Danielle Wood Assistant Professor of Media Arts and Sciences, Aeronautics and Astronautics; Director of the Space Enabled Research Group, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Public Lecture Title: Design for Sustainability on Earth and in Space
Thursday, September 21, 2023, 5:00 pm, Stackhouse Theater

Access to the recording of the event will be available for the W&L community.

As Director of the MIT's cutting-edge Space Enabled Research Lab, Danielle Wood collaborates with local and national governments, non-profits, and entrepreneurial firms to identify opportunities for space technology to improve public services and solve global problems. She and her team take the tools that typically orbit us and apply them to projects advancing social good on our home planet-whether that's improving water sources for African teens or preventing the next famine. She has worked with NASA on advancing the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals and joined local scientists in Ghana to combat environmental threats.

A scholar of societal development, Professor Wood's background is a mix of research and hands-on creation, including satellite design, earth science applications, systems engineering, and technology policy. Prior to joining that faculty at MIT, she held positions at NASA Headquarters, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Aerospace Corporation, Johns Hopkins University, and the United Nations Office of Outer Space Affairs. A prolific MIT alum herself, Professor Wood earned a PhD in engineering systems, SM in aeronautics and astronautics, SM in technology policy, and SB in aerospace engineering.

Professor Wood serves as head of MIT's Zero Robotics program, where middle and high school students code robots that are used on the International Space Station for future missions to Mars. She's inspiring the next generation of great minds by giving them the access and resources to explore science, technology, engineering, and math through collaboration. She is committed to creating new opportunities for every student who is interested in STEM fields, securing the program a $1.18 million grant from NASA to increase the participation of Native and Hispanic students in STEM education.