In 1990, Rodón-Naveira worked with the United States Environmental Protection Agency as Biologist, Project Officer, and Environmental Research Scientist. In 1995, she became the first woman minority Branch Chief within the National Exposure Research Laboratory (NERL) and in 1998, the first Hispanic woman to hold the Deputy Directorship for the Environmental Sciences Division (ESD) within the NERL.^[1]

Career at NASA

In December 2000, NASA offered Rodón-Naveira the position of Earth Science Remote Sensing Scientist at Dryden Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. Her responsibilities included coordinating and conducting research to enhance collaboration between Directorates within DFRC, NASA Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, California, universities, Indian tribes and other governments and international entities; all in support of the integrated use of remote sensing instruments.

Rodón-Naveira was involved with the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) developmental activities within NASA DFRC Aerospace Projects Directorate. As Science Lead, she was responsible for developing collaborative partnership with the scientific community for the potential use of UAVs as unique science platforms in long-duration, long-range, and high-hazard missions.

Rodón-Naveira is currently the Senior Physical Sciences Technical Manager at NASA, responsible for developing, coordinating and maintaining research and educational activities in support of NASA DFRC mission.^[2]

Personal life

Rodón-Naveira, who is married and has a daughter and a son, is the daughter of Puerto Rico's first female Chief Justice, Miriam Naveira (formerly "Miriam Naveira de Rodón"). She participates in "institutional career days" providing information to students on careers related to science, engineering and technology; as well as participates in NASA educational workshops giving talks and hands-on demonstration projects, such as the Earth-to-space linkup, to schools in the area of aeronautics and earth science.

The Earth-to-space linkup is part of a weeklong training workshop for teachers from schools chosen for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Explorer School program. The workshop's goal is to help math and science teachers inspire the next generation of scientists and explorers of space. According to Rodón-Naveira:

"What better way than to have our teachers who are currently going through the workshop with us ... be able to ask questions of our astronauts in the International Space Station?" ^[3]

See also

Puerto Rico portal

• List of famous Puerto Ricans
• Puerto Rican scientists and inventors
• List of Puerto Ricans in the United States Space Program

References

1. ^ Hispanics@NASA LaRC Employees' Achievements
2. ^ Rodón-Naveria
3. ^ Teachers Linked To Space Nasa Sets Up Talk With In-Orbit Astronauts

Persondata
Name	Rodon-Naveira, Miriam
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Date of birth
Place of birth	San Juan, Puerto Rico
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