SGAC in cooperation with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) are pleased to announce Gabriela Himmele as the winner of the 2024 SGC/IAC – NASA Earth Science Scholarship. Gabriela will be sponsored to attend the 22nd Space Generation Congress (SGC): 10-12 October 2024 and 75th International Astronautical Congress (IAC): 14-18 October 2024 in Milan, Italy.

Gabriela Himmele is currently a graduate student in the Plasma and Space Physics PhD program at West Virginia University, where she is developing machine-learning-based diagnostics for laboratory plasmas. She has been fortunate to work as a graduate research assistant for NASA’s Climate Change Research Initiative (NASA CCRI) and be involved in other NASA Early Career Research (ECR) programs such as NASA SARP and NASA RockSatX. Presently, Gabriela is leading a team in the development of a payload to study atmospheric gravity waves using real-time machine learning on a sounding rocket set to launch in Norway in 2025. She also co-founded the NASA ECR Machine Learning Working Group and has convened sessions on machine learning for climate change research at international conferences. Gabriela has engaged in numerous outreach activities focused on atmospheric and space science in collaboration with the NASA Space Grant, including events surrounding the recent eclipse. She is passionate about promoting diversity in STEM and is actively involved in efforts to create inclusive opportunities for underrepresented groups. One of her most fulfilling experiences has been creating lesson plans for an atmospheric science summer course she taught through West Virginia’s Upward Bound Program for high school students. She cares deeply about space sustainability and climate change and enjoys storm-chasing in her free time.