Former NASA deputy administrator, astronautics researcher and inventor of the BioSuit Dava Newman will be the new director of MIT Media Lab.
Newman will take up the role as MIT professor of aeronautics and astronautics on 1 July 2021.
"Leading the legendary Media Lab is a dream for me," said Newman.
"I can't wait to help write the next chapter of this uniquely creative, impactful, compassionate community."
Top and above: Newman in the BioSuit. See project credits below
Newman worked for NASA during the Obama administration and her research has focused on supporting the human body in space to help make interplanetary exploration a reality.
She is the designer of the BioSuit, a flexible skintight spacesuit for astronauts to wear on Mars. Created in collaboration with NASA and MIT, the BioSuit was designed as a practical alternative to traditional rigid gas-filled pressure-controlled suits called extravehicular mobility units.

The stretchy skintight suit would be reinforced with an exoskeleton formed by a complex pattern of 3D lines. The goal of the BioSuit is to create something that could be put on by an astronaut in under ten minutes ? saving precious time and money during expensive space flights.
Newman will bring this experience to MIT Media Lab, an interdisciplinary research organisation that brings together experts from a wide range of arts and science subjects.
"The magic of the Media Lab, which I hope to help build on, is to provide a truste...