2023 Rising Star

PNAA's WIA Rising Star Award recognizes a woman who has demonstrated a drive for excellence that has inspired change and innovation. The nominee is not afraid to break molds. She understands the importance of sharing new ideas and fostering a thought process that has a positive influence in the workplace and community. The nominee is a creative forward thinker who puts ideas into action.

Missy Felix is a rising star at Blue Origin and in the space industry. She is a Technical Fellow Engineer in the field of vibro-acoustics with expertise in dynamic Finite Element (FE) model development and analysis, vibro-acoustic predictions, and damping design. Missy is one of the critical few vibro-acoustics experts in the space industry and is currently working on Blue Origin’s New Glenn Orbital Launch Vehicle.

Missy’s passion for aerospace was launched at a young age with encouragement from her father, who immigrated to the United States from Haiti to become a mech anical engineer, and her mother who encouraged her curiosity and interest in science. She simultaneously studied for her bachelor's and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburg, PA, graduating in 2009. After graduation, Missy began work at Boeing in Seattle, WA on the 787 Interior Noise and Interior Noise Technology teams. She had the opportunity to participate in extensive flight tests on the 787 and work on noise control technology projects on both the 787 and 777X vehicles. In 2011, she received the Achievement Award for significant noise mitigation contributions to customers of the 787-8.

In 2017, Missy moved to Blue Origin where she had the opportunity to lead the design and implementation of the acoustic treatment on the inside of the New Glenn Payload fairing. She developed a novel acoustic material system for the fairing before broadening her scope to work on vibro-acoustics issues across the entire vehicle. In 2021, her leadership in the field was recognized by Dexter Johnson (Technical Fellow at NASA and Head of the Loads and Dynamics Technical Discipline Team), who asked her to join the NASA Engineering and Safety Center’s Technical Discipline Team for Loads and Dynamics as an affiliate member, focusing on vibro-acoustics.

Missy has also demonstrated a deep passion for her community. During her time at Boeing, she was a technical mentor for new team members, trained engineers in technical modeling and prediction processes, and served as an advisor and subject matter expert for FE projects for new team members. Missy has continued her service at Blue Origin, where she was the inaugural lead of New Jackson, Blue Origin’s Black Business Resource Group, receiving an award in 2020 for her leadership of that team. She served as an executive mentor for the Patti Grace Smith Fellowship, a program that provides Black students with mentoring and a work experience in aerospace. She also serves as a technical and career mentor for engineers and has implemented initiatives that supported community growth and engagement, employee retention, and youth STEM outreach activities.

Bill Kindred, Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Blue Origin states “I have been a DEI Director for the past 15 years and have rarely met someone who is not only a technical genius on a strong growing path, but also spends a great deal of her own time inspiring internal and external people to become scientists and engineers.”

PNAA is proud to recognize Missy Felix with its 2023 Rising Star Award.