photo by: Contributed

Laura Stiles, a KU alumna and director for the New Shepard Launch Operations and Training organization with Blue Origin, is the fifth Jayhawk to go to space.

A University of Kansas alumna became the fifth Jayhawk to go to space last week, and professors are hoping her accomplishment will lead to even more interest in physics and astronomy at KU.

Laura Stiles, who graduated from KU in 2008, was part of the crew for a Blue Origin flight that launched on Wednesday and returned to Earth the same day. The mission was the 38th flight for the “New Shepard” reusable rocket program by Blue Origin, the space-flight company started by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.

Ian Crossfield, an associate professor with KU’s Physics and Astronomy Department, told the Journal-World Monday that Stiles is now one of five Jayhawks to have ever been to space. Crossfield said the news of her flight is “extremely exciting.”

“We’re all very proud of Laura and everything she has accomplished so far,” Crossfield said.

Stiles received a bachelor of science from KU in engineering physics with a concentration in aerospace systems, and then earned a master’s degree and a doctorate from the University of Colorado-Boulder in aerospace engineering sciences, according to KU’s website.

Stiles joined Blue Origin in 2013, according to the company’s website, and worked in a variety of areas including mechanical systems design, integrated vehicle testing, launch operations and astronaut training. She is currently the director for the New Shepard Launch Operations and Training organization.

It appears Stiles was not originally scheduled to be a part of the launch for Wednesday’s space flight. According to a release from Blue Origin on Tuesday, one of the original astronauts in the six-person crew was no longer able to fly due to illness, and Stiles took their place.

photo by: Contributed

The six-person crew of the Blue Origin flight that launched last Wednesday, Jan. 21. Left to right: Alain Fernandez, Linda Edwards, KU alumna Laura Stiles, Tim Drexler, Alberto Gutiérrez and Jim Hendren.

Alice Bean, a University Distinguished Professor with KU’s physics and astronomy department, told the Journal-World that she had known Stiles while she was a student at KU. Bean said Stiles had helped on a variety of research projects related to particle physics, and she was a fantastic student who was “always cheerful.”

According to KU’s website, Stiles had internships with multiple well-known aerospace organizations, such as the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, the Air Force Research Lab, Raytheon Aircraft and CERN — the European Organization for Nuclear Research, which operates particle accelerators and detectors like the Large Hadron Collider.

Bean said that as part of a class project toward the end of her undergraduate career, Stiles designed a concrete enclosure that helped keep a specific detector that measured subatomic particles safe from radiation. CERN used Stiles’ design and she even got to go inside the tunnel housing one of the particle accelerators, Bean said.

Along with the excitement for Stiles’ individual success, the physics and astronomy professors at KU are hopeful that her work can help spark more interest in their field of study. Both astronomy and engineering physics were among the 11 KU programs that were under review by the Kansas Board of Regents in 2024 and placed on “improvement programs,” as the Journal-World reported.

Bean said the engineering physics degree, which is also a part of the engineering department, is one of the best majors for future career prospects, with many students able to get a job “immediately after” they graduate. Along with research opportunities in aerospace and other fields, Bean said many graduates go on to become lawyers with a focus on patent law.

Crossfield said that at KU, the department has seen the number of students “shoot up,” with the number of astronomy majors doubling or tripling in the last five years. He hopes the story of Stiles and what she has achieved can help launch other success stories at KU.

“With more attention generated by things like her space flight, we hope (the department) can keep the upward trajectory,” Crossfield said.