James Webb Panel

Cassie Roby

Thermal Systems Engineer

Jade Macabulos

Electrical Systems Engineer
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Malak Alamad

Technical Operations Engineer

Krystal Puga

Spacecraft Systems Engineer

Featured Speaker— Linh Dang

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April 14,  6-7pm PDT
Advanced Mission Programs (AMP) Director  Strategic Space Systems, Northrop Grumman
Linh Dang is the Enhancements and Growth Project Director for the Advanced Mission Programs (AMP) within the Strategic Space Systems Division at Northrop Grumman.  In this role, Linh is responsible for the capture and execution of the enhancement portfolio on AMP. This portfolio is over $1B to provide new capabilities to our nation’s warfighters.  The programs in the portfolio are in various stages, ranging from program capture through design reviews to accelerated hardware delivery.
Prior to this role, Linh served in key leadership and technical roles on various restricted, military, and civil space programs.   Linh has 21 years of multi-discipline experience ranging from microelectronics to space systems - including program management, sub-contract/supplier management, system engineering, technology development, and business development.

Linh earned her bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering and her master’s degree in Material Science and Engineering from the University of California Los Angeles. She also obtained an MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management.   

In recognition of her leadership and technical achievements, she received the President’s Award for Program Excellence, Society of Women Engineers Emerging Leaders Award and the Northrop Grumman Engineers Choice Award for Excellence in Leadership.  In recognition of her work as a technical innovator, Linh received the Asian-American Engineers of the Year award, two Northrop Grumman Distinguished Invention Awards, a NASA Tech Brief Award, three US patents, and is a key contributor to various Northrop Grumman trade secrets.
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Northrop Grumman is a leading global security company providing innovative systems, products and solutions in autonomous systems, cyber, C4ISR, strike and logistics and modernization customers worldwide. Please visit www.northropgrumman.com for more information. 

Register here!

James Webb Space Telescope Panel

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Attention all Middle and High School students! You don’t want to miss this virtual live event with STEM Ambassadors who work on the James Webb Space Telescope. Get ready to learn about careers in STEM, engineering, and aerospace.

April 7 from 5-6pm PST (8-9pm ET) 
Event Sponsor: Los Angeles County Office of Education, STEM Unit

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See the recording here!

Meet The Panelists!

Cassie Roby
Thermal Systems Engineer

Malak Alamad
Technical Operations Engineer

Cassie joined Northrop Grumman in July 2020 after graduating with her Bachelor's of Science and Master's of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Florida State University. She currently works thermal systems engineering for the AMP program working design and analysis. She recently supported thermal flight operations for the James Webb Space Telescope in Baltimore, MD. There she supported cooldown and instrument turn-on and calibration. Cassie is the current Miss Los Angeles County and focuses on encouraging more girls to join STEM through her program SpACE Girls.

Malak Alamad Technical Operations Engineer Malak started at Northrop Grumman in June of 2015. She began as an intern, working in an electrical calibration lab. After 3.5 years in that role, she graduated from CSULB with a degree in electrical engineering and was hired into the company full time. Her new role was as a systems test engineer on the James Webb Space Telescope program, which was her dream job out of college. She supported the electrical integration and test team as a systems test engineer. She also had the opportunity to support the launch effort in French Guiana, which led up to a Christmas Day launch of last year. She currently works as a technical operations engineer, supporting functional management with anything from the day-to-day tasks to high level projects across multiple disciplines.

Cassie joined Northrop Grumman in July 2020 after graduating with her Bachelor's of Science and Master's of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Florida State University. She currently works thermal systems engineering for the AMP program working design and analysis. She recently supported thermal flight operations for the James Webb Space Telescope in Baltimore, MD. There she supported cooldown and instrument turn-on and calibration. Cassie is the current Miss Los Angeles County and focuses on encouraging more girls to join STEM through her program SpACE Girls. 

Malak started at Northrop Grumman in June of 2015. She began as an intern, working in an electrical calibration lab. After 3.5 years in that role, she graduated from CSULB with a degree in electrical engineering and was hired into the company full time. Her new role was as a systems test engineer on the James Webb Space Telescope program, which was her dream job out of college. She supported the electrical integration and test team as a systems test engineer. She also had the opportunity to support the launch effort in French Guiana, which led up to a Christmas Day launch of last year. She currently works as a technical operations engineer, supporting functional management with anything from the day-to-day tasks to high level projects across multiple disciplines.

Jade Macabulos
Electrical Systems Engineer

Krystal Puga
Spacecraft Systems Engineer
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Jade started her career at Northrop Grumman in 2015 on the James Webb Space Telescope program. As part of JWST, she was part of the Electrical Design Integration and Electrical Power Subsystem teams, where she had a diverse experience of supporting roles in design, analysis, integration, and testing. Most recently, she recently supported JWST’s Launch from Ariane Space in French Guiana and Commissioning from the Mission Operations Center in Baltimore, Maryland. Jade received her Bachelor’s of Science in Electrical Engineering and Master’s of Science in Systems Engineering at the University of Southern California. In her free time, she enjoys rock climbing, traveling internationally, and eating everything matcha.

