Ellie Schmelzer

Dr. Ellie Schmelzer is the Technical Program Manager for NASA TESS Space Mission at MIT. Dr. Schmelzer received a B.S. and a Ph.D. in Physics from the University of California at Santa Barbara. Her dissertation in astrophysics focused on the building and operation of the Transient Optical Sky Survey. During her graduate studies, Dr. Schmelzer worked as a senior systems engineer at Raytheon Company. Upon completion, Ellie moved to the East Coast to pursue a postdoctoral position at Yale University. She was part of the team managing the La Silla Quest Survey while investigating Black Hole Tidal Disruption events. During a brief break from Physics, Ellie was the founding Director of the Office of Career Services and Strategy at the Icahn School of Medicine in New York City. Dr. Schmelzer serves on the AIAA Space Systems Technical Committee. Her current non-physics engagements include being the President of the Yale Club of New Haven and serving on the Board of Directors of the Yale Club of Hartford.