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Former NASA Deputy Administrator, Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics at MIT, developing the BioSuit spacesuit.
Key Dates and Places
Born Place: Helena, Montana.
Career
Current occupation: Apollo Program Professor of Astronautics at MIT; Director of the MIT Portugal Program.
Past occupations: NASA Deputy Administrator (2015-2017); Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics and Engineering Systems at MIT.
Current Place of Work: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Previous Place of Work: NASA (2015-2017).
Achievements and Recognition
Awards: Numerous awards for her work in bioastronautics and space suit development, including the NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal.
Education
University of Notre Dame, B.S., Aerospace Engineering; MIT, S.M., Aeronautics and Astronautics; MIT, Ph.D., Biomedical Engineering.
Skills
Space suit design, bioastronautics, human performance in extreme environments, leadership, strategic planning, policy development, aerospace engineering, biomedical engineering, teaching, public speaking.
Languages
Languages Spoken: English.
Main Milestones
Birth and Early Life
1964
Dava Newman was born in Helena, Montana, setting the stage for a life dedicated to exploring beyond earthly boundaries. Her early exposure to the vast landscapes of Montana likely fostered a deep curiosity about the world and the universe beyond.
B.S. Aerospace Engineering, University of Notre Dame
1986
Newman earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Notre Dame. This marked the formal beginning of her engineering career, providing her with a foundational understanding of the principles governing flight and space travel. She later also added a B.S. degree in economics from the same institution, broadening her expertise.
S.M. and Ph.D. in Aerospace Biomedical Engineering, MIT
1989 & 1992
Newman continued her education at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), earning both a Master of Science (S.M.) and a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Aerospace Biomedical Engineering. Her doctoral work focused on human adaptation to space environments, paving the way for her pioneering research in space suit technology and human performance in extreme conditions. She also received a Master of Science in Technology and Policy from MIT.
Professor at MIT
1993
Upon completing her Ph.D., Dava Newman joined the faculty at MIT as a professor in Aeronautics and Astronautics. This position allowed her to pursue her research interests, mentor future generations of aerospace engineers, and establish herself as a leading expert in her field. Her contributions to research and education at MIT have been substantial.
BioSuit Development
2000s
Throughout the 2000s, Newman became widely known for her work on the BioSuit, an advanced space suit design that utilizes mechanical counterpressure to provide astronauts with greater mobility and flexibility in space. This innovative approach revolutionized space suit technology and holds significant potential for future space missions. The BioSuit project brought together multidisciplinary fields with a focus on innovative, integrated systems.
NASA Deputy Administrator
2015-2017
In 2015, Dava Newman was appointed as the Deputy Administrator of NASA, the second-highest position in the agency. In this role, she played a critical role in shaping NASA's strategic direction, overseeing its various programs, and advancing the agency's mission of exploration, scientific discovery, and technological innovation. Her time as Deputy Administrator saw renewed focus on exploration beyond low Earth orbit.
Director of the MIT Portugal Program
2021-Present
Following her tenure at NASA, Dava Newman returned to academia and is currently the Director of the MIT Portugal Program. This position allows her to promote international collaboration in science, technology, and innovation, further contributing to the advancement of knowledge and addressing global challenges. She continues to be a valuable asset to the MIT community.
Newman earned her PhD in aerospace biomedical engineering, and Master of Science degrees in aerospace engineering and technology and policy all from MIT, and her Bachelor of Science degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Notre Dame. She is a member of the faculty at the Harvard–MIT Program in Health Sciences and Technology and a MacVicar Faculty Fellow. She formerly directed the Technology and Policy Program at MIT (2003–2015) and the MIT Portugal Program since 2011.
Newman's research expertise is in aerospace biomedical engineering, investigating human performance in varying gravity environments. Newman was the principal investigator on four spaceflight missions.[4] The Space Shuttle Dynamic Load Sensors (DLS) experiment measured astronaut-induced disturbances of the microgravity environment[clarification needed] on mission STS-62. The Enhanced Dynamic Load Sensors experiment flew on board the Mir Space Station from 1996–1998. Newman was a Co-Investigator on the Mental Workload and Performance Experiment (MWPE) that flew on STS-42 to measure astronaut mental workload and fine motor control in microgravity.[5][6] She also developed the MICR0-G space flight experiment to provide a sensor suite and study human adaptation in extreme environments.[7] She was the MIT Principal Investigator on the Gravity Loading Countermeasure Suit, or Skinsuit,[8] which flew the International Space Station as an ESA technology demonstration from 2015 to 2017.[9]
Newman has promoted the development of space activity suits, namely the Bio-Suit, which provides pressure through compression directly on the skin via the suit's textile weave, patterning,[10][11] and advanced materials[12] rather than with pressurized gas. The suit is designed to help astronauts move around more easily than gas-filled suits allow.[13][14][15] These spacesuit technologies are now[when?] being applied to "soft suits" to study and enhance locomotion on Earth. Newman is the author of Interactive Aerospace Engineering and Design, an introductory engineering textbook, has published more than 300 papers in journals and refereed conferences, and holds numerous[16] compression technology patents.
