Begoña Vila, an instrument systems engineer, was recently awarded the 2024 Galician Excellence Title for her work in the Sciences and Medicine Category.

The award, given by the Spanish Association of Galician Entrepreneurs of Catalonia (AEGA-CAT), acknowledged Vila’s contributions to NASA’s James Webb Telescope.

The sophisticated telescope captures in-depth imagery from space and has led to discoveries by astronomers around the world, according to NASA.

The award, established in 2005, honors career professionals who wish to expand their work to countries around the world. The award ceremony was held on July 5, in Barcelona, Spain, where Villa’s originally from.

“I feel very honored to receive this title,” she said in a press release from NASA. “It is a wonderful surprise and special to me, working abroad, to be remembered and recognized in my home country.”

Alongside being a leader of the initial cryogenic tests at Goddard, Vila is notable for several other achievements, including completing testing in NASA’s Johnson Space Flight Center in Houston, in addition to completing work in other outstanding locations such as California, Guiana, and Baltimore.

Vila is currently a bilingual interviewer of Spanish and English participants at the Webb Science, Math, Engineering and Technology (STEM) program.