Ellen Ochoa was born on May 10, 1958 in Los Angeles, California, but considers La Mesa, California to be her hometown. She graduated from Grossmont High School, La Mesa, California, in 1975. Ellen received a bachelor of science degree in physics from San Diego State University in 1980, a master of science degree and doctorate in electrical engineering from Stanford University in 1981 threw1985.As a pioneer of spacecraft technology, she patented an optical system to detect defects in a repeating pattern. At the NASA Ames Research Center, she led a research group working primarily on optical systems for automated space exploration.