Honorary Board

Adigun Ade Abiodun received his undergraduate and graduate education from the University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA, where he obtained his Bachelor of Science (1965), Master of Science (1966) and his Ph.D. (1971) in Civil Engineering (Hydraulics and Hydrology). His academic and professional experience included his services as (i) Civil and hydraulic engineer with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Seattle (1966-68), (ii) Hydraulics systems research engineer with the Boeing Company, Seattle, USA (1968-71), (iii) Lecturer and Senior at the University of Ife, Ile-Ife, Nigeria, 1971-77; (iv) Post-Doctoral Research Fellow of the National Research Council of Canada, tenable at the Canada Centre for Remote Sensing (Dec. 1974- Feb. 1976); and (v) Remote Sensing Specialist (1977-1981) and later as the United Nations Expert on Space Applications, (1977-1999). He was appointed United Nations Expert on Space Applications in November 1981 and served in that position until September 1999 when he retired from the services of the United Nations. In this capacity, he initiated, designed, implemented and supervised, globally, the United Nations Space Applications Programmed, including the establishment of the Un-Affiliated Regional Centres on Space Science and Technology Education. He is a contributor to five books and the author of over 68 scientific and technical publications.
Thereafter, Ade Abiodun also served/(is serving) as (i) Senior Special Assistant to the President (of Nigeria) on Space Science and Technology.(March 2000 –June 2003); (ii) Member of the College of Commissioner of the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission–re Iraq (UNMOVIC), 2000-2007; (iii) Chairman, Board of Directors, Spaceweek International Association (Oct. 2001– Oct. 2004); (iv) Chairman, United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS), June 2004 – June 2006; (v) One of 20 global panelists that explored, in Feb. 2006, ‘Space and Humans in the Next 1,000 Years’ for the “Foundation for the Future,” Bellevue, State of Washington, USA; (vi) Member of the Association of Space Explorers’ Panel on the Mitigation of Asteroids Impact (2007-2008); (viii) Trustee, The ISPRS Foundation, and (ix) Founder, African Space Foundation.

Yolanda Berenguer is currently the Space Education Programme Coordinator at the UNESCO. Yolanda is a specialist in international relations and Earth observations applications. She was former Chair of the CEOS Working Group on Education, Training and Capacity Building and is currently Co-Chair of the GEO Capacity Building Committee and Board Member of the World Space Week Association. Yolanda is UNESCO’s representative to COPUOS, UN Inter-Agency Meeting on Outer Space Activities, IAF’s Space and Education Outreach Committee, APRSAF’s Working Group on Space Education and Awareness and Space Conference of the Americas’ Education Committee. Yolanda is UNESCO’s Focal Point for the International Year of Astronomy (2009) and follow-up actions.

Caroline C. (Lin) Burke is a teacher of children’s music and movement according to the principles of Carl Orff and Emile-Jaques Dalcroze. She has participated in summer sessions of the International Space University since 1989, founding ISU’s English language assistance program and aiding in the cultural adjustment of students. Pursuing her interest in dance in partial gravity, she has flown three times in the Zero G Boeing 727. At both ISU and SGAC, she continues to advocate for the incorporation of arts in space future.

A.C. Charania is an entrepreneurial engineer and technical innovator possessing more than a decade of experience creating and advancing new aerospace ventures for both commercial and government customers; helping to turn advanced concepts into reality. He was a visionary/founder/early employee of three aerospace start-ups (SpaceWorks Enterprises, Generation Orbit and Terminal Velocity Aerospace). He was one of the leaders of the LauncherOne program at Virgin Galactic (now Virgin Orbit) and is currently Manager of Advanced Programs with the Strategy and Business Development group at Blue Origin. He is a member of the International Astronautical Federation (IAF) Entrepreneurship and Investment Committee.

He earned an M.S. and B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology with a specialization in systems design and optimization. He also earned a B.A. in Economics/Mathematics from Emory University.

