Sharaé Meredith, Ph.D. is a senior research engineer at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI). Prior to GTRI, Meredith worked with Lockheed Martin as a staff research scientist for 11 years. At Lockheed Martin, her primary focus was infrared technologies. Her expertise began to expand to radio frequency (RF) technologies working on F-22 aircraft and then to acoustics. While helping her team catch up with the new projects, Meredith quickly realized her ability to adapt and integrate technologies was an asset. This ability complements researchers who dive deep into one specific task. At GTRI, Meredith’s work transitions between drones, countermeasures, war-gaming, and even analytics associated with psychological studies.

Meredith believes that individuals and organizations must work to equip people with the ability to persevere. While Meredith has certainly faced adversity, encouragement from key people in her life has allowed her to overcome challenges and become a trailblazer in aerospace engineering. Equipped with the knowledge of how powerful encouragement can be, Meredith strives to motivate and uplift others at GTRI and I Am B.E.A.U.T.I.F.U.L., a nonprofit organization dedicated to building self-esteem and leadership capability in girls and women, where she serves on the Board of Directors.

Meredith majored in aerospace engineering at Tuskegee University. She received her M.S. from the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) in 2000 and her Ph.D. from Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) in 2016, both in aerospace engineering. She earned the distinction of becoming the first Black female Ph.D. graduate in aerospace engineering at Penn State in 2016.