During this past year鈥檚 World Space Week, the Space & Sustainability Initiative (SSI) fully embraced the 2021 theme of 鈥榃omen in Space鈥� by hosting events both in-person and online celebrating women in the aerospace industry.听
As a fairly new initiative, SSI had yet to convene its larger community in any setting, let alone in person and in celebration. After being hard at work for over a year now 鈥� and in honor of World Space Week 鈥� what better way to showcase our progress than by celebrating the women in our initiative and in the aerospace industry as a whole. Partnering with the (SWF), SSI successfully hosted a virtual panel as well as an in-person event and reception at the Fiske Planetarium, bringing together the academic community and the aerospace industry for a celebration of their achievements and the ongoing progress towards scientific achievement and gender equality.
Virtual Panel: Bringing together panelists from around the world
The day before the in-person gathering, SSI hosted a virtual panel for those who could not attend, moderated by Mack Rodgers. In this discussion we heard from a range of speakers, celebrating women in space from around the world! Speakers included:
- Molly MacEachen, Research Associate of SSI
- Ruvimbo Samanga, Space Law & Policy Analyst
- Victoria Samson, Secure World Foundation
- Joanne Gabrynowicz, International Institute of Space Law
- Shayna Hume, College of Engineering and Applied Science
- Anna Rubino, Mission Operations Center, Mission Director at Maxar
Discussions in this panel were rich, covering the need for inclusion of women in the industry, microaggressions in the workplace, and ways we can engage players from emerging space nations in the development of the commercial space industry. Below is a folder-playlist of the event, including a recording of the panel in full as well as various highlights and notable quotables.听
Click to view clips of the panel
In-Person at Fiske Planetarium: SSI鈥檚 Flagship Convening Event
Held the following day (Friday, October 8th) in Fiske Planetarium, the in-person event kicked off with a catered reception and networking session, bringing together the academic community with the aerospace industry. After the opening reception, guests were invited into the Fiske Auditorium, where the event proper began.听
Dr. Zachary Donohew opened with an introduction and summary of SSI鈥檚 mission and work, as well as thanking all attendees for their participation. The feature events began immediately after with a welcome from Sharon Matusik, Dean of Leeds School of Business, kicking off a series of presentations featuring eight women who play different roles in contributing to the space industry. Each presenter, and a description of their presentation, can be seen in the slideshow at the top of the page, as well as images from throughout the event.
No amount of thanks is enough to show our appreciation for both the presenters and the attendees for their engagement, insight, and passion towards gender inclusivity and sustainability within the space industry and academia. Each speaker brought unique insights and experiences to share, and their combined contributions highlighted both their personal success and achievements as well as the space community at large. Yet their stories also pointed out areas within the industry that need continued attention and improvement, areas such as women engagement in STEM throughout the educational process and the prevalence of 鈥渕anels鈥�, panels featuring almost entirely men, preventing a critical viewpoint from being heard.听
The attendees played a crucial role in promoting and recognizing women in space. Their engagement across the program helped to make the event a success, engaging in networking and idea sharing before the presentations and continuing the discussions initiated by the presenters in the coffee-hour conversations that followed. With their feedback, and that of the presenters, we hope to see this event return next year in a similar environment.听
Encouraging and hosting these kinds of discussions and academia-industry engagement are key values of SSI, and we thank everyone who made this event possible. We would like to extend a special thanks to the Fiske event staff: Dr. John Keller, Francesco 鈥淭ito鈥� Salas, Jon Allured, Carla Jones, Nick Conant, and Tom Muncy, all of whom helped make the event the success that it was. We would further like to thank the Secure World Foundation for their continued support of SSI and the World Space Week event. And finally, we must again thank all the speakers who shared their time and experiences with us. Further information on each speaker can be found below:
More about the Speaker Line Up:听
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Sharon Matusik
Dean, Leeds School of Business
Sharon Matusik is the 14th Dean and Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship at the Leeds School of Business, University of Colorado. Having lived in many of the great entrepreneurship hubs across the country, Matusik brings innovation and a vision for positively changing the future of global business to her role as dean.
She is the type of leader who anticipates what resources and opportunities are needed to help students on their way to becoming the leaders of the future. She is sharply focused on engagement with business leaders and influencers locally and globally as a critical complement to academic excellence from the faculty in shaping the Leeds School experience. As a first-generation college student, Matusik is also a champion of diversity in business and education, as demonstrated by her efforts to recruit women and minority students and faculty to the Leeds community. Above all, Dean Matusik is someone who understands where the future of education is headed.
