Laurel van der Wal

Laurel van der Wal (September 22, 1924 – August 13, 2009) was an American mechanical and aeronautical engineer and paved the way for crewed space flight. She is known for contributions to bioastronautics, specifically researching biological and medical aspects of human space flight.

She developed and led Project MIA (Mouse-in-Able), which sent two mice into space in the nose cones of Thor-Able rockets and studied the psychological effects of U.S. space flight using mice as the test subjects. She also focused on the design of crewed spacecraft as well as escape and recovery systems for astronauts.

She was awarded the 1961 Society of Women Engineers highest award, the Achievement Award, for contributions to bioengineering and bioastronautics. When asked if she would want to go into space herself, she answered, "I'd go in a minute, if they'd let me."

Early life and education

Van der Wal was born in San Francisco, the daughter of Lillian and Richard van der Wal, both from Spokane, Washington. Her mother was a former teacher and an alumna of the University of Washington; her father was a businessman. She graduated from high school at age 15, and worked as a model, an art instructor, a deputy sheriff, a showgirl, a railroad switch tower operator, and a casino shill as a young woman.

"I am impatient with people who do not make full use of all their capabilities," she explained in 1962.

She admired pilots and hoped to earn a pilot license, but instead worked as an aircraft mechanic during World War II, at Hamilton Air Force Base.

Van der Wal studied mechanical engineering at the University of California Berkeley, where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in 1949, with honors (Tau Beta Pi Woman's Badge, Sigma Xi).

Postgraduate work, scholarships and fellowships Source:

In 1968, she served as Los Angeles International Airport's planner.

In the early 1970s, Van der Wal wrote several reports for the Rand Corporation about planning a more effective transportation system.

In 1974 she worked for the Southern California Association of Governments for twelve years and was a noted activist on behalf of slow growth in Santa Monica, California, serving as an advisor to the Santa Monica Coalition for a Liveable City

Selected Published Works Source: As the space program gained popularity in the 1960s, she was a popular speaker at women's clubs, teachers' meetings and other events. In 1968, she explained that the children she taught "... are the most important thing ever to happen to me, ever."

Legacy Van der Wal's pioneering work with mice in rocket nose cones paved the way for human space flight. She originated the Project MIA study of the physiological effects of space flight on mice in U.S. rockets. She also worked on escape and recovery systems and the design of human spaceflight.

Van der Wal was the first woman appointed to the Los Angeles Board of Airport Commissioners, in 1961, and served as a commissioner until 1967. The Roennaus had two sons, Jonathan and Michael. Laurel and William later divorced. She retired in the late 1980s, and died in August 2009, in Santa Monica.

Additional Reading Reed, Linda (2025). Chapter 13 "Laurel Van der Wal". In Craig, Cecilia; Teig, Holly; Kimberling, Debra; Williams, Janet; Tietjen, Jill; Johnson, Vicki (eds.). Women Engineering Legends 1952-1976: Society of Women Engineers Achievement Award Recipients. Springer Cham.