aerospace-engineers

"It rotates at thousands of revolutions per minute. It goes to 3,000 degrees. The fan blades are almost as big as you or I. Yet, the reliability and performance is amazing."

"If you are a civil engineer or a mechanical engineer and you want to have something that won't break, you just make it bigger. You add more material. In aerospace, you cannot do that. It won't fly."

"A jet engine is one of the most fascinating things in the world."

"I feel that STEM is the great democratizer. I credit my engineering degree to my ability to embrace analytical thinking as a skill and apply it to problems and turn that into an enterprise that has made me who I am today."

"Things like that do not happen to those who are perfect, but rather to those who are persistent, confident, and move with purpose."

"I had to create my own ideas, and those were created by success as well as misfires. I am not afraid of change, rather embrace it. Change means growth."

"I know what it feels to be hungry, broke, or scared. I knew these feelings earlier on; I learned to build on my feelings to create a space of growth and success."

"So yes, inspiration goes both ways, and mentorship of girls and women really matters; it turns them into successful people."

"I graduated high school with a GPA of 2.3. I was not getting into a top university with this score and I was forced to rethink and reexamine my choices."

"Although my concept of balance in life might not align with what people perceive – as I think it varies according to the stage of life – nevertheless I believe it is very important for one to reinforce positive ideas each day, and this is what I do every morning for an hour early in the morning."

"I failed early and I failed often. This is one of the secrets of success, Failure is the best mentor, because humans tend to move on if they do not fail, as if there is nothing more to explore."

"So, when I got to grad school, it was a little different. My involvement with the Honors College was morphed. I was not really an Honors student which is more focused on undergrads."

"I was that person that would ask companies – hey, can your company help with this or that?"

"The reason I started to share, the reason I created my professional Instagram and Twitter pages, is because I’ve heard a million and one times, that my story’s not just for me. People have told me multiple times – Wendy, it’s not about you, it’s bigger than you."

"I can’t even imagine how I would have struggled during the first year transitioning to being an aerospace engineering freshman at UT Arlington, but again arduous is relative."

"Now, generally, you do have the expectations you set for yourself. To what extent does imposter syndrome manifests with you and it varies for different people. How I handle it is I try to be super, overly diligent with everything, I have to know everything. I have to start from scratch; I have to understand it. And it’s very imperative; it’s important for me that my achievements are attributed to my capabilities and not simply because I am a Woman of Color in this field. It has to be my technical expertise that has brought me here or taken me there."

"I didn’t have negative experiences. But again, you stand out, and it’s just how you stand out that matters. But you will stand out regardless when you’re in the minority: when you’re female, when you’re black, or when you’re young."

"Yes, I got my Ph.D. in aerospace at UT Arlington in 2015. But before that, I was there for undergraduate and got my undergraduate degree in 2010."

"It was a lot of responsibility for sure. But it came with a lot of growth as well. Growth and independence of some sort."

"There’s no question. And what the Honors College did for me, was it positioned me to have a solid foundation in my course work and my academics, particularly the first few classes that I took that were Honors classes, really helped me – I would say, that they definitely helped me transition to the aerospace engineering program versus coming fresh out of high school and Nigeria because the classes were intimate and provided an opportunity for me to learn with other high-achieving students."

"But instead, I basically kind of took a pay cut for higher learning. But with that pay cut and all of these fellowships, I was able to keep my head above water and focus on learning. Focus on my Ph.D. program."

"Everybody just wants to know, what’s your story, how did you get to NASA? How did a 26-year-old black girl get a Ph.D. in something like aerospace engineering and get to work at NASA?"

"I would like to show you one of my favourite meals up here, which is a chicken with s, , and s. And I would like to try and put the ingredients together for you. See how it works in space."

"... I believe that space exploration is part of building the future ..."

"Decidere di fare l'astronauta non è come decidere di fare l'avvocato o l'architetto. Si devono verificare una serie di condizioni e ci vuole anche una buona dose di fortuna. translation: Deciding to be an astronaut is not like deciding to be a lawyer or an architect. A series of conditions must be met and a good dose of luck is also needed."

"La Stazione spaziale è un esempio davvero luminoso di come le differenze internazionali passino assolutamente in secondo piano quando si ha un obiettivo grande, una passione comune. translation: The is a truly shining example of how international differences are completely secondary when you have a big goal, a common passion."

"Come abitante temporanea di un avamposto umano nello spazio, condividerò la prospettiva orbitale e condurrò virtualmente nello spazio tutti quelli che vorranno prendere parte a questo viaggio. translation: As a temporary inhabitant of a human outpost in space, I will share the orbital perspective and virtually lead into space all those who want to take part in this journey."

"I have received many engineering awards, but I hope I will also be remembered as an advocate for the rights of women and children."

"War effort is a man staying and working an extra hour, or two or five hours a day. It is a woman cutting short her noon hour to get back to finish the job; it is someone taking home his problems to solve them after dinner; it is someone coming back in the evening to finish an assignment. War effort is something, which is as microscopic in the unit as the individual, but as mighty in the sum total as an army."

"China and the US should properly handle differences, brave difficulties and find the right way to get along. The past few years have seen China-US relations at record low since forming diplomatic ties. I believe you all know the cause to such a difficult situation. The world is big enough for countries including China and the US to grow together. The right way for China and the US to get alone is following the three principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and win-win cooperation."

"History has proven time and again that both China and the United States will benefit from cooperation and lose from confrontation. China seeks to develop a new type of major country relationship with the United States. As for the US side, it needs to act with sincerity, match its words with deeds and take concrete actions together with China to stabilise the relations and prevent further deterioration."

