{{short description|American engineer|bot=PearBOT 5}} {{Use mdy dates|date=August 2021}} {{Infobox person | name = Tiera Fletcher | image = Tiera Fletcher Guinn.jpg | caption = | birth_place = Atlanta, Georgia | education = MIT | occupation = Structural analysis engineer | notable_works = Space Launch System (NASA) }}
'''Tiera Guinn Fletcher''' is an American aerospace engineer. She is a designer and structural analyst for NASA's Space Launch System.<ref name=":4">{{Cite news |last=Haskins |first=Shelly |date=2017-09-17 |title=Alabama rocket builder named to 'Awesome Women of 2017' |url=https://www.al.com/opinion/2017/09/alabama_rocket_builder_named_t.html |access-date=2024-02-25 |work=AL.com}}</ref>
== Early life ==
Tiera Guinn Fletcher was born in the greater Atlanta area in Georgia.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=https://www.engineergirl.org/40724/Tiera-Fletcher-Guinn|title=Tiera Fletcher (Guinn)|website=EngineerGirl|access-date=October 29, 2018}}</ref> Her mother Sheila is an accountant and her father Emery Guinn, Jr, is a construction worker.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://medium.com/thrive-global/this-african-american-couple-is-working-on-the-first-rocket-ship-to-go-to-mars-3dbc53d0c31|title=This African American Couple is Working on the First Rocket Ship to go to Mars|last=Abudu|first=Habiba|date=November 1, 2017|website=Medium|access-date=October 29, 2018}}</ref> Her parents encouraged her to calculate things and measure things in her daily life. These exercises, including coupon clipping, totaling up grocery receipts, and learning about the applications of architecture, challenged Fletcher and set her apart from other kids her age.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.guideposts.org/better-living/life-advice/finding-life-purpose/a-rocket-scientist-at-22-tiera-guinn-fletcher-is|title=A Rocket Scientist at 22, Tiera Guinn Fletcher Is Grateful|date=December 4, 2017|work=Guideposts|access-date=November 14, 2018}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite web|url=https://www.outsideonline.com/2304481/trail-blazer-tiera-fletcher|title=The Trail Blazer: Tiera Fletcher|date=May 8, 2018|website=Outside Online|access-date=December 9, 2018}}</ref> At eleven years old, she zeroed in on her interest in Aerospace engineering while participating in an aerospace program put on by Lockheed Martin.<ref name=":0" />
== Education == Fletcher attended Wheeler High School in Marietta, Georgia.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://cobbcast.cobbk12.org/?p=18687|title=NASA Rocket Engineer and MIT student Tiera Guinn returns to School Where it All Started—Lindley Middle|last=Kiel|first=Nan|date=April 24, 2017|website=CobbCast|language=en-US|access-date=July 15, 2019}}</ref> During her senior year of high school, Fletcher received an internship at NASA in Langley, Virginia.<ref name=":0" /> She also landed a research internship at the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2014. The internship involved assisting in the research of landing performance in aircraft.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.linkedin.com/in/tiera-fletcher-183a0046/|title=LinkedIn|website=}}</ref>
Tiera Fletcher attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and received her Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering in June 2017, graduating with a GPA of 5.0<ref name="Muhammad2017">{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.vibe.com/news/national/tiera-guinn-student-engineer-nasa-485147/|title=Meet The 22-Year-Old MIT Student Making History As A NASA Engineer|magazine=Vibe|last=Muhammad|first=Latifah|date=February 5, 2017|access-date=October 1, 2024}}</ref> She participated in a mentorship program to help other students at MIT.<ref name=":4" /> After her first year, Fletcher participated in undergraduate research studying design optimization of aircraft at MIT.<ref name=":1" /> During her junior and senior years of college, Fletcher participated in internships at Boeing. From June 2015 to June 2016 Fletcher was a Systems Engineering Intern at Boeing where she helped design, test, and collaborate with other professionals on Boeing products. The following year from June 2016 to June 2017 Fletcher was a design engineer and stress analyst intern at Boeing, where she helped with the design process and analysis of the Space Launch System for NASA.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.blackengineer.com/news/two-generations-of-engineers-working-to-send-us-to-mars/|title=Two generations of engineers working to send us to Mars|website=US Black Engineer|language=en-US|access-date=July 15, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://ourweekly.com/news/2019/jun/20/tiera-fletcher-hidden-figure-plain-sight/|title=Tiera Fletcher: 'Hidden Figure' in plain sight|website=ourweekly.com|date=June 20, 2019 |access-date=July 15, 2019}}</ref> [[File:Orange tank SLS - Post-CDR.jpg|right|thumb|upright=.75|Space Launch System in 2015.]]
