02/25/2026
A native of Baton Rouge, physicist K. Renee Horton overcame “some serious hurdles” on her path to becoming a NASA engineer, children’s author, and advocate for people with disabilities and Black women in science.
As a child, Horton dreamed of becoming an astronaut. However, she has described her “moderate to severe hearing loss in both ears” as a major obstacle to that goal. Rather than leaving science behind, she eventually redirected her ambitions.
After earning a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Louisiana State University, Horton went on to receive a PhD in materials science and engineering with a concentration in physics from University of Alabama. She is widely recognized as the first African American to earn this degree in that department.
In 2012, Horton joined NASA as a quality engineer at the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. There, she contributed to work supporting the Space Launch System program, including hardware connected to NASA’s return-to-the-Moon efforts.
Motivated by her own experiences with discrimination and accessibility barriers, Horton founded Unapologetically Being, Inc., a nonprofit dedicated to advocacy, mentoring, and expanding access to careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). She is also the author of the Dr. H Explores the Universe children’s book series, which introduces young readers to space science.
