SPACE SYMPOSIUM SPEAKERS
Dr. Dava Newman
Apollo Program Professor of Astronautics
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
DAVA NEWMAN is the Apollo Program Professor of Astronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Aeronautics and Astronautics and a Harvard–MIT Health, Sciences, and Technology faculty member. She is the former director of the MIT Media Lab and the MIT Technology and Policy Program. She served as NASA Deputy Administrator (2015-17), the first female engineer in this role, and was awarded the NASA Distinguished Service Medal. Newman’s research expertise is in multidisciplinary aerospace biomedical engineering investigating human performance across the spectrum of gravity. Newman is a leader in advanced space suit design, dynamics and control of astronaut motion, leadership development, innovation and space policy. Newman was the PI on 6 experiments that flew on the Space Shuttle, MIR, and ISS spaceflight missions STS-42, STS-62, MIR (1996-1998), ISS (2015, 2017, 2023) to measure astronaut performance, movement control, and demonstrate novel spacesuit technology. Her second skin EVA BioSuit™ spacesuit has been exhibited at: the Venice Biennial; Smithsonian, American Museum of Natural History; Victoria and Albert and Museum, London; Paris’ Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie; Chicago’s Griffin Museum of Science+Industry, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Her inventions are now being applied to “soft suits/exoskeletons” to study and enhance locomotion on Earth. Her Earth systems research implements satellite data to accelerate solutions for the dual challenge of energy and climate using machine learning with physics informed neural networks, immersive visualizations, and storytelling. She is a co-founder of EarthDNA. Newman is the author of Interactive Aerospace Engineering and Design and has published over 350 papers in journals and conferences. She circumnavigated the world sailing over 50,000 nm. Select honors include Hon. Doctorates from Dartmouth, the Royal College of Art, and University of Minho, Seneca’s 100 Women, Society of Women’s 35 World’s Most Influential Women Engineers, Lowell Thomas Award, AIAA Fellow, AIAA Jeffries Aerospace Medicine Award, and Women in Aerospace Leadership Award. Newman received her PhD in aerospace biomedical engineering and Master’s degrees in Aeronautics and Astronautics and Technology and Policy from MIT and a BS in aerospace engineering from the University of Notre Dame. Newman is a member of the Aerospace Corporation Board of Trustees, the SETI Institute Board of Directors, and co-chairs the World Economic Forum’s Global Futures Council on Space Technologies. She holds a top secret clearance.
Related Sessions
Space Science & Exploration Track
Monday, April 13, 2026
10:00 am - 5:00 pm
Track: Track Program