Howard University’s Aprille Ericsson will be honored with Tau Beta Pi’s Distinguished Alumnus Award on Oct. 13.

She is the first woman to receive a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Howard and the first black woman to earn a Ph.D. in engineering at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.

Dr. Ericsson champions career opportunities in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) and growing the number of women in related fields.

She also sits on technical academic boards at the National Academies, MIT, and previously at Howard as a trustee, the announcement says.

Tau Beta Pi has collegiate chapters at 247 US colleges and universities, 44 active alumni chapters in 16 districts across the country, and a total initiated membership of approximately 594,000.

Read the announcement here.

Most recently, she served as capture manager for an astrophysics mid-sized class explorer, called STAR-X.

The engineering honor society’s award recognizes alumni for fostering and scaling a spirit of a liberal culture.

Ericsson will receive her award at the Convention in Denver, where a $2,000 scholarship will be given in the name of each alumnus to a deserving student member of Tau Beta Pi.