Our Executive Mentors

Dava Newman, PHD

The Honorable Dava Newman is the Apollo Program Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics and Engineering Systems at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. From 2015 - 2017, she served as the Deputy Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. In that role, she and then-Administrator Charles Bolden were responsible for providing overall leadership, planning, and policy direction for NASA.

At MIT, Dr. Newman’s research studies were carried out through space flight experiments, ground-based simulations, and mathematical modeling. Her latest research efforts included: advanced space suit design, dynamics and control of astronaut motion, mission analysis, and engineering systems design and policy analysis. She also had ongoing efforts in assistive technologies to augment human locomotion here on Earth.

Dr. Newman is the author of Interactive Aerospace Engineering and Design, an introductory engineering textbook published by McGraw-Hill, Inc. in 2002. She also has published more than 250 papers in journals and refereed conferences. As a student at MIT, Dr. Newman earned her Ph.D. in Aerospace Biomedical Engineering in 1992 and Master of Science degrees in Aerospace Engineering and Technology and Policy in 1989. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Notre Dame in 1986.