“Powering Innovation: 17 Years of Engineering Leadership Driving Strategic Growth and Technological Advancement”

Meet Columbia

Dr. Columbia Mishra is an experienced engineering leader with over 17 years’ track record in systems engineering and program management in diverse technology sectors, including Intel Corporation, Apple Inc, Stress Engineering Services, Makino Asia in Singapore, and Tata Motors in India. Most recently, she was a Program Chief Engineer and Systems Engineering Manager at Maxar Technologies, overseeing 4 commercial satellite programs and developing next-generation spacecraft for a range of missions including the Power and Propulsion Element (PPE) spacecraft for NASA’s Artemis mission to the moon. Columbia is the co-founder and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of the Global Space Industry Trade Association (GSITA) dedicated to providing underrepresented communities access to workforce development in the space industry. 

Dr. Mishra has a deep knowledge of thermal fluids systems, consumer electronics and spacecraft engineering. Her research has been published in journals such as Nature Materials, Journal of Fluid Mechanics. She won the prestigious Qualcomm Innovation Fellowship and holds 6 patents pending, 2 granted for her work in thermal architecture and innovation in electronic systems.

Dr. Mishra is a distinguished speaker who appears at multiple global forums on the science of spacecraft engineering. Currently, she mentors first-generation high school students and early-career engineers globally. She also serves as the industry advisor to the Carnegie Mellon University Rocket Command club.

Columbia is highly involved with the technical community and has served on the CTO Technology Advisory Council of the Society for the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering (SAMPE). She also serves on the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Technical and Engineering Committees Council, overseeing all ASME publications, technical divisions, research committees, and technology groups. Dr. Mishra has held several leadership roles within ASME, including technical program chair for its 2020 Summer Heat Transfer Conference. She was one of 10 engineers selected globally for ASME’s prestigious Early Career Leadership Intern Program to Serve Engineering (ECLIPSE), and she received the ASME inaugural 2020 Lakshmi Singh Early Career Leadership Award for her leadership and service.

The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin) inducted her into its Mechanical Engineering Academy of Distinguished Alumni in 2022 for her contributions to mechanical engineering. Dr. Mishra was elected an ASME Fellow in 2023.

Dr. Mishra received the Cockrell School of Engineering Student Leadership Award for her contributions as the first international graduate student body president, representing 13,000 students to the university administration, UT System Board of Regents, city of Austin, and Texas Legislature. She advocated for graduate student policies in the Texas Legislature and the U.S. Congress, and continues to work with members of Congress to advance technology policies.

Dr. Mishra holds three degrees in Mechanical Engineering, a Ph.D. from The University of Texas at Austin, an M.S. from Texas Tech University, and a B.S. from Jadavpur University in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.

Dr. Mishra holds the title of Miss Asia California Global 2020 and Miss India Oregon 2019. She uses her platform in the pageant industry to raise awareness about social issues, including women’s representation in STEM. She lives in Hayward, California, with her husband, Dr. Philip Gach. In her free time, she enjoys music, flying Cessnas, and traveling.