HEATHER PAUL

Heather Paul was born in Deer Park, New York, attended high school in Atlanta, Georgia, and now considers Houston, Texas to be her hometown. She attended Auburn University and graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mechanical Engineering and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Spanish. While pursuing her undergraduate degrees, she worked as a cooperative education student at the NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC), working in areas such as life sciences, propulsion, and space suit and tool design. She continued her education and work experience as she attended the University of Texas at Austin and combined her research on fibrous insulation materials for the advanced space suit with her work as a graduate cooperative education student at JSC. She obtained her Master of Science Degree in Mechanical Engineering, and returned to work at JSC. Her previous work experience as a cooperative education student enabled Ms. Paul to become a project engineer managing a team to create and build tools to construct and maintain the International Space Station.

Currently Ms. Paul works with the Advanced Extravehicular Activity team, working on the life support designs for the next generation space suits that astronauts will wear on the Moon and Mars. She is the lead engineer for the ventilation subsystem that will provide oxygen for breathing and space suit pressurization, as well as carbon dioxide and humidity control within the space suit. She also works on the thermal system that will provide the thermal control required to keep the astronauts comfortable while working in their space suits. Ms. Paul splits her time between conducting these engineering tasks and coordinating and participating in her team’s education outreach efforts. She has studied Russian and is currently studying Italian. Ms. Paul is also a group fitness instructor and certified personal trainer, and is working towards a second Master’s Degree in Fitness and Human Performance.