"Our dreams are linked. People of different countries are pursuing their own Shangri-La, just like the Chinese people. Long and arduous as our journey may be, we will get to the destination as long as we take concrete steps. Let us work hand in hand to build an Asia Pacific community of shared future, promote stability, prosperity and development in our region, and make the Asia Pacific a better place."

"China must be and will be reunified. It is the aspiration of our people and in line with the trend of our times. We will strive for the prospects of peaceful reunification with at-most sincerity and greatest efforts, but we make no promise to renounce the use of force. If anyone dares to separate Taiwan from China, the Chinese military will not hesitate for a second. We will fear no opponents and resolutely safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity, regardless of any cost."

"Let me make it clear once again, the more rampant the separatist activities for Taiwan independence are, the more resolute outcome the measures will be and all foreign interference will end up in failure. China's reunification is an overriding historical trend and an unstoppable course. The tolerant question arose as a result of weakness and chaos in our nation, and it will be resolved as national rejuvenation becomes a reality."

"It is undeniable that a severe conflict or confrontation between China and the US will be an unbearable disaster for the world. China believes that a major country should behave like one. Instead of provoking block confrontation for self-interests, it should bear in mind the interests of all, resolve differences through exchanges and cooperation and meet the aspirations of countries in the world. China and the US should not forget the history and need to draw lessons from history. China and the US have different systems and are different in many other ways. However, this should not keep the two sides from seeking common ground and common interests to grow bilateral ties and deepen cooperation."

"China is committed to promoting world peace and development with concrete actions. The Communist Party of China, uniting and leading the Chinese people in concerted efforts of several generations, has successfully blazed a Chinese path to modernisation. One distinctive feature of the Chinese path is peaceful development. This is an invaluable guide for our way forward that we have developed through years of hardships and dedicated efforts."

"The achievements China has made come from the hard work, diligence and creativity of more than one billion Chinese people; not from aggression, expansion, and pondering. Wherever China goes, we focus on building capacity, seeking cooperation and promoting development. This is widely recognised by the international community. As a Chinese saying goes, adjust course should be pursued for common good. China is ready to join hands with all countries on the path towards modernisation, and create new opportunities for global stability and prosperity."

"Second, Chinese modernisation has contributed significantly to safeguarding world peace. Peaceful development is enshrined in China's constitution. We firmly pursue a national defense policy that is defensive in the first place and have endeavoured to safeguard world and regional security."

"The true design of pushing for NATO-like military alliances in the Asia Pacific is to hold countries in the region hostage and play up conflict and confrontation that attempts will only plan to the region into a whirlpool of division, disputes and conflicts. History has proven that block politics, division and confrontation have never delivered genuine security. They can only escalate tensions and destabilise the region."

"As a matter of fact, regional countries have every wisdom and capability to settle their differences and disputes. At the end of the day, only enhancing dialogue and communication and promoting solidarity and cooperation will ensure stability in our region."

"I once read a line written by Chinese soldier on his mission. And here I quote, “If people ask why go into such dangerous places to keep peace, please tell them someone must step forward to safeguard the fundamentals of human civilization.” This is a simple wish of a Chinese soldier. It is also a solemn commitment made by the Chinese military to the world."

"Third, Chinese modernisation has played its role in improving global governance. Facing growing deficits in global governance, China holds high the banner of multilateralism and endeavours to follow a vision of global governance featuring extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits. We take seriously the legitimate security concerns of other countries and are committed to advancing global security governance."

"On the Taiwan question, it is the core of China's core interests. Taiwan is an internal affair of China, which is a primary and indisputable fact. Taiwan is China's Taiwan, and how to resolve the Taiwan question is a matter for the Chinese to decide. It groups no interference from foreign forces. As matter of fact, over 180 countries entered into diplomatic ties with China with the political commitment of abiding by the One China principle."

"In China, we have a city called Shangri-La in Yunnan Province and a small town also called Shangri-La in Sichuan Province. Shangri-La is synonymous with a utopia of purity, beauty, harmony and serenity."

"Today, as we look around, we see sluggish global economic recovery, resurging cold war mentality, rising regional conflicts, and security threats emerging one after another. Our world is far from tranquil, and people across the countries long for peace, development and cooperation."

"It is so called rules-based international order. It never tells you what the rules are and who made these rules. It practices exceptionalism and double standards and only serves the interests and follows the rules of a small number of countries. A just an equitable environment for development meets the shared interests of Asia Pacific countries. Anyone who attempts to fleece the flock or prey on the weak will surely be opposed by countries in the region."

"The Asia Pacific is a shared home where regional countries live and thrive. A sustained prosperity and stability in our region hinges on sound security and development environment. This is something that has not come easily. And regional countries have done so much to have made it possible. On the other hand, we should not ignore that the Asia Pacific faces unprecedented security challenges."

"Today, what Asia Pacific needs are big pies of open and inclusive cooperation, not smoke leaks[?] that are self-serving and exclusive. We must never forget the catastrophes inflict by the two World Wars and the Cold War. And we must never allow such tragedies to happen again."

"Fourth, preventing block confrontation with openness and inclusiveness. The cold war mentality is now resurging and greatly increases security risks of block confrontation in the Asia Pacific. Some big power continue to promote its so-called Indo-Pacific strategy. China holds that no strategy should be based on ideological ground and aim to build exclusive military alliances against imagined threats, as this could easily lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy."

"Third, eliminating conflicts and confrontation through mutual trust and consultation. It is natural for countries to disagree with each other. But there are two approaches to addressing differences. One is exacerbating tension and adding fuel to flames, while the other is seeking consensus and promoting reconciliation and negotiations. It is quite clear which one is the right choice."