Judith Love Cohen

Judith Love Cohen (1933-2016) was an aerospace engineer, author, and publisher who helped develop systems technology for NASA.

She contributed to the design of the navigation computer for the Minuteman Missile and the Apollo 13 Abort Guidance System (AGS) on the Apollo Lunar Module. Her work on the AGS helped save lives during the Apollo 13 mission when astronauts used the lunar module to safely navigate their return after a gas tank explosion.

She obtained her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Electrical Engineering from USC Viterbi School of Engineering, and was the sole female engineering student during that time. She worked on many astronautical engineering projects during her career, ending with a senior systems engineering supervisory role on the ground facility of the Hubble Space Telescope. 

After retiring from engineering in the early 1990s, Cohen began writing a book collection to encourage young women to pursue STEM and other creative careers. She and her husband started their own publishing company and produced over 20 titles. With books like “You Can Be a Woman Engineer,” “You Can be a Woman Animator,” and “You Can Be a Woman Entomologist,” she created empowering narratives through her words and her life.