Hailey Nichols Founder, Locus Lock; Winner, UT Austin Female Founder Pitch Competition 2021

Hailey Nichols is a nationally recognized entrepreneur with a robust technical engineering background. During her time as a student-athlete in her undergraduate program at MIT, she was a two-time CoSIDA NCAA Division III Academic All-American (2017, 2018), two-time United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-American (2017, 2018), and a two-time conference (NEWMAC) Defensive Player of the Year (2017, 2018). In March 2022, she was awarded the Malcolm Milburn Endowed Scholarship and Award in Entrepreneurial Studies from the Cockrell School of Engineering for her work as a Graduate Research Assistant in the Radionavigation Lab. Later in May 2022, she was the recipient of the inaugural Launch Texas Fellowship for her work on her start-up spinning out of the Radionavigation Lab, Locus Lock. Locus Lock is an early-stage start-up that is focused on launching software-defined GNSS to mainstream markets. Her work has taken this next-generation technology built in the research laboratory to commercial applications that rely on high-fidelity positioning solutions. In October 2022, she was honored as one of Aviation Week Network’s 20 Twenties which recognizes talented individuals who are on course to change the face of the aerospace and defense industry. The criteria for this award are based on academic performance, public/community involvement, and how each individual communicates the value of their research.

Nichols received her M.S.E. in Aerospace Engineering with a Space Tech Entrepreneurship specialization from the University of Texas at Austin in 2022. She received her B.S. in Aerospace Engineering with an Aerospace Information Technology specialization from MIT in 2019.

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Aerospace engineering graduate student Hailey Nichols, who is working under faculty advisor Todd Humphreys, recently won first place in UT Austin’s inaugural Female Founder Pitch Competition, hosted by the Kendra Scott Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership Institute (KS WELI) and the Texas Innovation Center at The University of Texas at Austin.
(CockrellSchool; YouTube)