Dr. Natasha Lydia Schatzman graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology with her B.S. (2011), M.S. (2014), and Ph.D. (2018) from the Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering. During her time at the Georgia Institute of Technology, she received numerous awards including, but not limited to the Georgia Tech Presidential Undergraduate Research Award (2009), Georgia Tech College of Engineering Outstanding Undergraduate Researcher Award (2010), 1st place in the 28th Annual AHS/Industry Student Design Competition Undergraduate Category (2011), Undergraduate and Masters Vertical Flight Foundation Scholarship (2010 and 2012). Her dissertation investigated coaxial rotor blade crossing phenomena and first authored several papers with her advisor Professor Narayanan Menon Komerath.

Dr. Natasha Lydia Schatzman has worked at NASA Ames Research Center in the Aeromechanics Office for over 15 years and was the first Ames NASA Pathways Intern, paving the way for others. Dr. Schatzman has immersed herself in NASA’s mission to aid in the future of Urban Air Mobility (UAM) and the design, testing, and analysis of planetary vehicles. She has mentored over 60 students from various backgrounds and educational levels at NASA and has reached thousands of students across the country with outreach efforts in her local community. Furthermore, she has established cross-disciplinary partnerships, reviewed and progressed research within academic institutions, developed proposals for research, and led diverse teams. She collaborates with engineers from across NASA centers and other government and private industries including Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Mars/SETI Institute, United States Army and Air Force, Boeing, Joby Aviation, and MathWorks.

Internationally, she is recognized for her research efforts and cutting-edge work in rotorcraft acoustics and full-scale wind tunnel acoustics testing, experimentally and computationally. Dr. Schatzman has led in planning and acquiring acoustic data for numerous vertical lift tests, including the Joby propeller in the National Full-scale Aerodynamics Complex (NFAC) 40- by 80-Foot Wind Tunnel. As a critical member of the Mars Sample Return (MSR) Mission team, she developed data processing procedures for the MSR Helicopter Test Campaigns in the Jet Propulsion Laboratory 25-ft Space Simulator. Computationally, she designed and developed the Rapid BVI Tool (RABIT) to predict Blade Vortex Interaction (BVI) intensity and coaxial rotor blade crossing locations with a GUI interface. In addition, she is involved with multiple planetary vehicle development efforts, including the conceptual design hybrid ground/air mobility vehicle Long-term Ice-field Levitating Investigator (LILI), which is used to explore Martian polar regions.

Dr. Natasha Schatzman has worked on various projects that have pushed the limits of science and technology all while sharing her passion, story, and enthusiasm with others. She has been a critical member of the NASA Engage program to ensure the public appreciates NASA’s projects and missions. As a NASA Engage speaker, she has reached over 3,000 people by speaking in person at local schools, libraries, and events. She has spoken to young audiences and university students in person at University of California, Davis and virtually at the Georgia Institute of Technology; motivating them with current NASA projects to show students the impact they can

have in the world. Dr. Schatzman is a part of several activities that aid in progressing and advancing technology at the university level. She has mentored over 60 students since 2008 in the Aeromechanics Office at NASA Ames, who have gone on to become leaders in academia, industry, and government.

Dr. Schatzman has been an active member of the Vertical Flight Society (VFS) since 2011. She served as the President (2013), Vice President (2012), and Undergraduate Liaison (2011) of the Georgia Institute of Technology American Helicopter Society (now VFS) Student Chapter. She went on to serve as President (2019), Vice President (2019), and Arrangements Chair (2016-2017) for the San Francisco Bay Area Chapter VFS Chapter. Furthermore, Dr. Schatzman has served on the VFS Acoustics Technical Committee as Deputy Session Chair (2019), Session Chair (2020) and Deputy Chair. And finally, she serves as the NASA representative for the VFS) Education Board

She has been awarded over ten NASA Group Achievement Awards throughout her time at NASA and in 2019 received the NASA Early Career Achievement Medal. In 2023 was awarded the prestigious VFS François-Xavier Bagnoud Award for her for her outstanding vertical lift research (internationally recognized in rotorcraft acoustics and full-scale wind tunnel acoustics testing), for extensive contributions to the VFS technical community and local VFS San Francisco Bay Area Chapter, and for outstanding mentorship in the rotorcraft field. In 2025, she was awarded the Waves of Change Rising Technology Star Award, VFS Alex Stoll Award, and the VFS San Francisco Bay Area Chapter’s Velkoff Award for Outstanding Technical Paper.

Dr. Natasha Schatzman truly believes that if we want to innovate, progress, and advance technology, then we must inspire, mentor, and transfer knowledge responsibly for the future!