Catherine Doldirina is the former Chair of Space Generation Advisory Council. She is engaged in legal research related to space activities since 2005. Her expertise lies in the field of intellectual property law, some fields of European law, (geographic) data policies and regulations, as well as general questions of space law. In 2011 she defended her PhD thesis entitled “Remote sensing data and the common good” at the Institute of Air & Space Law, McGill University (Montreal, Canada). She lectured on European competition law, European copyright law and space law at various universities in Canada and Europe. She authors work on various aspects of space law and is a member of the International Institute of Space Law. She currently works as a researcher at the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission (Italy), with the focus on policies and regulations regarding access to and use of geographic and Earth observation data.

Gernot Grömer was born in 1975 and obtained his masters degree in Astronomy at the Leopold-Franzens University in Innsbruck, Austria. He is an alumni of the Space Studies Programme of the International Space University (Houston, Texas) and was a teaching assistant of the same programme at the ISU Cleveland, Ohio campus. Mr Grömer has international academic experience having already conducted research in Italy, the US and Chile. His experience with outreach activities is considerable having already coordinated such activities for the European lunar mission, LunarSat; for the crewed Mars simulation expedition in Utah; for the 37th ESA Parabolic Flight Campaign as a flight crew member; and for the AustroMars and PolAres, as part of the Programme Management Group. Currently, he teaches and researches in the field of human Mars exploration at the University of Innsbruck in Austria.

Johannes Ortner studied Electrical Engineering and Technical Physics at the University of Technology of Vienna and in 1960 obtained his Ph.D. in Meteorology and Geophysics at the University of Vienna. While working as a physicist at the Geophysical Observatory of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences at Kiruna, Sweden, he was charged with preparing and performing the first Swedish sounding rocket experiments to measure the energy spectra of electrons causing the northern lights (aurora borealis), which were successfully launched in August 1962. Among his many professional positions, Mr. Ortner worked for the European Space Research Organization (ESRO) in Paris, France, was Assistant Director for Scientific Projects at the European Space Laboratory (ESLAB) in Noordwijk, Netherlands, and was Assistant Director for Program Planning in Paris. In 1974, Johannes Ortner was appointed as Managing Director of the Austrian Space Agency (ASA) in Vienna and directed this agency until his retirement in 1998. In this function, he prepared Austria for full membership at the European Space Agency (ESA), which was obtained in 1987. Mr Ortner has also a respectable history with international institutions dealing with outer space, as he was President of the International Astronautical Federation (IAF), Vice-President of Eurisy (Paris), Member of the Board of Trustees of the International Space University, ISU (Strasbourg), Member of the Board of Trustees of the International Space Science Institute, ISSI (Bern) and Member of several committees of the International Astronautical Federation, IAF (Paris). Additionally, Johannes Ortner was the Director of the annual European Summer School on Space Research in Alpbach, Tyrol, for more than twenty years.

Dumitru Prunariu is the current Chairman of the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space for the period of June 2010-June 2012 and is an Associate Professor of Geopolitics at the Academy of Economic Studies in Bucharest, Romania. He acted as a Diplomatic Engineer for industrial sector prior to enrolling in the Romanian Air Force Officers Training School in 1977. He was selected for spaceflight training in 1978 as a part of the Intercosmos Program. In May 1981, he completed an eight-day space mission on board Soyuz 40 and the Salyut 6 space laboratory, where he completed scientific experiments in the fields of astrophysics, space radiation, space technology, space medicine and biology. Since 1995, Dr. Prunariu has been the Vice-President of the International Institute for Risk, Security and Communication Management (EURISC) in Bucharest. He is the former President of the Romanian Space Agency and former Director of the Romanian Office for Science and Technology Union (ROST) in Brussels. He is also a corresponding member of the International Academy of Astronautics, a member of the Romanian National COSPAR Committee, and a member of the Association of Space Explorers (ASE). He was elected in 2004 as the Chairman of the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee of the UN COPUOS and has also served as a permanent representative of the Government of Romania and ASE to UN COPUOS. Dr. Prunariu obtained a degree in Aerospace Engineering from the Politehnical University of Bucharest in 1976 and received a PhD from the Aviation Institute in Bucharest with research on flight dynamics.

