Aisha Bowe (born November 4, 1986) is a Bahamian-American aerospace engineer,

STEM Stem or STEM most commonly refers to: * Plant stem, a structural axis of a vascular plant * Stem group * Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics Stem or STEM can also refer to: Language and writing * Word stem, part of a word respon ...

advocate,

space tourist Space tourism is human space travel for recreational purposes. There are several different types of space tourism, including orbital, suborbital and lunar space tourism. Tourists are motivated by the possibility of viewing Earth from space, ...

and entrepreneur. She is the founder and CEO of STEMBoard, a technology company, and LINGO, an educational tech company featuring tutorials and online resources featuring

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...

driver

Bubba Wallace William Darrell "Bubba" Wallace Jr. (born October 8, 1993) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 23 Toyota Camry XSE for 23XI Racing. Wallace was previously a dev ...

. In 2020, STEMBoard landed on the Inc. 5000 list of the fastest-growing privately owned U.S. companies. Bowe is the recipient of the

NASA Equal Employment Opportunity Medal The NASA Equal Employment Opportunity Medal is an award given to both government employees and non-government personnel for outstanding achievement and material contribution to the goals of NASA’s Equal Employment Opportunity Programs either wit ...

, US Women's Chamber of Commerce Emerging Star Award and Virginia Business magazine's Black Business Leaders Award. On February 27, 2025, it was announced that Bowe would be part of the crew for

Blue Origin Blue Origin Enterprises, L.P. is an American space technology company headquartered in Kent, Washington. The company operates the suborbital New Shepard rocket and the heavy-lift New Glenn rocket. In addition to producing engines for its own ...

's eleventh flight to sub-orbital space under the

New Shepard New Shepard is a Reusable launch vehicle, fully reusable Sub-orbital spaceflight, sub-orbital launch vehicle developed for space tourism by Blue Origin. The vehicle is named after Alan Shepard, who became the List of space travelers by nationali ...

program. The launch,

Blue Origin NS-31 Blue Origin NS-31 was a sub-orbital spaceflight operated by Blue Origin as part of ''New Shepard'', the company's space tourism program. The flight took place on April 14, 2025, and lasted 10 minutes and 21 seconds. The flight carried all female ...

, took place on April 14, 2025.

Early life and education

Bowe grew up in the United States in a working-class family. Her high school guidance counselor recommended that she become a cosmetologist, and Bowe subsequently enrolled in

Washtenaw Community College Washtenaw Community College (WCC) is a public community college in Ann Arbor Charter Township, Michigan.University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

. Bowe completed her undergraduate degree in

aerospace engineering Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is s ...

in 2008, and

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

in space systems engineering in 2009, both at the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

. She cites her interest in

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

as an influence on her choice of aerospace engineering. One of her graduate professors,

Thomas Zurbuchen Thomas Hansueli Zurbuchen (born 1968) is a Swiss-American astrophysicist. From October 2016 until the end of 2022, he was the longest continually running Associate Administrator for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA. Prior to this, he was P ...

, mentored her and inspired her to pursue a career at NASA.

Career

Bowe worked in the

Ames Research Center The Ames Research Center (ARC), also known as NASA Ames, is a major NASA research center at Moffett Federal Airfield in California's Silicon Valley. It was founded in 1939 as the second National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) laborat ...

, in the Flight Trajectory Dynamics and Controls Branch of the Aviation Systems Division. She joined the AST Flight and Fluid Mechanics group in 2009, assisting in the development of algorithms in support of Air Traffic Management. In 2012 she received the National Society of Black Engineers award for Outstanding Technical Contribution for her paper "Evaluation of a Fuel Efficient Aircraft Maneuver for Conflict Resolution". As a Bahamian-American, Bowe wants "to see more Bahamians in the science and technology field." While at

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

, she served as liaison to the Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement (MESA) Program. In this role, she mentored students, held interview workshops and led

site tours. Bowe is a part of the U.S State Department Speaker Program and delivered lectures in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

and

Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...

. Bowe was awarded 2024 Woman of the Year by STEM FOR HER for her work contributions to the field of aerospace engineering and commitment to inspiring and mentoring young women in

. She also received the 2024 Luminary Award at Black Enterprise's Women of Power Summit and being named Essence Magazine's POWER 40. Bowe traveled with

in 2025 on

, making her the first black woman confirmed to travel with Blue Origin. She also became the sixth Black woman to cross the

Kármán line The Kármán line (or von Kármán line ) is a conventional definition of the Outer space#Boundary, edge of space; it is widely but not universally accepted. The international record-keeping body Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, FAI ( ...

, the internationally recognized boundary of space. She shared the mission with guests

Gayle King Gayle King (born December 28, 1954) is an American television personality, author and broadcast journalist for CBS News, co-hosting its flagship morning program, ''CBS Mornings'', and before that its predecessor '' CBS This Morning''. She is ...

Katy Perry Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. She is one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists in hist ...