Krystal Puga is a Spacecraft Systems Engineer with Northrop Grumman Space Systems based in Los Angeles, CA. She is the hardware deputy manager for the 178 deployment mechanisms that will unfurl the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) once it is in space. JWST is the successor to the Hubble Space Telescope, its mission is to observe the formation of galaxies, understand how stars are born, examine the makeup of exoplanets light years away, and search for the very first light at the beginning of the universe. Before joining JWST she lead the environmental requirements team on both the NPOESS and DWSS weather satellites to ensure the spacecraft would survive the extreme environments of space. Her passion is in space education. As a founder of the Northrop Grumman High School Innovation Challenge she developed several engineering competitions to promote STEM to middle and high school students. She extended Northrop’s STEM outreach to target underserved communities by developing the STEM High School Internship Program for students from lower income families. She previously served as the president of the Los Angles Mars Society, and created the annual Mars DAY STEM Initiative. Krystal has also served as a Hispanic Hero for the Los Angeles Hispanic Youth Institute since 2009. Krystal is a first generation Latina from Tulare CA, an agricultural city in the San Joaquin Valley. She holds a Masters of Science in Astronautical Engineering from the University of Southern California and a Bachelor of Science in Engineering Physics from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, Florida.

Jade started her career at Northrop Grumman in 2015 on the James Webb Space Telescope program. As part of JWST, she was part of the Electrical Design Integration and Electrical Power Subsystem teams, where she had a diverse experience of supporting roles in design, analysis, integration, and testing. Most recently, she recently supported JWST’s Launch from Ariane Space in French Guiana and Commissioning from the Mission Operations Center in Baltimore, Maryland. Jade received her Bachelor’s of Science in Electrical Engineering and Master’s of Science in Systems Engineering at the University of Southern California. In her free time, she enjoys rock climbing, traveling internationally, and eating everything matcha.

Hillary Stock
Deployment Specialist

Hillary Stock is a Deployment Specialist for the James Webb
Space Telescope. She began her career on Webb as a
structural dynamics analyst in 2014 and has since held
technical roles supporting hardware design and test, control
systems, and on-orbit operations for the Sunshield

subsystem. In January 2021 she oversaw the successful on-
orbit deployment of the Webb Sunshield as the Deployment

Lead from the Mission Operations Center in Baltimore, MD.
She earned her Master and Bachelor of Science in
Aerospace Engineering and Bachelor of Arts in International
Relations from the University of Southern California.

Krystal Puga is a Spacecraft Systems Engineer with Northrop Grumman Space Systems based in Los Angeles, CA. She is the hardware deputy manager for the 178 deployment mechanisms that will unfurl the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) once it is in space. JWST is the successor to the Hubble Space Telescope, its mission is to observe the formation of galaxies, understand how stars are born, examine the makeup of exoplanets light years away, and search for the very first light at the beginning of the universe. Before joining JWST she lead the environmental requirements team on both the NPOESS and DWSS weather satellites to ensure the spacecraft would survive the extreme environments of space.
Her passion is in space education. As a founder of the Northrop Grumman High School Innovation Challenge she developed several engineering competitions to promote STEM to middle and high school students. She extended Northrop’s STEM outreach to target underserved communities by developing the STEM High School Internship Program for students from lower income families. She previously served as the president of the Los Angles Mars Society, and created the annual Mars DAY STEM Initiative. Krystal has also served as a Hispanic Hero for the Los Angeles Hispanic Youth Institute since 2009.
Krystal is a first generation Latina from Tulare CA, an agricultural city in the San Joaquin Valley. She holds a Masters of Science in Astronautical Engineering from the University of Southern California and a Bachelor of Science in Engineering Physics from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, Florida.

Webinar: NASA/JPL Virtual Education Event
Exploring Ocean Worlds

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When: April 5, 1-1:45pm PDT (4-4:45pm EDT)

Where: Online (Zoom link will be provided to registered participants)
Target Audience: Educators and classrooms
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Overview: Hear from scientists exploring Earth's oceans and learn about the search for life on ocean worlds beyond Earth. In this virtual event for educators and classrooms hosted by the JPL Education Office and Ocean Exploration Trust, you will:
-Meet members of the research team aboard the Ocean Exploration Trusts's Exploration Vessel Nautilus as they talk about their work exploring Earth's oceans and the women making waves in STEM.
-Hear about search for life on ocean worlds beyond Earth.
-Watch a live demonstration of a science activity from JPL Education- and follow along with us. (See the Follow Along section found in link for more information about materials to prepare in advance.)

Educators can register themselves or their classrooms--Link found here