Speakers

George Lordos (MBA ’00, SM ’18, PhD ’24) is a Research Scientist at MIT AeroAstro and MIT System Design & Management. He’s also Vice Chair of the AIAA Space Resources Technical Committee, a member of the AIAA Lunar Surface Exploration and Development Task Force, and the founder of the MIT Space Resources Workshop. With degrees from Oxford and MIT—including a PhD in Aerospace Engineering—his research focuses on the industrial ecology of human settlements on the Moon and Mars. Before academia, he spent 25 years as a technical project manager, strategy consultant, system architect, company director, and entrepreneur.

Alexa Aguilar (SM ’19, PhD ’22) is a Lead Space Lasers Engineer at SpaceX.

Dr. Julien-Alexandre Lamamy (SM ’04, PhD ’07) is the Managing Director at ispace Europe.
He has over 15 years of professional experience in space projects working at the MIT Space Systems Laboratory, Jet Propulsion Laboratory (NASA), Orbital ATK, and ispace. He has contributed to 7 spaceflight projects covering earth observation, astrophysics, and planetary exploration.
Julien holds Masters from Ecole Centrale de Lyon, and a Masters and a Ph.D. in Space Systems Engineering from MIT. He is currently preparing ispace Europe to be a leader in lunar rover technologies, exploration data analytics, and space resource business

Dr. Bhavya Lal (SB ’89, SM ’90,SM ’92) most recently served as NASA’s Associate Administrator for Technology, Policy, and Strategy, advising the NASA Administrator and senior leadership on a broad spectrum of domestic and international policy issues, strategic planning, and technology investments. During her tenure, she broke new ground as the first woman to act as NASA’s Chief Technologist. Dr. Lal was instrumental in advancing the NASA Moon-to-Mars program, and spearheading initiatives in planetary defense, space sustainability, quantum science and engineering, artificial intelligence, space ethics, and space nuclear systems. She also played a pivotal role in formulating critical policies on international competition and commercial space ventures.
Dr. Lal’s research and leadership have earned her numerous accolades including the NASA Distinguished Service Medal, Associate Fellowship at the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), the AIAA Public Service Award for “lasting and sustained leadership in national space policy and setting the course for NASA’s future missions to the moon, Mars, and beyond,” and induction into the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) and YWCA’s Academy of Women Achievers.

Taylor Hampson

Cesar Meza

Adriana Mitchell is a Ph.D. candidate in MIT’s Astrodynamics, Space Robotics, and Controls Lab, and a research affiliate at NASA JPL, working to improve optical navigation during entry, descent, and landing on other planetary bodies. Her research interests include deep-space optical navigation, satellite-based localization, and remote sensing.

Shreya Sharma is a third year PhD student in the Laboratory for Aviation and the Environment at MIT AeroAstro. She holds bachelors and masters degrees in Aerospace Engineering from India and worked at Eaton India Innovation Centre, Pune as a product design engineer for aircraft parts before starting a PhD in sustainable aviation. During her PhD, she has been funded by NASA ULI on improving aerosol modeling for chemical transport models, and is currently working with the FAA on improving policy analysis tools to evaluate the environmental impact of the aviation industry.

Patrick Riley

Annika Thomas

Hannah Tomio

Anna Wadhwa is an MD-PhD student at Harvard Medical School and MIT AeroAstro in the Aerospace Physiology Lab (APL). She received her BS in Biochemistry from the New Jersey Institute of Technology in 2021, summa cum laude. Her prior research experience include immune health, fatigue countermeasures, and satellite algorithm development at various NASA centers, and artificial gravity for bone health with the NASA/JAXA MHU-8 mission. Her current research interests include understanding physiological risks of space exploration and developing countermeasures for astronaut health in lunar/Martian partial gravity environments.

Amelia Gagnon

Chloe Gentgen

Mehak Sarang

Maximillian Bhatti serves as the CEO of Basalt, a Y Combinator startup which builds AI autonomy software for spacecraft and their ground segments. He is an aerospace engineer specializing in space systems design, with significant experience in the design and execution of spaceflight programmes. He was recruited directly out of Caltech to join his co-founder Alex at MIT AeroAstro and has since held roles at The Aerospace Corporation and SpaceX. Max is 21 years old.

James Dingley is a PhD candidate in MIT’s Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics and a graduate researcher in Professor Kerri Cahoy’s Space Telecommunications, Astronomy and Radiation (STAR) Lab. His work focuses on space systems engineering and space robotics. A 2020 Australian Fulbright Scholar, James also received the top prize for the 2023 National Academies Award for Excellence in Science Communications. Beyond his academic pursuits, he created and hosts the YouTube channel Atomic Frontier (300,000 subscribers), where he explores the science, engineering, and history behind groundbreaking global projects. He drinks too much coffee.

Jeff Foust

Professor Jeffrey Hoffman is an American former NASA astronaut and currently a Professor of the Practice of Aerospace Engineering at MIT. Hoffman made five flights as a Space Shuttle astronaut, including the first mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope in 1993, when the orbiting telescope’s flawed optical system was corrected. Over the course of his five missions he logged more than 1,211 hours and 21.5 million miles in space. He was also NASA’s second Jewish astronaut, and the second Jewish man in space.

Scarlet Koller

Forrest Meyen

Palak Patel

Eve Ruff is a Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GNC) Engineer at True Anomaly, a deep technology company creating software and hardware to define the next generation of space security. She is currently the lead GNC Engineer for the launch of their next Jackal satellite, a novel spacecraft designed for space domain awareness. Prior to True Anomaly, Eve graduated from MIT with a MS in System Design & Management, a joint degree between the Sloan School of Management and the College of Engineering. At MIT, Eve was President of the Space Industry Club and conducted research applying machine learning to trajectory planning in the Aerospace Controls Laboratory in collaboration with Draper Laboratory. Her research focused on integrating neural networks into simulation-based methods to optimize trajectories for hypersonic vehicles. Eve also has an MS in Mechatronics and BS in Mechanical Engineering from Northeastern University.

Afreen Siddiqi BS ‘99, SM ‘01, PhD ‘06

Stephanie Sjoblom is the VP of Strategy and Business Development at Aurelia Institute. She helps design and execute Aurelia’s internal strategy, focusing on key industry partnerships, program development, and fundraising opportunities. Stephanie holds an MBA from MIT Sloan, and comes from a consulting background in finance and tech prior to Aurelia.

Professor Olivier L. de Weck is the Apollo Program Professor of Astronautics and Engineering Systems at MIT where he teaches Technology Roadmapping, Satellite Engineering and Systems Engineering as well as Multidisciplinary Design Optimization. He has authored over 400 publications (12 best paper awards since 2004) and is a Fellow of INCOSE, Associate Fellow of AIAA and Senior Member of IEEE. His passion is to improve life on our home planet Earth through research and education while paving the way for humanity’s future off-world settlements.

Maia Weinstock is an editor, writer, and producer of science, academic, and children’s media. Deputy editorial director at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s MIT News, Maia previously served as the editorial director at BrainPOP, and as a staff member at Discover, SPACE.com, Aviation Week & Space Technology, and Scholastic’s Science World.