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Molly MacEachen
Research Associate Space & Sustainability Initiative (SSI)
Title of talk: Our Work at SSI: Inspiring the Next Generation of Space Leaders
鈥嬧�婱olly MacEachen is a research associate for the Space & Sustainability Initiative (SSI) at the University of Colorado (CU) Boulder where she performs project management, coordinates RA and volunteer work, and plays a crucial role in the operations of the core research team. She recently graduated magna cum laude from CU Boulder with a dual degree in business and sociology. During her time at CU, Molly鈥檚 research on sustainable innovation, corporate social responsibility, and interactions between industry and society was funded by multiple grants & scholarships and showcased at conferences around the globe. In addition to her research, Molly is a consultant for the United Nations Global Compact where she focuses more broadly on the topic of corporate sustainability reporting. Ultimately, her work is centered around the private sector鈥檚 impact on the world, focusing specifically on training the next generation of leaders to be responsible and sustainable. Molly will be sharing her perspective as panelist for the Plenary Session, 鈥淪ocial Responsibility in Space: How the Next Generation is Leading the Charge鈥� at the 2021 International Astronautical Congress (IAC).听
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Dr. Penny Axelrad听
Distinguished Professor in CU Boulder鈥檚 Ann and HJ Smead Aerospace Engineering Sciences Department听
Title of talk: Women of Smead Aerospace
Penina Axelrad is a University of Colorado Distinguished Professor, and Joseph T. Negler Professor of Aerospace Engineering Sciences (AES) at the 麻豆视频.听 Her research interests include space domain awareness, technology and algorithms for position, navigation, and timing in space, airborne, marine, and land environments, and remote sensing using GNSS-based reflectometry and radio occultation measurements.听 Dr. Axelrad is a Member of the National Academy of Engineering and a Fellow of the Institute of Navigation and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.听
Shaylah Mutschler
CU Boulder PhD Candidate
Title of talk: Preventing Collisions in Space: Using CubeSats to Model Space Weather
Shaylah Mutschler worked as an engineering intern at Wright Patterson Air Force Base (Sensors Directorate, AFRL) beginning the summer before her senior year of high school and continued working there while pursuing her undergraduate degree in Computer Engineering. After completing her B.S. in Computer Engineering at Wright State University in 2012, she worked as a software engineer in the Space Situational Awareness Industry. As a software engineer, she assisted in the development of algorithms that characterized geosynchronous satellites using light curve data. After working for two years in the space industry she began pursuing her Ph.D. at the 麻豆视频 with a focus in Astrodynamics and Satellite Navigation. She was a research assistant with the Colorado Center for Astrodynamics Research during her first two years, where she developed algorithms for multi-target, multi-sensor tracking. Shaylah was awarded the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship and the National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship ; she began her tenure as an NDSEG Fellow in Fall 2017. Her current research involves utilizing CubeSats to sense the near-Earth space environment. She plans to complete her PhD in Aerospace Engineering Sciences January 2022.听
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Jenny Gerson
Director of Sustainability, Maxar Technologies
Title of talk: Sustainability in the Space Industry
Jenny Gerson is the Director of Sustainability for Maxar Technologies, a world-leading space technology and intelligence company. She runs ESG (environment, social, governance) strategy and programs across the company. Prior to joining Maxar in 2021, Jenny led energy and environmental management and corporate sustainability strategy at Zayo Group. Jenny's background also includes cleantech market research, environmental permitting for energy development sites and ecological studies for research institutions. Outside of work, Jenny is a competitive swimmer and enjoys all of the outdoor activities Colorado has to offer.听
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Kathryn Tobey
Scholar in Residence - College of Engineering and Applied Science, VPGM (retired) Lockheed Martin Space
Title of Talk: Expanding Awareness for the Sustainability of Space
Kathryn Tobey is a Scholar in Residence in the College of Engineering and Applied Science at CU Boulder. Ms. Tobey retired as the Vice President/General Manager for the $3Bn Lockheed Martin, Special Programs Line of Business, a portfolio of programs delivering high performance systems and innovative concepts for national security space applications. Throughout her 34-year aerospace career, Kathryn held program management and chief system engineering roles on satellite programs and leadership positions in spacecraft manufacturing and strategic planning. Kathryn graduated from CU with a BS in Chemical Engineering, and ME in Engineering Management. She was presented the CU Norlin Award and the Distinguished Engineering Alumni Award. 听
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Krystal Scordo
Senior Marketing & Communications Manager, Astroscale U.S.
Title of talk: C yoUrself in Space: STEM for all and the Power of Space Sustainability Champions
Krystal Scordo is a communicator and storyteller at heart. Head of marketing and communications at Astroscale U.S., she is responsible for building brand awareness, engaging internal and external stakeholders, and creating space sustainability champions with every interaction.
Prior to Astroscale, she worked at Ball Aerospace managing employee engagement and communications. There, she and her team focused on enriching the employee experience through effective and consistent internal communications and events.
Krystal launched her space career at SNC鈥檚 Space Systems Group, building the company鈥檚 first PR team. In this role, she developed a social media presence, launched a new website, and traveled domestically and internationally sharing stories and possibilities of a future with the Dream Chaser庐 spacecraft.
The first in her family to graduate college, Krystal earned her BA in Communication from CU Boulder and loves returning to campus whenever possible.
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Vanessa Clark听
CEO and Co-Founder, Atomos Space
Title of talk: Save the World (and Space) Through Entrepreneurship
Vanessa Clark is Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Atomos Space.听 She is an experienced aerospace engineer with expertise ranging from advanced concepts to hardware development and production, with emphasis on in-space propulsion and space nuclear power systems.听 Working for Airbus Defense and Space, DLR, and Lockheed Martin, she was engaged in projects ranging from military satellites to human spaceflight, she led the design, testing, and production of spacecraft propulsion systems for NASA and other government customers. In her most recent role at Lockheed, she was able to recover late and over budget programs, modify requirements and processes to reduce the burden of government inspections program-wide, and was selected to participate in Lockheed Martin鈥檚 Next Gen leadership program.
Vanessa co-founded Atomos with the goal to remove the barriers to accessing space that she experienced in her roles both as a launch vehicle designer and spacecraft developer and operator. In particular, she is passionate about promoting sustainable space utilization and realizing next-generation space power and propulsion technologies that will enable humans to access space beyond Earth orbit.
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