Join my conversation with the multi talented Dr. Columbia Mishra

Dr. Columbia Mishra is a Lead Systems Engineer at Maxar Technologies developing the next generation of spacecrafts for a range of missions including proliferated Low Earth Orbit satellites. Columbia was born and raised in Malda - a small town in eastern India. She is the second of three children born to Minati and Jai Prakash Mishra. Her parents, avid space enthusiasts, named Columbia and her siblings Apollo and Challenger after US Space Programs.

After finishing secondary education from The St. Xavier’s School of Malda and Salt Lake School in Kolkata, Columbia attended Jadavpur University (JU), Kolkata, India, studying Mechanical Engineering. After her Master’s, Columbia worked at Makino Asia, Singapore in research and development. While away, she missed her adopted home in the USA, and chose to move back to Texas to work for Stress Engineering Services in Houston. During this period, a chance meeting with the then Director of Johnson Space Center reignited her passion to follow her dreams to pursue research and become an astronaut. Columbia joined the doctoral program in Mechanical Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin to specialize in Thermal Fluid Systems.

With her newly earned doctorate, Columbia joined Intel’s much coveted Technology Manufacturing Group in Hillsboro, Oregon. Her current work impacts the future of space exploration and is a career that was only a dream of a much younger Columbia.

Columbia enjoys training as a private pilot to fly small planes and while on ground takes on the fashion runway as a woman in science. She holds the sought-after titles of Miss India Oregon 2019 and Miss Asia California Global 2020. She uses her platform in the pageant industry to raise awareness about social issues including diversity and representation of women in STEM. Columbia with her partner, Dr. Philip Gach, has built a cozy nest in the heart of Silicon Valley, but seizes every opportunity to spread her wings and fly around the globe.