Absolutely fascinating! I never gave this a thought. I figured the "shiny material reflects the sunlight but never knew it was also kept things warm too. Out of this world fashion designing! LOL! You're a critical person in space travel!
Outstanding lady. I'm totally hopeless at sewing anything other than roughly straight lines... (Did make my own non-patchwork quilts though!) I can imagine that working for NASA is a daunting task for anyone, but especially for a dyslexic fashion designer! Yet she discusses that with grace and humility. Sounds like her Mum must be incredibly proud of her - with good reason! Also it just goes to show that whereas STEM subjects are obviously incredibly important, other subjects have their own special place in society, without which STEM projects often cannot complete certain aspects. Non-STEM subjects can play vital roles in how culture develops and how peace can reign between various countries. With today's huge space and other science projects requiring more and more of the input of a number of countries, this is a vital part of humanity's future. I give you linguistics as an example. If you can't communicate, working together is nigh on impossible (and no, Google Translate is nowhere near that good yet!) Yes, most languages have at least been "partnered" with another, but that doesn't guarantee understanding I'm far from knocking STEM subjects and the people who do them - three of my kids have science degrees at bachelor's level and one of those has a PhD in medical biochemistry. I've supported them through thick and thin whilst they have worked damned hard on their studies (without me understanding a thing!) and what they're doing since. But I also support equally my husband and daughter who are working in education, in different ways but with the same ultimate outcome of getting kids with learning difficulties (whether due to home life or disability) to get as far as they can go - and then a bit further - in their schooling. Few, if any of these kids will end up at uni let alone studying the STEM subjects our government is obsessed with them doing to the detriment of all else, but they will learn to be productive members of society with, IMHO, an equally important role to play for society.