Volume 27 · Number 1 · Fall 2009
Alumni
Cool Jobs: Liz Warren ’96, Ph.D. ’03
As a child, Liz Warren dreamed of becoming an astronaut. For Warren, her work at NASA Mission Control is the next best thing. “I get to use my science background in a space flight application without actually being in space,” she says.
During her time at UC Davis, Warren worked with Charles Fuller, professor of neurobiology, physiology and behavior, researching health effects of spaceflight for NASA. After graduation, she had lined up a job at NASA, but everything changed in February 2003 when the space shuttle Columbia disintegrated upon re-entry to the earth’s atmosphere. The project she was scheduled to begin was canceled, and she was forced to take other work. She later got her foot in the door at NASA with a postdoctoral fellowship.
Today, Warren spends her days coordinating experiments for the astronauts onboard the International Space Station. She plans timelines and schedules for future trips to the space station, and she communicates with the astronauts onboard. Warren, a life member of the Cal Aggie Alumni Association, puts her degrees in biology and physiology to use by conducting experiments on the effects of space travel on the human body. “The best part about my job is that the research we’re doing is helping to extend our future in space,” she says.