Those chosen are among the world’s leaders in the mathematical, physical, biological, and social sciences and engineering, as well as the humanities, business, education and the arts.

Howell has also been recognized by her students for her teaching, recently receiving the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics’ 2017 Elmer F. Bruhn Award for Excellence in Teaching. The award’s recipient is chosen annually by the school's undergraduate student body, and Howell has received the award several times.

Howell has taught aeronautics and astronautics at Purdue since 1982. She is an expert on spacecraft navigation and orbital mechanics and the motion of man-made objects in space. She has designed novel trajectories for spacecraft that have enabled some space missions and was largely responsible for the design of the intricate series of Cassini spacecraft maneuvers that contributed to the success of the ongoing exploration of Saturn and its moons. She has developed techniques that help reduce the cost in fuel and design time for planetary missions with spaceships in orbits near points in the solar system where satellites can be safely placed to study the sun and facilitate communication with astronauts and vehicles on the dark side of the moon.

It was announced in February that Howell will also be inducted into the National Academy of Engineering in October of this year.