Honoree: Capt. Carolyn M. Tewksbury-Christle, USAF

Capt. Carolyn Tewksbury-Christle has been interested in space exploration since she was five years old. She began her work early, starting with mapping impact craters on Venus for a small research project when she was in 5th grade. During high school, she competed as a finalist at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2003. Her research in all four years of these competitions used Magellan synthetic aperture radar data to investigate original questions on the tectonics and geologic evolution of Venus. She won major awards at ISEF from Intel, the US Army, US Navy, US Air Force, NASA, and the American Geological Institute. In 2002, in recognition of her accomplishments at Intel ISEF, the MIT Lincoln Laboratory named Minor Planet (12855) Tewksbury in her honor. Her Venus research won her 7th place in the nation in the Intel Science Talent Search in 2003.

Carolyn graduated Summa Cum Laude from Smith College in 2007 with a double major in Physics and Geology. In addition to being involved in several terrestrial geologic research projects as an undergraduate, she had two space-related internships, one at JPL with the Mars Rover Operations Team and one at Johnson Spaceflight Center in the Shuttle Descent and Landing Office. Upon graduation from Smith, she commissioned in the United States Air Force.

As an Air Force officer, Carolyn conducted research in cutting-edge adaptive optics techniques at Starfire Optical Range at Kirtland Air Force Base from 2007-2011. In 2008, she led a four-person rapid prototype development team to design, build, and test an unmanned aerial vehicle. She received the Air Force Achievement Award in 2009 and the Air Force Commendation Medal in 2011. She is a US Air Force Level 1 Certified Space Professional. She is lead author or co-author on five papers and sixteen conference presentations.

Carolyn served as a "back-room scientist" for the 2010 NASA Desert Research and Technology Studies (D-RATS) analog mission testing in the San Francisco Volcanic Field, Arizona for geological field studies with the NASA Space Exploration Vehicle (SEV). During D-RATS 2011, she was one of four geologists on a mixed geologist/astronaut crew who used the SEVs to conduct field geology in a terrestrial analog setting with prototype tools and technologies for planetary field geology (see profile picture).

Capt. Tewksbury-Christle will graduate from the University of Tennessee in May, 2013 with an MS in Geophysics and is scheduled report to the US Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs for a four-year faculty position in the Physics Department. She plays the bagpipes and is currently second-in-command of the United States Air Force Reserve Pipe Band.