Dr. Valerie Wiesner is a Senior Materials Research Engineer in the Advanced Materials and Processing Branch (AMPB) at NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) in Hampton, Virginia. Her research has spanned ceramic coatings and composites for extreme environment applications ranging from reusable hypersonic vehicles and gas turbine engines to lunar and planetary exploration and surface operations. She served as Acting Assistant Branch Head in the Crew Systems and Aviation Operations Branch (2022) and in AMPB (2024). She began her NASA career as a Research Materials Engineer in the Ceramic and Polymer Composites Branch at NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio, after completing a Pathways Internship as a Ph.D. student in 2013.
Dr. Wiesner has co-authored over 40 publications and 100 technical conference and seminar presentations. She holds leadership roles in professional societies, including the American Ceramic Society (ACerS) and American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). She is a past chair of ACerS Engineering Ceramics Division (ECD) and symposium organizer at technical conferences. She was a founding member and lead of the International Forum for Aviation Research (IFAR) Early Career Network (ECN) and served as the NASA representative from 2016 to 2020 to connect early career professionals from the international aeronautics research community. She actively supports and leads STEM engagement and mentoring efforts at all education levels. She has received awards, including the NASA Early Career Achievement Medal, NASA ARMD Associate Administrator High Potentials Award, IFAR Distinguished Service Award and ACerS Fulrath Award.
She earned a Ph.D. in materials engineering from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, B.A. in physics with certificate in Japanese language from Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, and certificate in Japanese language and culture from Waseda University in Tokyo, Japan. Prior to graduate school, she spent one year working as a primary and junior high school teacher and translator for the Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education in Japan.