In October 2014, Newman was nominated by President Barack Obama as deputy administrator of NASA,[17] but the U.S. Senate returned the nomination to the president in December 2014 when the 113th Congress adjourned without having confirmed her for the position.[18] Under Senate rules, in order for Newman to be confirmed, Obama needed to re-nominate her to the Senate of the 114th Congress, and he did so on January 8, 2015.[19][20] Her confirmation hearing before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation was held March 25, 2015,[21] and the committee unanimously recommended approval by the full Senate.[22] She was confirmed by the Senate on April 27, 2015.[23] She resigned the position upon the end of the Obama administration on January 20, 2017.[24]
Select honors include named among World's Most Influential Women Engineers (2021),[25] Lowell Thomas Award (Explorer's Club (2018), the NASA Distinguished Service Medal (2017), Women in Aerospace Leadership Award (2017), and the Aerospace Medical Association's Henry L. Taylor Award for Outstanding Accomplishment in Aerospace Human Factors (2017). Her BioSuit spacesuit system has been exhibited at the Venice Biennial (2015), the American Museum of Natural History (2012), the Victoria and Albert and Museum, London (2012), the Paris City Museum of Science and Industry (2010), the London Museum of Science and Industry (2009), and the Metropolitan Museum of Art (2008). She was awarded Best Invention of 2007 by Time magazine, named in 100 Extraordinary Women Engineers in 2004, and received the Women in Aerospace National Aerospace Educator Award (2001).
Newman, D.J., Interactive Aerospace Engineering and Design, introductory engineering textbook with accompanying interactive CD-ROM, McGraw-Hill, Inc., January 2002. ISBN978-0072348200
Saleh, J.H., Hastings, D.E., and D.J. Newman, "Weaving Time into System Architecture: Satellite Cost per Operational Day and Optimal Design Lifetime", Acta Astronautica, 54:413-431, 2004.
Ferguson, P. A., Krebs, C. P., Stirling, L. A., Newman, D. J., "Kinetic and Kinematic Sensing System for the MICRO-G /Adapt International Space Station Experiment", IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation and Measurement, June, 2006.
Jordan, N. C., Saleh, J. H., Newman, D. J., "The extravehicular mobility unit: A review of environment, requirements, and design changes in the US spacesuit", Acta Astronautica, Volume 59, Issue 12, Pages 1135-1145, July 2006.
Newman, D.J., Canina, M. Trotti, G.L., "Revolutionary Design for Astronaut Exploration – Beyond the Bio-Suit", CP880, Space Technology and Applications International Forum—STAIF-2007, Albuquerque, NM, February 11–15, 2007.
Carr, C. E., Newman, D. J., "Space Suit Bioenergetics: Framework and Analysis of Unsuited and Suited Activity", Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine, 78:1013-1022, 2007.
Johnson, A.W., Hoffman, J.A., Newman, D.J., Mazarico, E.M., and Zuber, M.T., "An Integrated Traverse Planner and Analysis Tool for Future Planetary Exploration", AIAA 2010-8829, SPACE 2010, Anaheim, CA, 2010.
Stirling, L., Newman, D.J., Willcox, K., "Self-Rotations in Simulated Microgravity: Performance Effects of Strategy Training" Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine, vol. 80 no. 1, pp. 5–14, 2009.
Stirling, L., Willcox, K., Newman, D., "Development of a Computational Model for Astronaut Reorientation", Journal of Biomechanics, Vol. 43, Issue 12, pp. 2309–2314, August 2010.
R. A. Opperman, J. M. Waldie, A. Natapoff, D. J. Newman, J. A. Jones, "Probability of Spacesuit-Induced Fingernail Trauma is associated with Hand Circumference", Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine, 81, 907-913, 2010.
Wagner, E.B., Granzella, N.P., Saito, N., Newman, D.J., Young, L.R., Bouxsein, M.L., "Partial weight Suspension: A Novel Murine Model for Investigation Adaptation to Reduce Musculoskeletal Loading", Journal of Applied Physiology, 109:350-357, 2010.
Waldie, J., Newman, D., "A Gravity Loading Countermeasure Skinsuit", Acta Astronautica, 68(7-8):722-730, 2011.