Chris Welch is a frequent commentator on space and astronautics, has made more than 300 television and radio broadcasts and has also advised on a number of space-related television programs and films. In 1989, Chris was one of the final 25 candidates to fly to the Mir space station on the UK-USSR Juno mission, which continues to fuel his passion for space in general and space education and outreach in particular. He is former chair of the UK’s Space Education Council and is Chair of the IAF’s Space and Education and Outreach Committee. He is Vice-President and a Council Member of the British Interplanetary Society and a subject editor for its journal, JBIS and is also on the board of the World Space Week Association and a trustee of the Spacelink Learning Foundation and the Arts Catalyst. In 2009 he won the Sir Arthur Clarke Award for Achievement in Space Education. Chris Welch is a Professor and Director of Masters Programs at the International Space University (ISU) in Strasbourg, France. He has a PhD in spacecraft engineering from Cranfield University in the United Kingdom – where he is also adjunct faculty – and an MSc in space physics from the University of Leicester. He is a Chartered Physicist and Member of the Institute of Physics, the Institute of Engineering and Technology (and a member of its Aerospace Network Executive Committee) and an Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Chris has also served as a special advisor on two UK government enquiries into space policy. In 1989, Chris was one of the final 25 candidates to fly to the Mir space station on the UK-USSR Juno mission, which continues to fuel his passion for space in general and space education and outreach in particular. He is former chair of the UK’s Space Education Council and is Chair of the IAF’s Space and Education and Outreach Committee. He is Vice-President and a Council Member of the British Interplanetary Society and a subject editor for its journal, JBIS and is also on the board of the World Space Week Association and a trustee of the Spacelink Learning Foundation and the Arts Catalyst. In 2009 he won the Sir Arthur Clarke Award for Achievement in Space Education. Chris is a frequent commentator on space and astronautics, has made more than 300 television and radio broadcasts and has also advised on a number of space-related television programs and films.

Agnieszka Lukaszczyk is a Director for EU Policy at Planet. A Polish/American national, has worked at the European Commission, Directorate General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, Space Data for Societal Challenges and Growth Unit. She also worked at the Directorate General for Enterprise and Industry, Space Policy and Research Unit. Before she joined the Commission, Agnieszka was the Brussels Office Director for the Secure World Foundation. In addition, she is the former Chairperson and the former Executive Director of the Space Generation Advisory Council in Support of the United Nations Programme on Space Applications. Agnieszka also worked at the European Space Policy Institute as a research fellow. Agnieszka serves as the Vice President – Europe for the World Space Week And Sits on the Board Of Directors for the Women in Aerospace-Europe. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Space Security at the Polish Defence Academy. She holds a Master’s degree from the Warsaw School of Economics in Management of Space in New Economies and a Master’s degree from the American University School of International Service in International Politics plus a Bachelor degree in Political Science from the University of Tennessee. She also studied at the Universite Catholique de Louvain in Brussels, Belgium; the Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland and the World Trade Institute in Berne, Switzerland. She gained professional experience at the Political Section of the Polish Embassy in Washington DC, American Electronics Association in Brussels, European Department of the Polish Senate in Warsaw and the Warsaw Business Journal.

Dr. Mazlan Othman was educated in Malaysia and received her PhD in Astrophysics at the University of Otago, New Zealand. On returning to Malaysia in 1981, she pioneered an academic programme on astrophysics at the National University of Malaysia and was appointed Professor of Astrophysics in 1994. She was seconded to the Prime Minister’s Department in 1990 to direct the establishment of the National Planetarium, under the Space Science Studies Division. As its first Director-General, she also led the design and manufacture of Malaysia’s first remote-sensing satellite, TiungSAT-1, launched in 2000. In 1999, she was appointed Director of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) and, in 2002, returned to Malaysia to set up the National Space Agency (ANGKASA). As its founding Director-General, she established the National Space Centre which houses TT&C, AIT, calibration and research facilities; founded the Langkawi National Observatory; and initiated the programme which placed the world’s first remote-sensing satellite in the near-Equatorial orbit. She spearheaded the Angkasawan Programme which saw the launch of the first Malaysian astronaut to the International Space Station in 2007. That year, she left Malaysia again to resume the post of Director of UNOOSA. In 2009, she was appointed Deputy Director-General of the United Nations Office at Vienna (UNOV).
She retired from the UN in 2013 and is currently Project Director of Megascience 3.0 at the Academy of Sciences Malaysia. She is a fellow of several professional bodies and is the recipient of several national and international awards.