NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

A direct descendant of a legendary Cherokee chief, Robbie Hood, an atmospheric scientist and hurricane researcher at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, learned Native American history the old-fashioned way -- from stories passed down generation to generation.

"My mom was the first to tell me about the Trail of Tears," Hood said of the Cherokee's forced relocation from the Southeastern United States to present-day Oklahoma in 1838-1839. Leading the Cherokees on their long, hard journey was Hood's great-great-great-great grandfather, John Ross, the first elected chief of the Cherokee Nation.

Image to right: Robbie Hood is a descendent of John Ross, the first elected chief of the Cherokee Nation. Credit: NASA

Ross, whose name in Cherokee is Kooweskoowe, held the office from 1828 until his death in 1866. Thousands died on the Trail of Tears, which extends from Fort Payne, Alabama, to Tahlequah, Oklahoma. But the descendants of those who did survive -- including Hood -- comprise today's Western Cherokee Nation with more than 220,000 registered members.

"There are more native Americans than most people realize," said Hood, of the Marshall Center's Global Hydrology and Climate Center at the National Space Science and Technology Center (NSSTC) in Huntsville.

One-eighth Cherokee, Hood grew up about an hour from the Western Cherokee nation's capital of Tahlequah, and is registered to vote in tribal elections. Living near the heart of the Cherokee nation gave her opportunities to learn about her heritage.

"Cherokees have a tradition of being culturally progressive," she said. "They were one of the first tribes to embrace European settlers, the first to develop a written language, and among the first to marry people from other cultures."

Her famous ancestor, John Ross, was the product of such a union. Like Hood, he was one-eighth Cherokee, yet kept his Native American traditions and led the Cherokee nation for nearly 40 years.

Hood believes things have come a long way since her mother was a child in the 1930s. "In the time of my parents' generation," Hood said, "Native Americans often felt pressured to hide their identity or heritage." Today, I do not feel that same pressure. One way Hood shows her heritage is by keeping the natural gray in her hair. "I started going gray when I was 13 years old," she said. "My grandfather's hair was snow-white when he was only 16. That's one reason I don't color my hair. It's part of my family heritage."

At NASA, Hood specializes in hurricane research, a path first inspired in 1969 after her family moved to Picayune, Mississippi. A seventh-grader at the time, she experienced a hurricane's power firsthand when Hurricane Camille -- the second-strongest hurricane to hit the United States in the 20th century -- left her family and many others without electricity for two weeks.

"I learned that no matter how technically advanced our society becomes, we're always affected by weather," she said. After working as a meteorologist and university researcher, Hood joined NASA in 1987 as an atmospheric scientist at the Marshall Center, where she has participated in several NASA studies that seek a better understanding of our weather.

Most recently, she served as lead mission scientist in NASA's fourth Convection And Moisture Experiment (CAMEX) study -- a mission that united researchers from 10 universities, five NASA centers and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration toward the common goal of improving hurricane prediction and understanding.

Hood has an associate's degree in physics from Crowder College in Neosho, Missouri, a bachelor's degree in atmospheric science from the University of Missouri in Columbia and a master's degree in physical meteorology from Florida State University in Tallahassee. She is married to Michael Goodman -- a fellow NASA Marshall atmospheric scientist.

The NSSTC is a partnership with the Marshall Center, Alabama universities and federal agencies. A collaboration that enables scientists, engineers and educators to share research and facilities, the NSSTC focuses on space science, materials science, biotechnology, Earth sciences, propulsion, information technology and optics.