SGAC announces the winners of the Space Generation Leadership Award (SGLA) 2021
One of the main missions of 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.
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 Ph.D. 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.