Creating Opportunity through Diversity in the NZ Space Industry - Auckland

Heather’s career stems from a passion for aerospace and a deep desire to create the very best value for customers. She prefers a partnered approach, working alongside customers to build solutions that really get to the heart of their issues.
Heather studied for her MSc. at Cranfield College of Aeronautics, including remote sensing and satellite imagery for the management of biological resources. After gaining her pilot’s licence, Heather built a career as an instructor, training military pilots in the UK before moving into operations management and business development. Heather emigrated to New Zealand in 2006 with her family where she managed Safe Air and Airbus NZ before taking up a role with NZ’s Innovation Agency, Callaghan Innovation.

In her spare time, Heather enjoys horse-riding vaquero style, e-biking and walking her dog with her partner.

Dr Priyanka Dhopade is a Lecturer in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Auckland. Her research expertise is in aerospace thermodynamics and fluid mechanics. At the University of Oxford, she developed computational models for cooling systems in modern jet engines, in collaboration with industry and academia. In 2017, she was chosen as one of the UK’s Top 50 Women in Engineering, and one of the top 72 candidates for the Canadian Space Agency’s astronaut recruitment program. She also leads various initiatives to promote diversity in STEM, including the Women in Engineering network at University of Oxford.

Mahima is a 3rd year Science student at the University of Auckland, majoring in physics and geophysics. Mahima served as an Avionics Technician in the Royal New Zealand Airforce for 6 years before coming to university. She has also done some casual work for Rocket Lab, also as an Avionics Technician and led the winning team of the 2018 Act In Space Hackathon. She was the presenter of the team's idea for "Autonomous Robotics system for in orbit repairs" at the International Space Festival in Tolouse, France. Mahima has done several presentations for schools around the country talking about space and astronauts and was a part of the 3rd APSS mission, which is geared towards outreach. She is excited about sharing her passion for space, becoming an astronaut and showcasing what New Zealand has to offer to the global space community.

Yen-Kai Chen is a Space Biologist at the University of Auckland, committee member of Space Medicine and Life Science at Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC), as well as the National Point of Contact for New Zealand at SGAC. He is also a volunteer scientist at NASA Genelab. His research is on the effects of spaceflight on bacterial biofilms, and the analysis of large spaceflight biological datasets. He spends his free time reading books written by public servants, merchants and academics. He is quite fascinated on alternative entries to the space sector. His mission is to provide biological value to space exploration.