Laurel van der Wal (September 22, 1924 – August 13, 2009) was an American mechanical and aeronautical engineer and a specialist in the problems of manned space flight.

[5] 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.

Van der Wal studied mechanical engineering at the University of California Berkeley, where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in 1949, with honors.

Starting in 1958, she was the project engineer on three MIA (Mouse-in-Able) launches from Cape Canaveral, as head of bioastronautics at Space Technology Laboratories.

[3] During her university career (1947–1949) Van der Wal worked on an aerodynamic heating project that evaluated wind tunnel operation, model design and construction and theoretical analysis.

In 1950, Van der Wal joined Douglas Aircraft Company, Inc. as a laboratory research analyst, working on Servomechanism in the Guided Missiles Division.

Later in 1953, Van der Wal joined the Rheem Manufacturing Company, Government Products Division, Research and Development Laboratories in Downey, California as a Design Engineer.

In 1956 Van der Walo joined Ramo-Wooldridge where she was involved in the preliminary design of advanced missile and space-probe systems.

Her research into the engineering problems of manned space flight included a revolutionary experiment called Project MIA.

[3] Although the nose cones were not located by recovery ships, telemetry proved that the mice had normal heart rates while traveling at speeds exceeding 15,000 miles per hour, reached a record altitude of 14,000 statute miles, and withstood decelerations well over 60 g’s and nose cone skin temperatures of several hundred degrees Fahrenheit.

Laurel van der Wal married fellow engineer William Henry Roennau in 1961, in Arlington, Virginia.