Aaron Yazzie shares many of the questions a lot of us have about the planet Mars. “Mars was once similar to Earth,” he says. “It once had water and was warmer as an early planet. It developed over billions of years in similar ways to Earth, but the question is, why did Earth develop life and Mars didn’t? Or maybe it did?”

When Tobin Beal was living in China and working as the CIO for General Motors (GM), he had an extraordinarily long to-do list. Among many other tasks, Beal was charged with developing information technology strategies and sales and marketing solutions to support the automaker’s success in a vital market and with its many joint venture partnerships with Chinese companies.

When Leona Anderson was a young girl in Los Angeles, she knew she was part Native American, as her father always told her this. Her father was born and raised in Broken Arrow, Okla., and he would visit his hometown for a month each summer and visit the Cherokee Nation in Bixby, Okla., to spend time with his sister. Her father’s visit was about reconnecting with his sister, but it was also about providing her with much needed assistance. “My dad would help her with projects around her house and garden,” says Anderson, this year’s winner of the Blazing Flame Award.

Long before Dr. Josiah Hester became a tenure track professor in Northwestern University’s Departments of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Computer Science, his parents taught him to understand the connection between computing and a secure life. “My parents saw that computing generally is your ticket,” says Dr. Hester, Native Hawaiian (Kānaka maoli), who remembers how his mom and dad started him learning the Java programing language.

These days, any discussion of electricity inevitably turns to energy generated by the sun. In fact, according to a recent report by the Solar Energy Industries Association, nearly 60 percent of all new electric generation added in the U.S. during the first quarter of 2021 was solar — and forecasts are that the mainstreaming of solar energy will only accelerate.

In some of Dr. Crystal Tulley-Cordova’s earliest memories, water is a prominent feature. She vividly recalls the silver basin — which looked to her like an oversized teapot — that her grandmother used to heat bathwater on the stove. It’s a pleasant memory, but one also laced with recollections of what a struggle it was to obtain clean water for bathing and drinking. “I have memories of how my family traveled over dirt roads to get water for our daily needs,” she says. 

A member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, Lillian Sparks Robinson has worked in Washington, D.C. for nearly 20 years, devoting her career to supporting the educational pursuits of Native American students, protecting the rights of indigenous people, and empowering tribal communities.  In 2010, Lillian was appointed by President Obama, and confirmed by the U.S.

When Kathleen Jolivette first joined The Boeing Company in the early 2000s, she had little in common with her fellow interns. By the time she arrived at Boeing, Jolivette had spent eight years in the U.S. Army, already started a family, and obtained her undergraduate degree. “I was in my late 30s.” says Jolivette. “I always joked about being the oldest.”

Though she didn’t know it at the time, Dr. Serra Hoagland’s upbringing put her on a path to becoming the only Native woman with a PhD to work for the U.S. Forest Service. Growing up in Placerville, Calif., a small town west of Sacramento in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, Dr. Hoagland just knew that she wanted to be outdoors. “My biggest thing was to finish my homework and go outside — that was my goal for the day,” recalls Dr. Hoagland, this year’s winner of the Most Promising Engineer or Scientist Award.

When Laura Smith-Velazquez was eight years old, her parents got her a telescope. The dark sky over Dorr, Mich., made for the perfect laboratory for Smith-Velazquez, an especially curious child. “I was fascinated with the sky,” she recalls. “It was so beautiful and I had so many questions.”