Naia Butler-Craig's Biography

Naia Butler-Craig, Aerospace Engineering Ph.D. Student, Georgia Tech

Naia Butler-Craig, a native of Orlando, is working toward her Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering and is a NASA Space Technology Graduate Research fellow and GEM fellow at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Her research involves characterizing the electron energy distribution function at the inner front pole cover of a magnetically shielded Hall-Effect Thruster with a centrally mounted cathode using Laser Thomson Scattering.

In between her pressing academic schedule, Butler-Craig also works to advocate for diversity in STEAM disciplines. She engages in public speaking events, volunteers with STEAM organizations, and virtually mentors students.

Butler-Craig has also built a large following online through her social media profiles and website. These outlets bring her advocacy work to life by offering a window into the life of a doctoral student in a laboratory, testimony and Q&A videos from her living room, and quick demonstration videos on a variety of aerospace engineering topics. Naia Butler-Craig is also the recipient of the 2020 Modern-Day Technology Leader Award and 2021 Forbes 30 Under 30 award for her outstanding performance in STEM.