Calandrelli is an engineer who changed scientific communication. Credit: Morgan Demeter
Emily Calandrelli, an MIT engineer, science communicator, host, and Emmy-nominated TV producer, is headed for space.
On July 16, Calandrelli took to social media to announce that she will launch aboard Blue Origin, a mission that will make her one of the first 100 women in space. Calandrelli’s announcement garnered a lot of social media attention from her 3 million followers, and she hopes the ad will inspire young women and girls to reach for the stars.
“I’m really excited about this next generation of space exploration because so many people with different backgrounds will be able to see it and share it with their audience in their own unique ways,” Calandrelli says. Astrology.
Related: Meet Katya Echazarreta, the first Mexican-born woman to go into space
A spaceship
It is not yet publicly known whether the Blue Origin flight, which is partially funded by the nonprofit Wing 2 Wing Foundation, will take place, but it will include Calandrelli and his colleagues. five. The foundation has a connection with Marshall University in West Virginia – Calandrelli’s home. Calandrelli’s flight will also highlight Marshall For All, Marshall Forever, a program designed to help Marshall University students graduate debt-free. Calandrelli is an academic achievement champion due to his scholarship experience that allowed him to excel academically. This later allowed him to attend MIT for his master’s degree. If I wasn’t covered by my education, it wouldn’t be possible. So, I’m a big advocate of accessible education,” Calandrelli says.
One of the things Calandrelli takes with him on the plane is his father’s college ring. His father, Brad Calandrelli, was the first in his family to attend college, inspiring Calandrelli’s career path. He says he grew up in poverty but with patience and sacrifice, he built a nice home for his family. In high school, Calandrelli watched his father work tirelessly. He looked for the highest paying job of all: it was engineering. “Once I was there, I loved it.”
To continue funding the spaceflight, Calandrelli has also partnered with Space for Humanity as a Citizen Astronaut Program Ambassador. Her tour will highlight science communication and women in STEM (which stands for science, technology, engineering and math).
Communication science
When communicating about science, Calandrelli pays attention to what he wears and how he presents himself. In Calandrelli’s Emmy-nominated show, Netflix’s Emily’s Wonderlab, she is wearing pink overalls. Her social media posts on TikTok feature pastel-colored clothing and bright makeup. “When I was the host of Xploration Outer Space, I would wear these black, monochrome clothes, because I thought that would help me be taken seriously. I was very nervous about being a woman in STEM. I’m already a unique person, and I didn’t want to draw attention to that,” Calandrelli says.
As Calandrelli became more confident in embracing her true self and experience, her clothes became more feminine. “Now, when I’m going to write a book or give a speech, I wear something feminine and cute and pink and sparkly, and that’s because it makes me happy. “I also see how little children, especially little girls, look at me when I do these science experiments in a cute dress,” Calandrelli says. Over the years, his messages have focused on encouraging children to find the joy of science and pursue it as a career.
However, Calandrelli had difficulty financing his science education programs. “[Hollywood executives] they see women hosting science shows as a very unpleasant thing that boys and men would not want to see, so I have tried many times and failed to host science shows myself,” says Calandrelli. The feedback he gets from the management is that the majority of people who watch such shows are boys and men. Thus, shows with a female host, especially with a STEM theme, are considered a financial risk. “It is very sad because I have people and families who would die for more Emily’s Wonderlabbut for our lives, we can’t find someone who can support it,” Calandrelli says.
He adds that relying on the human side of science and not avoiding emotions is important for those who want to enter the field of science communication.
Calandrelli’s next step, after his trip to space, is to work on a book for adults. The book will be a collection of stories she wishes she had when she first went to college, when she first became a mother, and her thoughts on life during this time in her career. Calandrelli described it as a “feminist manifesto” and science fiction mixed.
“[Women] it can exist with different views, interests and identities, and trying to find a way to accommodate all of these and not be classified in the same box, I think is very important,” he says.
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