"Purdue taught me not only how to think about, simplify and solve complex problems, but also provided incredible growth and leadership opportunities through student organizations like AIAA and SEDS. I've routinely used these skillsets throughout my systems integration career working on NASA human spaceflight programs.”
While an undergraduate student at Purdue, Cindy Mahler started a tradition: She is the founder of Purdue Space Day, an annual STEM educational outreach event that has continued for more than 25 years. It has reached more than 20,000 3rd-8th graders since it began. The program's hands-on space-themed activities introduce school-age children to engineering concepts and Purdue alumni astronauts.
In 2019, Cindy established the Purdue Space Day Leadership Scholarship to support the Purdue students who plan and execute the event.
At Boeing, Cindy runs a multi-million dollar global R&D program with university partners. The program focuses on the development of technology and PhD-level talent aligned with the company’s technical needs.
Cindy was also the Boeing HorizonX Commercial Space Innovation Strategy lead, working with internal and external partners to test new technologies and business models related to commercial space exploration. She was awarded external funding to test a new science capability on the International Space Station that has the potential to disrupt on-orbit manufacturing.
She has supported numerous NASA programs for Boeing, including work on the ISS, the Commercial Crew Program, the Space Shuttle, and Constellation.
NASA awarded her one of the coveted Silver Snoopy Awards early in her career for her transformational work integrating the astronaut/cosmonaut training program for the ISS Guidance, Navigation, and Control system. That ultimately led to a 40% reduction in training time for ISS expedition flights.
She has a bachelor's from Purdue AAE, an MBA from Rice University, and a Certificate in Space Studies from International Space University.