Aurelia Institute & the Museum have partnered for a panel discussion on Self-Assembly and the Future of Human Spaceflight.
What are the challenges of working and building in space, and how might advances in modular, reconfigurable, and self-assembling technologies change how we design the future of life in space?
To answer these questions and more, join Aurelia Institute’s Chief Design Officer Sana Sharma, University of Washington Asst. Professor Martin Nisser, and Astronaut and Scientist Dr. Soyeon Yi for a fireside chat as part of the Museum’s Free First Thursday.
Event is presented as part of Home Beyond Earth and the November 2024 Free First Thursday.
Event Details
Date: Thursday November 7, 2024
Time: 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM
About the Panelists
Sana Sharma
Sana Sharma is Co-Founder and Chief Design Officer at Aurelia Institute, a non-profit space architecture R&D lab. Sana leads Aurelia’s first foray into full-scale space architecture through the design of space habitat concepts and interiors showcasing what life in space may look like in the future. Sana previously held design innovation roles at IBM Quantum, Watson Health, and the Broad Institute. She is a research affiliate with the MIT Space Exploration Initiative where she leads the Astronaut Ethnography Project, which captures and distills the human-centered insights from spacefaring individuals. Sana earned her BA in Architecture at Yale University, and an Master of Design + Technology from Harvard GSD.
Martin Nisser
Martin Nisser is an Assistant Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics at the University of Washington, where his research focuses on computational fabrication. He completed his PhD at MIT, and his masters and undergraduate degrees at MIT, ETH Zurich, and The University of Edinburgh. Previously, he held intern or staff appointments at the Boston Dynamics A.I. Institute, Tesla Motors, Harvard University and the European Space Agency. He is a Sweden-America fellow, a Bernard Gold fellow, and has appeared in media including BBC News, The NBC Daily Show, The Washington Post, NASA TV and Popular Science.
Dr. Soyeon Yi
Dr. Soyeon Yi is South Korea's first and only astronaut. In 2008, she launched into space and spent 11 days at the International Space Station, conducting experiments that contributed to South Korea's science education curricula. Dr. Yi holds a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering and an MBA from UC Berkeley. Recently, Dr. Yi has worked in developing the next-generation POC (Point-Of-Care) blood testing platform as the Managing Director, Business Development & Partnerships for Noul Co., Ltd. Dr. Yi is passionate about nurturing the next generation of STEM leaders, volunteering as an inspirational speaker for STEM education initiatives.
