Celebrated UW professor, daredevil pilot Cecilia Aragon to deliver Resnik lecture

Data scientist Cecilia Aragon, the first Latina pilot on the United States Aerobatic Team and first to receive a full professorship in the College of Engineering at University of Washington, will deliver the Judith A. Resnik Memorial Lecture at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 18 in Colton Chapel.

The event, free and open to the public, will also be available via livestream.

Aragon’s innovative research and groundbreaking work at NASA, designing software for Mars missions, led former President Obama to describe her as “one of the top scientists and engineers in the country.”     

A professor of human-centered design and engineering, Aragon will share her STEM journey from daughter of a Chilean father and Filipina mother to becoming a daredevil pilot and leading data scientist who’s worked with Nobel Prize winners, taught astronauts to fly, and created musical simulations of the universe with rock stars. 

In addition to her love of math and science, Aragon is passionate about helping others face their own fears and challenges to achieve their goals. 

“Dr. Aragon’s journey embodies the power of education and opportunity,” says Lauren Anderson, William Jeffers Dean of Engineering. “Her advocacy for human-centered data science and addressing bias in AI reflect Lafayette’s core values and deep commitment to inclusive STEM education. Dr. Aragon’s insights will hopefully inspire our students to be more courageous, take on hard problems, and think deeply about their role in building a more equitable, inclusive world.”     

Aragon’s award-winning memoir, Flying Free (2020), shares her journey of breaking past her own fears to become a champion aerobatic pilot. It debuted on five bestseller lists and is a TODAY show and HipLatina recommended read and winner of the 2021 Nancy Pearl Award from Pacific Northwest Writers Association and the International Latino Book Award Gold Medal for Most Inspirational Nonfiction in English.

Her latest book, Human-Centered Data Science, is an accessible guide to best practices for addressing bias and inequality in data science and AI.

Learn more at CeciliaAragonAuthor.com.

The Resnik Memorial Lecture series was named in honor of astronaut Judith A. Resnik, an electrical engineer who lost her life Jan. 28, 1986, in the Challenger space shuttle disaster. The initial Resnik Lecture in 1994 was the idea of Jack Farber ’38, and is supported through the endowment fund in his name. This year’s talk is also supported by the John and Muriel Landis Fund, Hanson Center for Inclusive STEM Education, and Engineering Division.