, Amanda Nguyen, and Kerianne Flynn on 14 April 2025.. In an interview with

ABC News ABC News most commonly refers to: * ABC News (Australia), a national news service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation * ABC News (United States), a news-gathering and broadcasting division of the American Broadcasting Company ABC News may a ...

, Bowe shared that she mentored a 13-year-old girl who is now an aerospace engineer working for

on one of the same rockets on which Bowe will be taking flight. On February 18, 2025

SpaceX Space Exploration Technologies Corp., commonly referred to as SpaceX, is an America, American space technology company headquartered at the SpaceX Starbase, Starbase development site in Starbase, Texas. Since its founding in 2002, the compa ...

Falcon 9 Falcon 9 is a Reusable launch system#Partial reusable launch systems, partially reusable, two-stage-to-orbit, medium-lift launch vehicle designed and manufactured in the United States by SpaceX. The first Falcon 9 launch was on June 4, 2010, an ...

booster landed off the coast of the Exumas. The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism (BMOTIA) hosted a delegation of Cabinet ministers, parliamentarians and special guests led by Prime Minister Phillip Davis at Cape Eleuthera Resort and Marina to witness the event. Bowe was invited for her role in creating space protocols in The Bahamas and her work in creating opportunities in STEM fields in the Bahamas. Bowe attended the 56th Annual

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is an American civil rights organization formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. B. Du&nbs ...

Image Awards where

Kamala Harris Kamala Devi Harris ( ; born October 20, 1964) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 49th vice president of the United States from 2021 to 2025 under President Joe Biden. She is the first female, first African American, and ...

received the Chairman Award. Bowe is a member of the National Society of Black Engineers and a certified Program Management Professional by PMI. She is also a certified SSI

scuba diver Scuba, originally SCUBA, often expanded to scuba set, is any self contained underwater breathing apparatus, a source of breathing gas used for underwater diving which is carried by the diver. Scuba may also refer to: * Scuba diving Scuba ...

and a mountain climber.

STEMBoard

Bowe is a co-founder and CEO of STEMBoard. The company provides professional advisory services to organizations in the U.S Government. The company was founded in 2013 and is an SBA 8(a) Certified Economically Disadvantaged Women-Owned Small Business (EDWOSB) supported by the U.S. Women's Chamber of Commerce. STEMBoard was ranked on

Inc. Magazine ''Inc.'' is an American business media company founded in 1979 and based in New York City. ''Inc.'' publishes several print magazine issues per year, and is anchored by journalistic content online and on social media, focused on entrepreneurship a ...

's Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing private companies in 2020. The company was also the recipient of the Nunn-Perry Award 2022 presented by the

United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and superv ...

LINGO

Bowe founded LINGO, an education technology company, in 2022. The company makes projects-based activities for kids. The activities are available in the form of kits including coding kit that teaches hardware and software design. The lessons are self-paced. The first kit was called "In the Driver's Seat" which taught kids to create and code a back-up sensor for an autonomous car. The company provides kits to children in over 10 countries.

Published works

Some of Bowe's selected publications are: * * * *

Awards

Bowe has been recognized for her contributions to engineering, diversity, and

equal opportunity Equal opportunity is a state of fairness in which individuals are treated similarly, unhampered by artificial barriers, prejudices, or preferences, except when particular distinctions can be explicitly justified. For example, the intent of equal ...

by the

National Aeronautics and Space Administration The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the United States's civil space program, aeronautics research and space research. Established in 1958, it su ...

, National Society of Black Engineers, and

US Women's Chamber of Commerce The U.S. Women's Chamber of Commerce was founded in 2001 to increase economic growth opportunities for women. As the only national organization of its kind, the U.S. Women's Chamber of Commerce works in concert with its over 500,000 members, natio ...

. Some selected awards are: *2024 - STEM for Her's Woman of the Year 2024 *2023 - Washington Business Journal 40 Under 40 *2023 – Black Business Leaders Award by Virginia Business Magazine *2022 – Inc. magazine's Female Founders 100 *2020 - Entrepreneur of the Year by the Black Data Processing Associates (BDPA) of Washington, D.C. *2020 - Outstanding Alumna Award, Department of Aerospace Engineering, University of Michigan *2020 - INC 5000 2020 List of Fastest Growing Companies *2015 -

"Emerging Star" Award *2014 -

Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that is a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical area of the Santa Clara Valley ...

's National Coalition of 100 Black Women's Women in Technology of the Year Award *2012 -

's Engineering Honor Award *2012 -

References

External links

* http://www.aishabowe.com/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Bowe, Aisha Bahamian educators American aerospace engineers Women aerospace engineers 21st-century American engineers American women company founders African-American computer scientists American women computer scientists American computer scientists University of Michigan College of Engineering alumni Businesspeople from Ann Arbor, Michigan 21st-century African-American scientists 21st-century African-American women Living people 1986 births Year of birth missing (living people) Women rocket scientists 21st-century American women engineers African-American women engineers African-American engineers Washtenaw Community College alumni People who have flown in suborbital spaceflight New Shepard passengers Space tourists