Explorer by heart, Engineer by training
Veteran of the Space Program
Dr. Anita Sengupta is a rocket scientist and aerospace engineer who for over 20 years has been developing technologies that have enabled the exploration of Mars, Asteroids, and Deep Space. She started her career working on the launch vehicles and communications satellites at Boeing Space and Communications. Next her journey took her to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. At NASA her doctoral research focused the developing the ion engines that powered the Dawn spacecraft to reach Vesta and Ceres in the main asteroid belt launched in 2006. She was then responsible for the supersonic parachute system that was integral to the landing of the Curiosity Rover on Mars in 2012. From 2012 to 2017 she managed and led the development of the Cold Atom Laboratory, a laser-cooling quantum physics facility for the International Space Station.
Space Travel on the Ground
Her next adventure is the design of a magnetically levitating, electromagnetically propelled, passenger vehicle in a vacuum tube, known as the hyperloop. She is Senior Vice President of Systems Engineering at Virgin Hyperloop One, leading the team to a production ready system for implementation around the world. She believes that high tech solutions to transportation can reduce our carbon foot print and combat climate change.
Science Educator and Communicator
Dr. Sengupta is also a Research Associate Professor at the University of Southern California. She teaches the only Entry Descent and Landing class on the West Coast for Graduate students in the Astronautics and Space Technology Department.
She is also a professional public speaker and STEM outreach advocate. She keynotes events around the world sharing with audiences her personal and professional experiences of Engineering the Red Planet, The Future of Mars Exploration, The Cold Atom Laboratory, and the Future of Green Transportation.
In her spare time she is an avid private pilot, motorcyclist, runner, snow boarder, bicyclist, and science fiction enthusiast. If you would like to request a speaking engagement please contact her below.