Janis Chodas’s (EngSci 7T8, UTIAS MASc 8T0)
career is literally out of this world. She is Director for Engineering and Science at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), the leading centre for robotic exploration of the solar system. She was the project manager for the Juno Mission to Jupiter, leading the Juno Mission team through the successful development, launch and early operation of the Jupiter-bound spacecraft, which traveled over 3-million kilometers and arrived on schedule in 2016. She has received a significant number of service awards throughout her career including NASA’s Exceptional Service Medal for her work on the Galileo mission to Jupiter, the Exceptional Achievement Medal for her work on the Cassini mission to Saturn, the Outstanding Leadership Medal for her contributions to the Mars Exploration Rover project, and the Outstanding Leadership Medal for her management of the Juno mission to Jupiter. In 2018, she also received a Honourary Doctorate from the University of Toronto. An extraordinary role model for women in engineering, science and technology, she is on the forefront of expanding human knowledge and experience in ways that speak directly to our most human curiosity and desire to learn more about the universe and our place in it.