Athina Meli, PhD

What’s the most important leadership lesson you’ve learned?

Leadership is not about having all the answers but about creating the space where others can ask the right questions and grow. When you empower people rather than direct them, you often get far more innovative and meaningful outcomes.

What do you consider to be your most important career achievement or milestone?

Being appointed chair of NASA’s Physics of the Cosmos Analysis Group (PhysPAG) Executive Committee was a major milestone that signaled my work had earned a voice at the table. It also gave me the opportunity to interact with incredible people and mission teams.

What do you aspire to accomplish in your career and why? What obstacles will you overcome?

I want to help unlock the mysteries of high-energy cosmic phenomena, pushing the boundaries of what we think is possible in the universe. Obstacles to overcome will be balancing cutting-edge research, with teaching and mentoring and navigating the complexity of large collaborations. But I see those as fascinating opportunities, not just challenges.

Describe an amazing opportunity in your STEM career.

Working in global collaborations like the IceCube Neutrino Observatory, AUGER (the Pierre Auger Observatory) or POEMMA (Probe of Extreme Multi-Messenger Astrophysics) has connected me to cutting-edge science and brilliant people from around the world.

How was AWIS helped you professionally and/or personally?

AWIS is a great, supportive network of peers who understand both science and the broader challenges we face. That sense of community really matters!

What is your favorite word? (only one word)

Curiosity

How do you define it?

It is the urge to keep asking questions, to seek more, and to walk paths you have never walked before…

How has this word influenced or inspired your career?

It is what got me into astrophysics, and it is what keeps me coming back to the unknown.

How does AWIS impact your career journey?

It helps amplify my work and mentoring by connecting me with others who are building a more inclusive and open-minded scientific future.

What are you currently reading or listening to?

I am reading recent papers on MHD (magnetohydrodynamic) simulations of relativistic jets and listening to a podcast on the pros and cons of Artificial Intelligence in society. Both challenge my thinking.

What do you consider the best professional or personal advice you’ve ever received?

‘’Teach like you are asking as well as answering questions.” It changed how I view teaching and mentoring, making it a two way street of discovery, not just a one way delivery.

Dr. Athina Meli received her PhD in Astrophysics from the top-ranked Imperial College London, UK. She has led award-winning research in astroparticle and high-energy astrophysics, with over 220 scientific article publications. She has taught and conducted research in Astrophysics, across institutions in Europe and the U.S. She is currently an ASCEND (Alliance for Scholarship, Collaboration, Engagement, Networking and Development) visiting research scientist at Yale University while holding a professorship at North Carolina A&T State University. Dr. Meli chairs the NASA-funded JEM-EUSO PBR Mentorship Committee, currently serves as Chair emerita of NASA’s Physics of the Cosmos Executive Committee, and co-chairing its Cosmic-Ray and Neutrino Science Group.