Yajaira Sierra-Sastre is a nanotechnology scientist, educator, and aspiring astronaut. Yajaira was born in Guayama, Puerto Rico, and raised in the town of Arroyo where she received her secondary education. She attended the Mayagüez Campus of the University of Puerto Rico where she earned a BS degree in Chemistry. Yajaira then worked as a high school chemistry teacher and attended Cornell University, where she earned a PhD in Nanomaterials Chemistry.  Her work experience spans more than 10 years of scientific research in academia, start-up companies, and the federal government.  In 2012 and 2016, Yajaira made it into the highly qualified pool of applicants for the NASA Astronaut Program.  Although she was not selected as a finalist, Yajaira lived her dream here on Earth when she was chosen to participate in NASA’s HI-SEAS (Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation) program where she, along with five other scientists from various fields, “lived like an astronaut” for four months and conducted research focused on Mars exploration. She is also dedicated at developing her own social enterprise, which focuses on inspirational leadership and citizen-science initiatives across the Americas.  Yajaira was recently featured in Science Magazine sharing how her fundamental knowledge of nanoscale science underpins innovations critical to the design of the dollar bill while serving as a research scientist at the Department of Treasury’s Bureau of Engraving and Printing. Yajaira will share her perspective as a female scientist who understands how to embrace and encourage the passion for science in herself and others.

Fostering a vision for a science career and embracing and encouraging a passion for science

254th National Meeting (2017)

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