Discover the IAF Vice President for Education and Workforce Development, Dr. Minoo Rathnasabapathy

Dr. Minoo Rathnasabapathy is a Research Engineer within the Space Enabled Research Group at the MIT Media Lab. In this role, she helps coordinate projects in collaboration with international development organizations, national governments and entrepreneurial companies to apply space technology in support of the Sustainable Development Goals. She also leads efforts in writing proposals, communicating the team’s work through writing and speaking, as well as and mentoring students.

Previously, Dr. Rathnasabapathy served as the Executive Director of the Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC), a global non-governmental organization which acts in support of the United Nations Programme on Space Applications, based in Vienna, Austria. Dr. Rathnasabapathy was responsible for leading the operations, business development, strategy, and policy output for SGAC, a network that represents over 10,000 university students and young professionals in 110+ countries. Dr. Rathnasabapathy earned her Ph.D in Aerospace Engineering from RMIT University, researching the impact dynamics of novel materials used in aerospace structures. Dr. Rathnasabapathy is a member of the World Economic Forum Global Future Council on Space Technology and the Generation-Next Advisory Board for Via Satellite.

In her capacity of IAF Vice-President for Education and Workforce Development, Minoo has created more activities, workshops and programmes in order to encourage and prepare the workforce of tomorrow. This includes the IAF Launchpad Mentorship Programme, helping launch the careers of aerospace professionals around the world through one-to-one mentorship to achieve their career and professional development goals.