== Career == After graduating from MIT, Fletcher took up a position at Boeing as a Structural Analysis Engineer.<ref name="Rogo2020">{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.essence.com/culture/22-year-old-mit-student-space-engineer/|title=#BlackGirlMagic: This 22-Year-Old Is MIT Student And Already A Space Engineer|magazine=Essence|last=Rogo|first=Paula Adhiambo|date=October 26, 2020|access-date=September 30, 2024}}</ref> She is one of the lead engineers and designers working on the Space Launch System for NASA which aims to put humans on Mars.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":5">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/overview.html|title=Space Launch System (SLS) Overview|last=Mohon|first=Lee|date=March 16, 2015|work=NASA|access-date=November 20, 2018|archive-date=October 21, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181021014905/https://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/overview.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> The area that Fletcher works on is the exploratory upper stage of the spacecraft which helps the craft complete its ascent phase. She is part of the Engine Section Task Leading team responsible for this, of which she is the youngest member.<ref name=":3" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.blackengineer.com/article/two-generations-of-engineers-working-to-send-us-to-mars/|title=Two generations of engineers working to send us to Mars|website=US Black Engineer|language=en-US|access-date=July 15, 2019}}</ref>
== Recognition and awards == Fletcher received the 2017 Good Housekeeping's Awesome Woman Award which recognizes women who are impacting the world for the better by overcoming social constraints and influencing the world around them.<ref name=":4" />
Also in 2017, Fletcher received the Albert G. Hill Prize at MIT which recognizes students in their junior or senior year who have excelled academically and impacted the environment at MIT in a way that improves campus climate for other minorities.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://awards.mit.edu/convocation/awards/albert-g-hill-prize|title=Albert G. Hill Prize {{!}} Awards Convocation|website=awards.mit.edu|access-date=November 20, 2018}}</ref>
In June 2018, Fletcher participated as a keynote speaker at Impact'18 in Krakow, where speakers discuss innovations and business models to share with the world what work they are doing.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://impact18.impactcee.com/|title=Impact'18 in Krakow – The future of the digital economy!|website=Impact'18|access-date=December 4, 2018|archive-date=August 6, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806130147/https://impact18.impactcee.com/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
On November 8, 2018, Fletcher won the Most Promising Engineer, Industry Award at the 2019 Black Engineer of the Year Awards.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.blackengineer.com/article/2019-beya-category-winners-announced/|title=2019 BEYA Category Winners announced|website=US Black Engineer|access-date=December 9, 2018}}</ref>
== Personal life == Fletcher was married in July 2017 to Myron Fletcher, an aerospace engineer who also works at Boeing as a pilot.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":6">{{Cite web|url=https://tnj.com/the-space-business-how-rocket-engineer-tiera-fletcher-is-helping-to-send-astronauts-to-mars/|title=Aerospace engineer Tiera Fletcher is helping to send astronauts to Mars through her background in structural analysis and NASA's Space Launch System.|last=Willoughby|first=Sergie|date=April 4, 2018|website=The Network Journal|access-date=December 9, 2018}}</ref> Both she and her husband share an interest in influencing young people to join the world of STEM along with increasing the diversity of STEM fields.<ref name=":0" /><ref name="Ortique2019">{{Cite news|url=https://www.phillytrib.com/lifestyle/young-engineer-is-hidden-figure-in-plain-sight/article_68b199e6-b4e6-5b53-8fec-cd790019da54.html|title=Young engineer is 'Hidden Figure' in plain sight|last=Ortique|first=Darcie|date=June 27, 2019|newspaper=The Philadelphia Tribune|access-date=October 1, 2024}}</ref>
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Fletcher, Tiera Guinn}} Category:Living people Category:21st-century American women engineers Category:21st-century African-American people Category:21st-century African-American women Category:21st-century American engineers Category:African-American engineers Category:American aerospace engineers Category:Boeing people Category:MIT School of Engineering alumni Category:NASA people Category:Scientists from Georgia (U.S. state) Category:Year of birth missing (living people)