Electrical Engineering Alumna Mary Byrd is First Female Associate Director of Stennis
April 7, 2021
BATON ROUGE, LA 鈥� 海角社区 Electrical Engineering Alumna Mary Byrd is leading the way at
the John C. Stennis Space Center as its new associate director鈥攖he first woman to
hold the position鈥攚orking her way up the career ladder through hard work and dedication
and aiming to mentor other young female engineers to show them anything is possible.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 know what I wanted to do when I was younger,鈥� Byrd said. 鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 until high school that I had a better idea, once I realized I loved math, physics and chemistry. I knew I needed to find a career where I could apply my strengths.鈥�
A native of Lafayette who grew up in Terrytown, La., Byrd had 海角社区 in her blood. Her father graduated from 海角社区 in chemical engineering in 1950. Then her oldest brother graduated from 海角社区 in chemical engineering in 1976, followed by her second brother, who became an electrical engineer in the 1980s.
鈥淢y father told my brothers and me that we could go to any college we wanted, but if we went to 海角社区, he would pay,鈥� Byrd said. 鈥淢y family loves 海角社区.鈥�
After graduating from John Ehret High School in Marrero in the late 1970s, Byrd moved to Baton Rouge and enrolled in engineering at 海角社区.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 have a big STEM education like you see today,鈥� she said, 鈥渂ut I knew I wanted to get into engineering, so I majored in chemical.鈥�
After struggling with the infamous organic chemistry course, Byrd decided to take her brother鈥檚 advice and switch majors to electrical engineering, convinced that it would be easier to find a job with that degree. As one of a few female engineering students at 海角社区, Byrd said she was lucky that she had her best friend with her throughout college, since she was majoring in engineering as well.
鈥淢y best friend from high school and I roomed together at 海角社区, so we had each other to lean on,鈥� Byrd said. 鈥淚 also had my brother there studying engineering, and I was an extrovert, so I think that helped me adapt.鈥�
Byrd said what also helped her feel connected in the college was joining as many clubs as she could, such as the 海角社区 chapter of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), which she served as president during the 1982-1983 semester. She was also invited to join engineering honor society Tau Beta PI and electrical engineering society Eta Kappa Nu.
鈥淵ou make a lot of friendships and relationships in those groups and in study groups,鈥� she said.
When it came time for Byrd to find a job before graduating, she and her friend signed up for as many interviews as they could when company recruiters would visit the college. Byrd favored power and control elements of electrical engineering rather than electronics and hoped to work for a company like General Electric. Just seven months before graduating, she received a job offer from Shell Oil.
When Byrd graduated from 海角社区 with her EE degree in 1983, she was only one of three female students.
She started off as a maintenance engineer with Shell Pipeline in New Orleans, where she was responsible for all of the electrical systems associated with pumping and metering stations in the Southeast region. She continued in this position until 1988, when she took on another important role鈥攎other. Things would change, but all for the better.
鈥淚 traveled a lot with Shell Pipeline, so it was really difficult to have a young child and travel,鈥� she said. 鈥淪o, they moved me to Norco Refinery, which was great even though it was a longer commute. However, they had a big explosion in 1988, and I ended up working crazy hours and weekends. It was grueling; so, I decided to stay home and raise my daughter.鈥�
Byrd stayed home to raise her daughter for two and a half years, at which time she also had another daughter. It wasn鈥檛 long before Byrd saw an opportunity to start working again. At the time, she was living in Slidell, where NASA had a computer complex that was looking for an electrical engineer.
鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 thinking about going back to work full time, but this was an opportunity I couldn鈥檛 pass up,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he facility was in walking distance of my house. So that鈥檚 how I got into NASA, through working for a facility contractor.鈥�
Byrd stayed with the contractor from 1991 to 1994, until the facility started to close. She then applied for a job at Stennis through its facility contractor, Johnson Controls at the time, and landed the role of maintenance engineer. She was promoted to maintenance engineering supervisor in 1998, a title she held until 1999, when she officially joined NASA in the same capacity.
Just a few years later, in 2003, Byrd was promoted to program manager for NASA鈥檚 Space Shuttle Service Life Extension Program, a position she held for one year before becoming deputy chief of the Operations and Maintenance Division of the Propulsion Test Directorate for six years.
In 2010, she took a job as a contracting officer鈥檚 representative (COR) for NASA鈥檚 facility contract, which was NASA鈥檚 largest contract at Stennis Space Center. A few years later, Byrd was selected as the deputy director for the Center Operations Directorate. In late 2018, she landed her first executive position as the director of the Center Operations Directorate and just recently, was named the first female associate director for Stennis Space Center.
鈥淐enter Operations is the organization that basically touches all of the services that are provided across the center, physical security, environmental services, logistics, information technology, operations, and maintenance, etc.,鈥� Byrd said.
The job is anything but menial. NASA is a federal city with more than 5,000 employees on the nearly 14,000-acre Stennis 鈥渇ee area,鈥� which is surrounded by an additional 125,000-acre acoustical buffer zone. Stennis itself has an $877-million global impact, with more than $650 million of that impacting local Mississippi and Louisiana communities near Stennis.
鈥淚t鈥檚 an exceptional benefit for Louisiana, as well, since nearly 30 percent of Stennis employees live in the 鈥楤ayou State,鈥欌�� Byrd said. 鈥淢any people don鈥檛 realize just how close we are to Louisiana.鈥�
Having worked for Stennis for the past 27 years, Byrd has had the opportunity to witness some of NASA鈥檚 rocket propulsion tests, such as the Core Stage hot-fire tests in support of the Space Launch System that took place in January and March.
鈥淚鈥檝e been fortunate enough to be part of the Space Shuttle program,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey鈥檝e tested the shuttle鈥檚 main engines at Stennis since 1975. In 2004, I witnessed the one-millionth second of shuttle engine testing. Then in 2006, I saw the last shuttle engine test. I have also supported the RS-68 program. The RS-68 is an Aerojet Rocketdyne engine that provides main propulsion on United Launch Alliance鈥檚 Delta IV rocket, which is used primarily by the U.S. Department of Defense.鈥�
In 2011, Byrd was able to watch the last shuttle launch, a bittersweet memory that will shortly be replaced with the upcoming Artemis missions, the first of which is set to take place in late 2021.
鈥淚 hope I get to see the first Artemis launch,鈥� she said. 鈥淎rtemis III will have the first female astronaut to step foot on the moon. Artemis is actually Apollo鈥檚 twin sister in Greek mythology, which I don鈥檛 think many people know.鈥�
Byrd鈥檚 enthusiasm for females in engineering extends beyond her work to students that she advises to go online and learn about internships through NASA鈥檚 Pathways Program and NASA鈥檚 STEM Engagement Internship Program. Both offer students the opportunity to work and explore careers while still in school.
鈥淚nternship programs allows students to get so much experience and knowledge that it positions them better for a longtime career with NASA when they graduate,鈥� she said. 鈥淣ASA is very committed to equal opportunity, where people are treated fairly and acknowledged for their hard work, regardless of their race, gender, age, national origin, etc. Also, about a year ago, NASA launched the Unity Campaign to drive NASA organizations to work more effectively together and improve relationships. While I鈥檝e always felt like I鈥檝e worked with family, this program has just solidified that and made it stronger.鈥�
As for her favorite part about working for Stennis, Byrd says it鈥檚 the people.
鈥淚 love the fact that you really are recognized for your hard work,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 like the expression 鈥楤leeding NASA Blue,鈥� but I do still bleed purple and gold.鈥�
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Contact: Libby Haydel
Communications Specialist