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One of the main missions of Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC) is to facilitate access to the world’s major space conferences for young professionals and students. The Space Generation Leadership Award enables five outstanding SGAC members to attend the 19th Space Generation Congress and the 72nd International Astronautical Congress in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

SGAC is proud to announce that five outstanding SGAC members have been selected to win the Space Generation Leadership Award. The Space Generation Leadership Award facilitates the attendance of international delegates who bring unique and insightful firsthand perspectives to the Space Generation Congress.

Dr. Elizabeth Barrios is a Materials Research Engineer with the National Institute of Aerospace residing at NASA’s Langley Research Center. She focuses on developing new technologies for the automation of surface preparation and adhesive bonding of carbon fiber composites and atomistic modeling of all solid-state lithium ion batteries. Previously, she was a Materials & Process Engineer trainee at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center focusing on material selection and failure analysis of carbon fiber composites and non-metallic components of spaceflight hardware. She recently completed her PhD at the University of Central Florida through a NASA Space Technology Research Fellowship where she focused on demonstrating the feasibility of utilizing polymer and ceramic composites for lightweight, non-toxic thermoelectric materials. Elizabeth currently serves as the Chair for the IAF Launchpad Mentorship Programme and as a Regional Coordinator for SGAC. She is a member of the IAF YPP/WD Committee and has previously served as a member of the Workshop Organising Team for the IPMC Young Professionals Workshop (2018, 2019) and on the Space Generation Congress Organising Team (2019). Elizabeth has also spoken in the Next Generation Plenary (2020). Beyond her involvement with the IAF, Elizabeth also serves on the Board of Advisors for SEDS-USA.

“SGAC has had such a tremendous impact on my professional and personal life – I would not be who I am today without SGAC. I am honored to represent SGAC at IAC 2021 as a Space Generation Leadership Award recipient and to share this family with the entire IAF community.”

Read complete announcement from Space Generation Advisory Council