Dr. Laurie Leshin becomes the first woman to lead NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory

For the first time in history, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory appointed a woman to lead the pioneering space research center.

"I always love space but it actually never occurred to me that I could have a job, working in the space business," said JPL director Laurie Leshin.

Leshin, who is also vice president of Caltech, has held the position for a month. She began as a PhD candidate at Caltech before going on a distinguished career in as a geochemist and a space scientist as well as in academia. 

"When I was more of a bench scientist, we got to work on very cool meteorites and study water, the solar system and I got to be here when Curiosity landed 10 years ago this summer," she said. "I was honored to work for NASA at NASA headquarters and the opportunity to work on the future human space flight program, the Artemis, missions to the moon."

Leshin said she is thrilled to be leading the team at JPL and feels honored to stand on the shoulders of women who came before her. She joins the lab from a university where she addressed gender disparities in STEM — which stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. 

"I definitely want to focus on making JPL a really inclusive environment — a place where all great minds can thrive," she said. "THat includes women, that includes people from all backgrounds... To the women out there I would say, 'go for it.' We need you in space exploration."

Leshin added it was a dream come true for her to return to working closely with colleagues at JPL and on the CalTech campus. She believes they have huge opportunities ahead to drive innovation across the global space ecosystem, including not only JPL but SpaceX, Blue Origins and the myriad of start-up companies. 

"JPL has always been an essential player in the space ecosystem and we need to work on how we maintain that and help these companies succeed," Leshin said."I want to help us build the next big telescopes that are going to look further into the universe and help us understand planets around ours."

Leshin added she is excited to see the fruits of their work in education, helping the next generation of scientists and engineers. 

"This is a place where you can dream big and make those dreams into reality," she said.