George Coles is a process engineer and project manager. He is a Master Inventor — a designation conferred to staff members with at least 10 patents. He is a biomedical engineer by training, but his patents span several disciplines, most in health care.

Initially, the most fulfilling thing for me at the Lab was to problem solve — to be that researcher, that technician, that person who helped figure out other people’s problems — but more recently, as a supervisor, I’m looking at it differently and I’m surprised. I see that I can actually add more value by helping other people grow. I can add 10% improvement on myself, but what if I do that across several people? That’s a greater improvement, a greater value to the Lab and to other people’s careers.

The principal investigator of the Dragonfly mission to Saturn's moon Titan — and just the third female NASA planetary mission PI in history — Zibi Turtle is also leading the next generation of women in planetary science.

We have a number of ideas to broaden participation, engage the science community as well as the public, and bring in people who don't typically get to work on missions. That's among the reasons it's really exciting to get this [mission selection]. Because now we can start to hold some of the doors open.

Destructive hurricanes were a part of Pedro Rodriguez's life growing up in Puerto Rico. Now, it's no surprise that Rodriguez, a senior technical leader of multiple deep learning artificial intelligence projects at APL, has put his technical vision to use in life-changing ways.

Experiencing hurricanes, knowing especially what my family went through most recently, has played a huge role in my enthusiasm for this project. Once we started using this technology for disaster relief applications, I just knew it was an area we could profoundly impact. I want this to be a strength of our group for a long, long time.

From a young age, Amy Bulcavage knew she wanted to be an architect. She made that dream a reality and is now a licensed architect and project manager in the facilities Design and Construction Group, the team that designs and builds APL's new innovative research labs.

As most of us at APL know, the success of a project or mission rarely relies on one person; there's always a team working together to make it a success.

Brandon Cooley is a group administrator who has been at the Lab since 2019. He credits the supportive environment at the Lab and an APL Allies in the Workplace event with helping him discover his true self.

Everyone has an important role to play, and education is key to creating an inclusive environment. Volunteers at the Lab have developed remarkable resources that can help everyone learn and create a welcoming environment for every staff member to be their authentic self.

Victoria Wu is an analyst who works on a range of topics, including geopolitical and strategic issues. Being Chinese American and seeing China discussed in U.S. mainstream media inspired her to start learning about U.S. foreign policy in Asia — and, ultimately, to choose a career as a national security analyst.

People don’t expect a social scientist to work at APL, but I see my skills as part of a continuum of skills we need to tackle complex challenges. People-driven activities are at the heart of our research efforts, whether in new areas of work such as climate change or traditional efforts supporting the warfighter. These issues require the applied sciences and the social sciences.