Dr. Bidushi Bhattacharya

TEDx Speaker, Thought Leader, ex-NASA Astropreneur #AstroHUB astrohub.co

Dr. Bidushi Bhattacharya is an ex-NASA scientist-turned-astropreneur with three decades experience in spacecraft development and operations, NewSpace startup growth, academic administration, and scientific research. She is founder and CEO of AstroHub (astrohub.co), a Singapore- and US-based startup dedicated to space workforce development. AstroHub has offered in-person as well as online, hands-on training in space tech to hundreds of professionals and students from ALL disciplines. Her previous experience includes over two decades with NASA as a scientist and engineer. She has analyzed and synthesized technical information and played a key role in fostering communication between academic and industrial teams with varying priorities and work cultures, both within the US and overseas. NASA projects have included the Hubble Space Telescope, the Mars Rover Program, the Galileo Mission to Jupiter, the European Space Agency’s Herschel Space Observatory, and others. Dr. Bhattacharya also has experience in higher education research development and established the Office of Sponsored Research for science programs at Claremont McKenna, Pitzer and Scripps Colleges, in Claremont, California, where she increased federal award rates by 67%, and managed $4 million in active grants. Dr. Bhattacharya serves on advisory boards for a number of space-related organizations, including Global Entrepreneurship Network – Space (https://www.genglobal.org/gen-space). She is also a member of TiE SoCal (Tech Indus Entrepreneurs Southern California) and the Orange County Startup Council. Dr. Bhattacharya holds a Ph.D. and M.S. in space physics from UCLA as well as dual degrees from Rutgers University, a B.S. in mechanical engineering and a B.A. in physics.