Keynote Speaker Cecilia Aragon

Keynote Speaker and Lunch!

*Open to the Public

*If you have have registered for the NWS Annual Meeting and have purchased Saturday's meal plan, you do NOT need to purchase this ticket. 

Speaker Details: 

From Fear of Flying to the World Aerobatic

Championships

Description: In this talk Cecilia Aragon describes her

journey from extremely fearful daughter of immigrants

to daredevil airshow pilot — and then to using

supercomputers to solve some of the greatest mysteries

of the universe. She'll explain why flying upside down

ended up being less scary than getting a PhD. She'll talk

about how she used math to break free from her fears,

and finally, how she scaffolded that courage to build a successful career and joyous life.

Bio: Dr. Cecilia Aragon is an award-winning author, former airshow and US Unlimited

Aerobatic Team pilot, and current engineering professor at the University of Washington

in Seattle. She’s worked with Nobel Prize winners, taught astronauts to fly, and created

musical simulations of the universe with rock stars. Her innovative research, and a stint at

NASA designing software for Mars missions, led President Obama to call her “one of the

top scientists and engineers in the country.” Her award-winning memoir, Flying Free,

shares her journey of breaking past her own fears to become a champion aerobatic pilot. It

debuted on five bestseller lists, won the 2021 Nancy Pearl Award and the 2021

International Latino Book Award for Best Memoir, and is a TODAY Show and Hip Latina

Recommended Read. In addition to her love of flying and science, she is passionate about

helping others face their own fears and challenges to achieve their goals. Learn more at

CeciliaAragonAuthor.com.