Pfotenhauer, Sebastian M., et al. "Seeding Change through International University Partnerships: The MIT-Portugal Program as a Driver of Internationalization, Networking, and Innovation", Higher Education Policy, 2012.
Wessendorf, A.M. and Newman, D.J., Dynamic Understanding of Human-Skin Movement and Strain-Field Analysis, IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering, 59(12):3432-3438, 2012.
Duda, K., Vasquez, R., Newman, D.J., "Variable Vector Countermeasure Suit (V2Suit) for Space Exploration", IEEE Explore, ISBN978-1-4673-1813-6, 2013.
Holschuh, B., Obropta, E., Newman, D.J., "Low Spring Index NiTi Coil Actuators for Use in Active Compression Garments, IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics, 20(3):1264-1277, 2015.
Melo, P., Silva, M., Martins, J., and Newman, D.J., "Technical Developments of Functional Electrical Stimulation to Correct Drop Foot: Sensing, Actuation and Control Strategies", Clinical Biomechanics, 30(2):101-113, 2015.
Holschuh, B., and Newman, D. "Two-Spring Model for Active Compression Textiles with Integrated NiTi Coil Actuators", Smart Materials and Structures, 24, 2015.
Anderson, Y. Menguc, R. Wood, D. Newman, "Development of the Polipo Pressure Sensing System for Dynamic Space-Suited Motion", IEEE Sensors Journal, Vol. 15(11):6229-6237, 2015.
P. L. Melo, M. T. Silva, J. M. Martins, D. J. Newman, "A Microcontroller Platform for The Rapid Prototyping of Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES)-based Gait Neuroprostheses", Artificial Organs, 39(5):E56-66, May 2015.
B Holschuh, D Newman, "Morphing Compression Garments for Space Medicine and Extravehicular Activity Using Active Materials", Aerospace Medicine and Human Performance 87 (2), 84-92, 2016.
Newman, D.J., Wood, D., Roos, D., Pfotenhauer., S., "Architecting complex international science, technology and innovation partnerships (CISTIPs): A study of four global MIT collaborations", Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Volume 104, March 2016, Pages 38–56.
Wood, D. and Newman, D. "The Innovation Landscape within a Large Government Agency: Promising Practices from the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)", 67th International Astronautical Congress, Guadalajara, Mexico, Sept. 2016.
Anandapadmanaban, E., Tannady, J., Norheim, J., Newman, D., and Hoffman, J., "Holo-SEXTANT: an Augmented Reality Planetary EVA Navigation Interface", 48th International Conference on Environmental Systems, Albuquerque, New Mexico, July 2018.
Ekblaw, A., Prosina, A., Newman, D.J., and Paradiso, J., "Space Habitat Reconfigurability: TESSERAE platform for self-aware assembly", 30th IAA Symposium On Space and Society (Space Architecture: Habitats, Habitability, and Bases). Proceedings of the IAF International Astronautical Congress, 2019.
Kenza Amara, David Dao, Björn Lütjens, Dava Newman, Tom Crowther, and Ce Zhang. 2020. "OneForest: Towards a Global Species Dataset by Fusing Remote Sensing and Citizen Science Data with Graph Neural Networks". In Proceedings of KDD 2020 Virtual Conference (KDD2020). ACM, New York, NY, US.
Lütjens, B., Leshchinskiy, B., Requena-Mesa, C.*, Chishtie, F., Diaz-Rodriguez, N., Boulais, O., Pi a, A., Newman, D., Lavin A., Gal Y., Raissi, C (2020) "Physics-Informed GANs for Coastal Flood Visualization", *equal contribution, in review at NeurIPS workshop on Tackling Climate Change with AI, demo at trillium.tech/eie
Lütjens, B., Veillette, M., Newman, D., "Uncertainty-Aware Physics-Informed Neural Networks for Parametrizations in Ocean Modeling", AGU Annual Mtg., 2020.
^Newman, D. J.; Lathan, C. E. (1999). "Memory processes and motor control in extreme environments". IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics - Part C: Applications and Reviews. 29 (3): 387–394. doi:10.1109/5326.777074. ISSN1094-6977. PMID11542391.
^Presidential nomination no. 2091, "Dava J. Newman, of Massachusetts, to be Deputy Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, vice Lori Garver, resigned", 113th Congress, November 12, 2014. Accessed March 26, 2015.
^Presidential nomination no. 43, Dava J. Newman, of Massachusetts, to be Deputy Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, vice Lori Garver, resigned, 114th Congress, January 8, 2015. Accessed March 26, 2015.
