Fighter pilot tells her story at Bradbury Science Museum

Contact: Shelley Thompson, sthompson@lanl.gov, (505) 665-7778 (02-020)

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LOS ALAMOS, N.M., March 6, 2002 -- Missy Cummings, one of the Navy's first female fighter pilots, will talk about her military experiences at 7 p.m., March 13 at Los Alamos National Laboratory’s Bradbury Science Museum.

Cummings will talk about her transformation from a small town southern belle to a fighter pilot and discuss the importance of conquering fears. She will use her personal experiences to help inspire and motivate young women to achieve their full potential. Cummings also will talk about her role as an aviation pioneer, breaking down barriers and gender stereotyping, especially in engineering fields.

The talk is free and open to the public. The doors will open at 6:30 p.m. and seating is limited. The Museum is located at 15th and Central in Los Alamos.

Cummings is an adjunct professor of engineering at Virginia Tech and author of "Hornets Nest: The Experience of One of the Navy's First Female Fighter Pilots."

For more information about Cummings and her book, go to http://www.missycummings.com/book.htm online.

Earlier in the day, Cummings will speak at the Expanding Your Horizons conference at the Lab, a program designed to encourage and motivate young women to pursue careers in math and science.

Los Alamos National Laboratory is operated by the University of California for the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) of the U.S. Department of Energy and works in partnership with NNSA's Sandia and Lawrence Livermore national laboratories to support NNSA in its mission.

Los Alamos enhances global security by ensuring safety and confidence in the U.S. nuclear stockpile, developing technologies to reduce threats from weapons of mass destruction and improving the environmental and nuclear materials legacy of the cold war. Los Alamos' capabilities assist the nation in addressing energy, environment, infrastructure and biological security problems.