Dava J. Newman

Dava J. Newman is the Apollo Program Professor of Astronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and serves as Director of the MIT Media Lab since 2021. She is also a faculty member in the Harvard-MIT Program in Health Sciences and Technology and has held numerous leadership positions at MIT including Director of the Technology and Policy Program and House Master of Baker House.

Her educational background includes:

• B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from University of Notre Dame (1986)
• S.M. in Aeronautics & Astronautics from MIT (1989)
• S.M. in Technology and Policy from MIT (1989)
• Ph.D. in Aerospace Biomedical Engineering from MIT (1992)

Newman's research focuses on aerospace biomedical engineering, biomechanics, and human factors across the gravity spectrum from microgravity to hypergravity. She is renowned for developing the BioSuit™, a revolutionary 'second-skin' spacesuit technology that provides mechanical counter-pressure through elastic tension rather than gas pressure, allowing greater mobility for astronauts. Her work combines aerospace bioengineering, human-in-the-loop dynamics modeling, and biomechanics to understand human performance in different gravity environments. More recently, she has developed Earth Speaks™, an open-source platform applying AI and natural language processing to environmental data to address climate challenges.

Her notable awards include the NASA Distinguished Service Medal (2017), Lowell Thomas Award from Explorer's Club (2018), Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (2018), TIME Magazine's Best Inventions recognition for BioSuit™ (2007), and the MIT Margaret MacVicar Faculty Fellow award (2000).

Throughout her career, Newman has supervised 90 graduate students and mentored over 200 undergraduates. Her BioSuit™ technology has not only advanced space exploration but has also found applications as assistive devices for people with mobility challenges on Earth. The aesthetically significant design has been exhibited at major museums worldwide including the Venice Biennale, American Museum of Natural History, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.