Distinguished Alumna Award 2014
DREAM ACCOMPLISHED Distinguished Alumna Carissa Tudryn Weber ’96 By Nicole Letourneau
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arissa Tudryn Weber ’96 beamed as she waited to give a speech to a crowd gathered for the 2014 reunion dinner at Stoneleigh-Burnham School. She sat with her 3-year-old son, Walter, on her lap, smiling as she chatted with old and new friends and acquaintances. Just days before, she and Walter had flown across the country from their home in Pasadena, CA to attend the reunion and visit her parents in her hometown of Sunderland, MA, where she grew up as a “farm girl” with a love of math and science and the dream of becoming an astronaut. Weber was on campus to accept the 2014 Stoneleigh-Burnham School Distinguished Alumna Award. The award was created in 2010 to honor one alumna each year who has distinguished herself in her personal or professional life, in her intellectual pursuits, or in her dedication to service of community, country, or society. The award also serves to inspire the entire Stoneleigh-Burnham School community – students, alumnae, faculty, and staff alike – to strive “to become their best selves” in their pursuit of a meaningful life. In her introduction of Weber at the reunion dinner, SBS Head of School Sally Mixsell called her an “amazingly successful” woman whose accomplishments will inspire and empower girls to follow their passions. And, as more and more women are entering into fields previously predominated by men, Mixsell said, “There
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has perhaps never been a more significant time to be a girl and to be a girls’ school.” At the age of 35, Weber, class of 1996, has a lot to be proud of. She also has a lot to juggle as a System Engineer at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory of the California Institute of Technology and mother of two young sons – Walter and Axel, age 1 – with her husband and fellow NASA
“I ended up learning much more than academics at Stoneleigh-Burnham. I learned effective teamwork. I learned how to become a leader. All of this molded me into the person I am today.”
engineer Alexis Weber, Ph.D. “I am honored to receive this award, especially at this age and at this point in my career,” she said. “I’ve just been blessed with opportunities, and I am humbled to be able to inspire students.” A highlight of Weber’s career is her work on the Rover “Curiosity,” which landed
on Mars in August 2012. As a Mechanical Engineer in the Advanced Electronic Packaging Group from 2004-2008, Weber worked on motor drive electronics that could withstand the extreme temperature fluctuations on Mars, electronics associated with the flight aspect of the Rover, and electronics on the Rover’s skycrane that would play an essential part in the entry, descent, and landing phases. It was an historic mission in part because previous NASA Mars Rovers became active only after the successful entry, descent, and landing on the surface of the Red Planet. Curiosity, on the other hand, was active when it touched down on the surface of Mars, employing the Rover suspension system for the final set-down. Weber recalls the excitement she felt when her team’s work was picked up by the Mars Science Laboratory Flight Project as a new technology to fly on Curiosity. “I remember thinking, ’I’m touching this hardware now which will soon go to Mars,’” she said. “I thought, ’This is it. My hardware is finally going to space. What an incredible chance of a lifetime.’” In 2008 and 2011, Weber experienced another chance of a lifetime when she applied to the program to become an astronaut, which had been a dream since the 8th grade. While she wasn’t ultimately accepted into the Astronaut Corps, she was selected in 2008 as a “highly qualified candidate.”