AIAA LA-LV 8/17 Saturday Event

(No AIAA membership is required for attending this event.)
(Full-Time Student with valid Student ID can enjoy free Presentation Only - No Meal Tickets (Limited Seats))

Space Architecture
and
Space Robotic Construction & Manufacturing

by

Melodie Yashar

Design Architect, Researcher and co-founder of Space Exploration Architecture (SEArch+)

Prof. Boris Fritz

Adjunct Professor, USC

Dr. Behrokh Khoshnevis

President and CEO, Contour Crafting Corporation

Dr. Amir Mansouri

CEO, Sprintray Inc.

Prof. Madhu Thangavelu (also Panel Moderator)

Faculty Member and Director, USC / ISU

The Speakers / Panelists

Melodie Yashar

Design Architect, Researcher and co-founder of Space Exploration Architecture (SEArch+)

Melodie Yashar is a design architect, researcher and co-founder of Space Exploration Architecture (SEArch+), a group building upon a 10-year portfolio of academic space research and practice developing human-supporting concepts for space exploration. In 2015 SEArch+ was awarded the top prize in NASA’s Centennial Challenge for a 3D-Printed Habitat for the proposal "Mars Ice House." SEArch+ maintains ongoing collaboration with NASA Langley conducting feasibility studies for related ice habitat concepts. Having recently completed Phase 3 of NASA’s Challenge, Melodie has led team SEArch+/Apis Cor to win first prize in Design for “Mars X-House,” as well as first prize in Construction Levels 1 & 2. Since 2017 Melodie has led SEArch+’s research developing functional prototypes and materials systems for future space habitats. Melodie is also a contractor at NASA Ames for grant projects specializing in human factors with the Human Systems Integration Division.

Prof. Boris Fritz

Adjunct Professor, USC

Boris Fritz is an adjunct Professor at University of Southern California, in the department of Aerospace & Mechanical Engineering, as well as at Loyola Marymount University in the Department of Mechanical Engineering.  He is currently teaching courses in Additive Manufacturing since 2015. He is also a Team Member of the Bubble Base of NASA’s 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge for Deep Space Exploration. He retired from Northrop Grumman Aerospace in 2013, formerly working in the Additive Mfg Technology & Development Department & in charge of the Rapid Manufacturing Lab since 1991. In 2003 he was Chair of the international Additive Manufacturing Community as well as chair of the RAPID 3D Printing conference, where he is still a Technical Advisor. He has three patents & has published & presented many research papers on 3D Printing internationally. He also founded and chaired the national Nanomanufacturing Tech Group, as well as having been a consultant at JPL. He has won 4 World Excellence Awards in 3D printing.  In 1998 he received the Outstanding Engineering Achievement Merit Award of the Engineers’ Council of California. 

Dr. Behrokh Khoshnevis

President and CEO, Contour Crafting Corporation

Prof. Madhu Thangavelu

Faculty Member and Director, USC / ISU

Madhu Thangavelu, MSc is space projects director of the Cal-Earth Institute and a fellow at NASA’s Institute of Advanced Concepts. He is an advisory board member of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics with a focus on the design of complex space projects, including space stations and exploratory missions. He also teaches at the University of Southern California. Madhu’s educational background is in Architecture (Masters in Building Science, USC School of Architecture) and in Engineering (Bachelors in Science and Engineering, India). Versions of Madhu’s masters thesis (conceived during ISU ‘88 at MIT) entitled “MALEO: Modular Assembly in Low Earth Orbit. An Alternate Strategy for Lunar Base Establishment” were published in several journals worldwide.  He is a creative consultant to the aerospace industry in the newly evolving field of space architectures complex concept synthesis. His concepts have been reviewed and appreciated by NASA, the National Research Council, the National Space Council, and his work has been presented before the National Academy of Sciences. Madhu is on the visiting faculty of the International Space University (ISU) and lectures to Space System Architecture students at ISU and at USC. He continues to present and publish original concepts in Space System Architectures and chairs related sessions at conferences. He is a coauthor of the book The Moon: Resources, Future Development and Colonization and is Vice Chairman for Education, Los Angeles Section of the American Institute Of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA).