AE alumna chosen to lead NASA smart habitat

As space exploration takes us beyond low-Earth orbit, the Moon, and even Mars, it will be vital to have habitats that can operate with and without a crew on board—smart habitats.

NASA selected proposals to create two university-led Space Technology Research Institutes to develop technologies that can sustain humans in deep space. AE alumna Shirley Dyke has been selected to lead one of them—the Resilient ExtraTerrestrial Habitats institute.

According to NASA’s website, RETHi will explore ways to design and operate resilient deep space habitats “that can adapt, absorb and rapidly recover from expected and unexpected disruptions. The institute plans to leverage expertise in civil infrastructure with advanced technology fields such as modular and autonomous robotics and hybrid simulation.”

Dyke will lead a multidisciplinary team in partnership with the University of Connecticut, Harvard University and the University of Texas at San Antonio.

Dyke is a professor of mechanical and civil engineering at Purdue University. She received a B.S. in 1991 from the University of Illinois and a Ph.D. from Notre Dame.

For more about REHTi, visit NASA’s website.