Faces of WISEST: Erin Austen

Erin participated in CHOICES in 2003, SET in 2005, and the SRP in 2008. Over the years, WISEST emphasized what her parents and a couple of special science teachers told her -- that science and math are not exclusive to boys and that these fields are open to anyone dedicated to pursuing them. It's great to have your parents’ and teachers’ support, but going to the WISEST Choices & SET conferences really cemented that. 

Her career path began with choosing to study engineering at the University of Alberta. While completing her undergrad, she heard about an opportunity called CaNoRock which was a week long course on sounding rockets at the Andoya Rocket Range in Norway, culminating in the building and launch of a sounding rocket. She ended up successfully applying to CaNoRock V and it was an incredible experience, both in terms of the technical material and meeting like-minded students from across Canada and Norway. She then joined the AlbertaSat team at the end of her first year, when the team was just beginning work on the conceptual design of Ex-Alta 1 for the Canadian Satellite Design Competition. 

Upon finishing her undergraduate degree, she applied to graduate studies in Aerospace Engineering and accepted a position at Carleton University in the area of space robotics, focusing on the kinematic and dynamic modelling of a large 4-wheel planetary exploration rover. During her time at Carleton, she founded the Ottawa chapter of Medical Makers, a group focussed on leveraging the power of 3D printing to generate a library of digital designs to improve access to healthcare solutions both in remote locations on Earth and in space. She was also accepted to the Dunlap Institute's International Summer School for Astronomical Instrumentation in 2018. She successfully defended her thesis in September 2019 and graduated with her MASc in Aerospace Engineering in November 2019. Her next challenge is as an Analogue Astronaut for the Medical Makers Mission at the Mars Desert Research Station in June 2020, where she will be filling the roles of Crew Engineer & Astronomer.