How biology will drive the future of space travel w/ Guest Speaker Erika Stith

Greetings DBL Community!

If you are at all curious about biology in space, humans in space, space suits, and designing for life in space then you don't want to miss our special guest speaker for June.

Speaker: Erika Stith, University of Denver, BSc Physics | MS MechE | 2017
Title: How biology will drive the future of space travel

Most of space exploration up to this point has been a purely mechanical venture. We've shoved people in balloon suits and strapped them to rockets to see how far they go. But as we advance towards a future where more of humanity is no longer tethered to Earth, we'll need to take a more multidisciplinary approach. I'm going to discuss my own experience in space suit design as well as other areas of this young industry where biotechnology will make a difference.

Bio:
I am a student at he University of Denver in the 5-year BS/MS program in physics and mechanical engineering with concentrations in biophysics and biomechanics respectively, with minors in biology, math, and chemistry. I also work in the Human Dynamics Lab on part of a project developing mobile injury diagnostic units. Last summer, I worked at the company Final Frontier design, where I helped develop space suit gloves for NASA to be tested under Mars-like conditions as well as other parts for a full space suit.