SGAC is proud to announce the following appointments to our team after the latest round of vacancy applications.

• Regional Event Coordinator – Ada Ranieri
• PR and Comm Graphic Designer – Ananda Padmanabhan
• Project Groups Media and Communications Lead – Théa Beaury
• Regional Assistant Asia-Pacific – Tzu-Lan (Friska) Wang
• Project Groups Partnerships Co-lead – Raphaelle Barbier
• PR and Comm Graphic Designer – Liana Gfrerer
• SpaceGen Academy Co-Lead- Harlee Quizzagan

If you are interested in being part of the SGAC Team, you can find the latest vacancies here.

Ada is an Italian mechanical engineer who is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering about predictive methods for shock loads on satellites. For her research she is concurrently engaged at Polytechnic University of Bari, SITAEL S.p.A, an aerospace private italian company and the European Space Agency. She is currently based in the Netherlands, conducting her work at ESA-ESTEC. Ada earned her Masters degree in Mechanical Engineering from Polytechnic University of Bari with distinction, achieving a final grade of 110/110 cum laude. She also participated in a Double Degree program in Paris, focusing on fluid mechanics, aerodynamics, and aeroacoustics. In addition to her academic pursuits, Ada is actively involved in the space community. She has partecipated has the Space Studies Program in 2022 organized by International Space University (ISU) and to the ESA Academy Spacecraft Workshop. She holds memberships in organizations such as AIDAA, SEDS Italy, Women in Aerospace and Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC). Ada served as the Event Manager for the European Space Generation Workshop 2023 and Deputy Event Manager for the Italian Space Startup Competition. She has also had an advisory role in SEDS Italy.

 Ananda Padmanabhan is an emerging professional aspiring to explore the intersection of Space Tourism and Space Health and Medicine. In addition to his pursuits in space-related endeavours, he has been a Freelancer in Graphic design for the past four years, showcasing his creative skills. Furthermore, He is a passionate photographer, adding a dynamic and artistic dimension to his multifaceted interests.

I am a second-year Colombian and French Physics undergrad student at the University of Bordeaux (France) eager to go down the path of Space Policy and Sustainability. I enjoy learning, communicating, leading, and interacting with people all over the world. My hobbies include hosting my podcast, learning about space, and volunteering.

 Friska is a freshman majoring in sociology. Having viewed space as the intersection of dreams and the future since childhood, she has volunteered for two local space-related NGOs, reflecting her passion for increasing her active involvement in both regional and global space communities.

 Raphaëlle Barbier has an interdisciplinary background integrating engineering, as well as Earth and social sciences. She has been working in the Earth Observation (EO) sector for the last 5 years and received the PhD degree from the Center for Management Science – i3 (UMR CNRS 9217), Mines Paris, PSL University, in March 2023. Within her PhD, she was especially involved in the H2020 EU-funded “e-shape” project, aimed at developing 37 pilot applications based on EO data for various sectors (e.g. agriculture, health, renewable energies, biodiversity, water resources, natural disasters, climate). In this project, she led the work package dedicated to “co-design”, helping EO experts to interact with potential users to identify and build relevant partnerships. Based on this experience, she was also appointed as member of the working group in charge of defining the post-2025 strategy of the intergovernmental body Group on Earth Observations (GEO). Beyond the Earth Observation sector, she also has a broad interest for space-related activities, especially related to space sustainability. On this topic, she is currently taking part in the organisation of SG[France] 2024.

Liana is a Graphic Design and Advertising graduate and Technical Physics student. She is involved in projects of TU Wien Space Team, where she held the role of Aerostructure Lead for two bi-liquid propelled experimental rockets, and Team Tumbleweed. To combine her passion for good design and the space sector, she works at ESAs European Astronaut Centre as member of the Space training Team, focusing on Knowledge Visualisation and Instructional Design.  

Harlee is a young professional working and volunteering in the fields of ML/AI and commercial space applications. He is currently working as an ML Lead Engineer for XentriAI, Inc. that creates solutions for business analytics, process automation, and integrating space data into business processes for the construction, insurance, and urban planning industry. His experience is on utilising satellite data for applications in public health monitoring and for urban development.