| Name of AAPI Figure | Kalpana Chawla |
| What is the person’s Asian heritage or
ethnicity? | Indian American |
| Area of Influence | Science |
| Date of birth or time period | 17 March, 1962 |
| How did this individual make a
contribution to their field or to society/culture at large? | Kalpana Chawla was the first woman of Indian origin to go to space. In 1988, she began working at NASA Ames Research Center, where she did computational fluid dynamics research. |
| Why did you choose this person? What about
their story speaks to you? | I chose Kalpana because she was the first Indian woman to go to space. |
| How does this person inspire you? | Kalpana inspired me because she accomplished her dream to be an astronaut. |
| What surprised you as you were learning
about this person? | Kalpana died in the Columbia shuttle disaster when she was 40 years old. |
| Resources to share if others want to learn
more (optional)–list websites, books, or other resources you used to learn
about the person | Sanjay Lakshmanan |
| Submitted by | 8 |
| Age | Winchester, MA |
| City, State | tewari.geetika@gmail.com |
