User:Blakelaforce/Josephine Santiago-Bond

Josephine Santiago-Bond is an electronics, electrical, and systems engineer. She is one of the founders and head of the Advanced Engineering Development Branch at NASA's Kennedy Space Center.

Early life
Josephine Santiago-Bond was born in the United States to Filipino parents pursuing their PhDs. When she was two months old, her family returned to the Philippines to the city of Antipolo, Rizal, where she would grow up and study until college. At 12 years old, she passed the national competitive exam enabling her to leave home and attend the Philippine Science High School (PSHS) as a scholar.

When she was 17, she didn’t know what direction she wanted to go in college. But, after being persuaded by an older schoolmate to pursue engineering, she decided to attend the University of the Philippines (UP). In 2001 she graduated UP with a Bachelor of Science degree in electronic and communications engineering.

After college, a series of events brought her to South Dakota, where she obtained her first engineering job designing scoreboards for Daktronics. She decided to pursue her master's degree in electrical engineering at South Dakota State University (SDSU) since it was only a couple of miles from Daktronics, graduating in 2005.

Career
To reduce her tuition at SDSU, she took a second job as a teacher's assistant. This second job led to her becoming a research assistant on a project funded by NASA’s Space Grant Consortium. This research required her to spend a summer at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) to perform experiments that involved hazardous gases that the SDSU couldn't facilitate. Her time spent at KSC opened the door for her at NASA, fueling her interest in a long-term career starting in 2004.

In 2012, she was involved in developing the Systems and Engineering Leadership Program (SELP). This project placed her at Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California. While at the research center, she worked on the lunar mission known as LADEE.

In 2017, she worked on another lunar mission, the Regolith and Environment Science and Oxygen and Lunar Volatiles Extraction (RESOLVE).

Personal life
Josephine Santiago-Bond has been married to her husband Chris (who also works at KSC) for more than a decade.

In July of 2013, Josephine Santiago-Bond and Chris had a baby boy.