Catherine Ferrie: Scouting Out the Future

Discussion around lessons I learned being a brownie/girl scout, my pursuit of an engineering degree, and what I do now at Bell.

Dr. Catherine Ferrie is the Director of Xworx and Test and Evaluation at Bell Helicopter. In this capacity, she is responsible for ensuring the successful execution of all technology and manufacturing development programs at Bell including all aircraft test and evaluation programs. She works with engineering, integrated operations and the military, commercial and customer support and services programs to ensure the efforts being performed are aligned with Bell business needs and goals and transition to our product line. She received her MS and Ph.D. in aerospace engineering from Georgia Tech, and her BS in Aerospace Engineering from Syracuse University. She is an active member of the American Helicopter Society where she served as the Deputy Director of Vehicle Integrity on the Technical Council and currently serves as the Southwest Director at Large on the Board of Directors. She is a recipient of the Francois Xavier Bagnoud Award which is given to an AHS member, under 30 years old, who made a significant contribution to the advancement of the rotorcraft industry as well as the Harry T. Jensen award for her work supporting Rotorcraft Damage Tolerance efforts. She supports the Expanding Your Horizons program, which is designed to encourage young women in 6th-8th grades to pursue careers in science and engineering, by developing and presenting a workshop entitled “Born to Fly.”