Professor Dava J. Newman has been named director of the Engineering Systems Division's Technology and Policy Program, effective July 1. She will be a professor in Engineering Systems, as well as continuing as a professor in aeronautics and astronautics.
"She is a recognized expert on how humans can better function in reduced gravity. Many of her experiments have flown in space aboard the space shuttle and the Russian Mir space station and are slated for the International Space Station," said Professor Daniel Hastings, Engineering Systems Division co-director.
Newman's expertise includes multidisciplinary research combining aerospace biomedical engineering; human-in-the-loop dynamics and control modeling; biomechanics; human interface technology; life sciences; and engineering systems and design. Her studies are carried out through flight experiments, ground-based simulations, and mathematical and computer modeling. Other research efforts include advanced space suit design and navigation aids for astronauts performing spacewalks.
Newman serves on national advisory boards for space policy and is a TPP alumna. She succeeds Hastings, who headed TPP for three and a half years.
A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on June 12, 2003.
