Watch on-demand as NMSI VP of Public Affairs Nichole Austion facilitates an inspiring conversation Joan Higginbotham and Dr. Ciara Sivels. This event originally aired February 21, 2024. Joan Higginbotham is an electrical engineer, rocket scientist and retired astronaut, with dual master’s degrees, and a 35 year career working with Fortune 500 companies in the aerospace, energy, and retail sectors. Dr. Ciara Sivels is a nuclear engineer at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. She supervises the High Energy Concepts section working on a variety of projects using radiation detection and modeling. She was named an IF/THEN Ambassador in 2019 by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).