Alicia Dwyer Cianciolo

Aerospace engineer, NASA

Lee's Summit, MO

Aerospace engineer| NASA

Address

Lee's Summit, MO

What I Do

To explain what I do, assume for a minute that you have developed an instrument to do something at Mars...now you need to get it there. I am part of a large team at NASA that can do the job. Lets say your instrument is a camera and you want to use to take pictures of the planet. We design the satellites to hold your camera and we put them in orbit around other planets like Mars. Or say your instrument requires soil samples on Mars. We find out how many samples you would need and where you would like to take them and we design a rover (mobile) or a lander (immobile) that will go where you want and take the samples you want.
Why Engineering?

I grew up on a ranch in Nebraska, and though I admired my parents for their occupation and I loved living in the country, I knew that I did not want to follow in their foot steps. In school I focused on what I was good at. I was terrible at spelling and writing but good math and science.
School Days

Creighton University, Omaha NE, Bachelors Degree in Physics The George Washington University, Washington DC; Masters Degree in Mechanical Engineering.
My Day At Work

I have worked on the Mars Odyssey and Reconnaissance Orbiter aerobraking missions and was a member of the Mars Curiosity and InSight Entry, Descent and Landing teams. I have led studies to identify the technology investments necessary to land humans on Mars. Now I am working to land people on the Moon with the Artemis Program as the Deorbit, Descent and Landing Mission Segment Lead.
Best Part

The challenge. Every day there is a new one. We are solving problems that have never been solved before.
My Family

Thanks to technology and NASA’s commitment to flexibility in the workplace long before COVID-19, I am able to continue to work for NASA from my home in Missouri where I live with my husband and four children.
Want to be an Engineer?

It takes a LOT of hard work, dedication and persistence but it pays off every time I see another new picture from Mars.
Additional Thoughts

The challenge. Every day there is a new one. We are solving problems that have never been solved before.

Alicia is part of a team at NASA designing satellites and rovers to explore our solar system. Much of her work has focused on ensuring that spacecraft successfully orbit or safely land on the surface of Mars.— She was a member of the Entry, Descent and Landing Team that delivered the Curiosity rover to Mars' Gale Crater in August 2012 and the InSight lander in 2018. Alicia thinks the best part of her job is seeing pictures or hearing of new discoveries that scientists are making about Mars with data they received from the orbiters, landers, and rovers she helped to put there. She says, "It makes me feel that what I do really makes a difference.” She is employed by NASA's Langley Research Center, and teleworks from her home in Missouri. Alicia grew up on a ranch in northeast Nebraska. Though she admired her parents occupation and loved living in the country, she knew at an early age that she did not want to follow in their footsteps. She became a physics major as an undergraduate. After a summer internship at a physics lab, she felt that, beyond a small group of scientists, the work she did would not immediately impact people. She desired something more applicable to society. That's when she turned to engineering. Alicia enjoys traveling, cooking, and spending as much time as possible with her husband and four children.