Equity advocate wins 2020 Outstanding Recent Alumni Award
Distinguished Department of Aerospace Engineering alumna is honored by the Michigan Engineering Alumni Board.
For her work as an industry leader working to grow STEM diversity, Aisha Bowe has received Michigan Engineering’s 2020 Outstanding Recent Alumni Award.
After earning a bachelor of science degree in aerospace engineering in 2008 and a master of science in space systems engineering in 2009—both from Michigan Engineering—Bowe joined NASA, working at the Ames Research Center in Flight and Fluid Mechanics.
In 2013, Bowe co-founded STEMBoard, a technology company that helps historically underrepresented youth play a role in designing tomorrow’s technologies.
STEMBoard is collaborating with historically black colleges and universities to host STEM camps across the United States. The company has also created HackIT, a week-long camp that combines technology with entrepreneurship to provide students in the Caribbean with a mini-incubator for launching new ideas.
As an advocate for positive mentorship and equal access to STEM education, Bowe’s work aims to bring more young people to the table.
“Some students may feel that they don’t have access to the same resources and connections as their peers,” Bowe told Michigan Engineering in 2017. “But that can be a good thing because it gives them a unique perspective. Today’s challenges need a variety of perspectives to find answers.”
“Ms. Bowe has done exceptional work in the field of aerospace engineering in the time she has spent in the professional sphere,” said Antony Waas, the Richard A. Auhll Department Chair of Aerospace Engineering and Felix W. Pawlowski Collegiate Professor of Aerospace Engineering. “She has established herself as a prominent industry leader and has amassed a litany of accolades from various organizations within the engineering community. Bowe has done an exemplary job representing the University of Michigan in her career thus far through her tenacious work ethic and commitment to excellence.”
In 2019, Bowe joined the University of Michigan Aerospace Department Industry Advisory Board.
The 2020 Alumni Awards, including the Alumni Medal, Alumni Distinguished Service Award and Outstanding Recent Alumni Award, are typically presented at an Alumni Awards Dinner on campus during Homecoming week. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19, the event will not be held this fall. However, the college is looking into other options for honoring awardees.
