Thermal Engineer, Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Shonte Wright's longtime fascination with thermodynamics led her to a career working with some of the most exciting robotic exploration missions of the 21st century.
She was part of the team that prepared NASA's Mars Exploration Rovers -- Spirit and Opportunity -- for their epic exploration of Mars. Her work was crucial in keeping the rovers functioning on the cold surface of the Red Planet. Shonte also helped prepare the Mars Odyssey and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft for their journeys to Mars. She worked as an intern on the Mars Pathfinder and Mars Observer missions.
Since the successful launch of the rovers, Shonte has supported missions ranging from the Earth-orbiting CloudSat to the European Space Agency's Herschel and Planck projects, all while providing thermal analysis support to the Deep Space Network, the worldwide antenna network that keeps in touch with the spacecraft exploring our solar system. Shonte also has worked on planning for proposed missions to Europa, Pluto and the Kuiper belt.
In addition to her her engineering work, Shonte is a regular at student and community outreach programs, giving presentations everywhere from classrooms to conferences.
What advice can you offer to young scientists or engineers?
Being a young engineer I have found goal setting and mentorship to be of tremendous value to me. After I set my early, mid, and late career goals I found that it was much easier to identify opportunities for growth, and to ask meaningful questions of my mentors.
When you were in elementary school, what did you want to be when you grew up?
At first I wanted to be an Aeronautical Design Engineer, however after talking with my mom I decided to become a mechanical engineer since the mechanical discipline offers more engineering breadth.
Do you have any hobbies?
Eating Quarterback Crunch ice cream while watching college football, playing basketball at least 5 hours a week and participating in student outreach activities.
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