Dava Newman is a professor in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics and Engineering Systems Division at MIT and affiliate faculty in the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology. She is also a MacVicar Faculty Fellow (a chair for making significant contributions to undergraduate education) and director of the Technology and Policy Program at MIT. She leads the MIT-Portugal Program’s Bioengineering Systems effort.

Newman specializes in investigating human performance across the spectrum of gravity. She was principal investigator for the Space Shuttle Dynamic Load Sensors (DLS) experiment, which measured astronaut-induced disturbances of the microgravity environment on mission STS-62. An advanced system, the Enhanced Dynamic Load Sensors experiment, flew onboard the Russian Mir space station from 1996-1998. Newman was a co-investigator on the Mental Workload and Performance Experiment (MWPE) that flew to space on STS-42 to measure astronaut mental workload and fine motor control in microgravity. She also developed the MICR0-G space flight experiment to provide a novel sensor suite and study human adaptation in extreme environments.

She is an expert in the areas of extravehicular activity (EVA), human movement, physics-based modeling, biomechanics, energetics and human-robotic cooperation. As a co-invetigator for the National Space Biomedical Research Institute, her finite element modeling work provided NASA the first three-dimensional representation of bone loss and loading applicable for long-duration missions. She has an active research program in advanced EVA, including space-suit design, life-support technologies and human-robotic cooperation. Her exoskeleton innovations are now being applied to “soft suits” to study and enhance locomotion on Earth for children with cerebral palsy. She also focuses on engineering education involving active learning, hands-on design and information technology implementation to enhance student learning.

Her curriculum efforts strive to find new ways to stimulate students and actively involve students in their own learning. Newman has published an Engineering and Design text and CDROM (2002). She was named one of the “Best Inventors of 2007” for her BioSuit system by Time magazine. Her BioSuit system has been exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Super Heroes show (May-Sept. 2008), the Boston Museum of Science (fall 2008, summer 2009) and the London Museum of Science and Industry (2009). It is slated to be exhibited at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry (2011).

Charles M. Oman is a senior research engineer, senior lecturer and director of the Man Vehicle Laboratory in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at MIT.

Oman’s group studies the physiological and cognitive limitations of humans in aircraft and spacecraft, and tries to develop new ways of improving human-vehicle effectiveness and safety. The laboratory takes an interdisciplinary approach, utilizing techniques from manual and supervisory control theory, estimation, signal processing, biomechanics, cognitive, computational and physiological neuroscience, sensory-motor physiology, human factors, and biostatistics.

Oman received his BSE from Princeton University and his PhD from MIT. He conducted experiments visual and vestibular function in spatial orientation on nine shuttle missions, including six Spacelab flights. Since 1997, he has lead the Sensorimotor Adaptation research team of the National Space Biomedical Research Institute. Oman previously served on the NASA Advisory Council’s Biological and Physical Research Advisory Committee and the National Research Council Panel on Robotic Access and Human Planetary Landing Systems. He chaired the NASA Space Station Utilization Advisory Subcommittee from 2004-2005. He is a member of the International Academy of Astronautics.

William Swelbar is a research engineer in MIT's International Center for Air Transportation. He is also affiliated with the Global Airline Industry Program and Airline Industry Consortium.

During the past 20 years, he has consulted for airlines, airports, investors, manufacturers and labor groups. He has also studied market behavior resulting from structural changes in the competitive environment, including mergers, alliances, new entrant carriers and new aircraft technology.

Laurence Young is the Apollo Program Professor of Astronautics, professor of health sciences and technology, and director of Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology PhD Program in Bioastronautics.

He is also dounding firector, National Space Biomedical Research Institute; Alternate Payload Specialist Astronaut, U.S. Air Force Scientific Advisory Board, Visiting Professor – ETH (Zurich), Stanford, College de France, Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine.