L-R, Dr Shawna Pandya; Professor Paulo De Souza; Forrest Research Foundation Director, Professor James Arvanitakis; Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research), Professor Caroline Finch AO; Chief Executive Officer of the SETI Institute, Bill Diamond.
Dr Pandya is set to be part of the first all-female space flight on Virgin Galactic's Delta class spacecraft in 2026, representing the International Institute for Astronautical Sciences (IIAS) on the 11AS-02 Mission.
"My goal is to open the next research frontier of space and democratise access to all the knowledge that is held there," Dr Pandya said.
Her career spans a remarkable constellation of fields including emergency medicine, aeromedical transport and underwater exploration, and space medicine research. Dr Pandya has co-authored papers on medical guidelines for commercial suborbital flight, and contributed chapters on topics including psychological resilience, reproduction and sexuality in long-duration spaceflight, and the interplay between space technology and terrestrial medicine.
Dr Pandya has been named one of the Explorers Club's '50 Explorers Changing the World'. In 2015 she was also part of the first crew to test a commercial spacesuit in zero gravity, and she has flown more than 10 parabolic flight campaigns, accruing experience with microgravity environments.
As an aquanaut, she has spent over 235 hours underwater navigating two extreme environment missions below the waves.
Speaking to attendees which included students from ECU's Satellite Club, Dr Pandya emphasised the importance of diversity in perspective.
"We all have a unique lens, and through that lens we ask the same question differently. That is how we maintain progress and build solutions for the future."
On the question of how she achieved so much, Dr Pandya responded:
You have to have a lot of faith, be aware of the uncontrollable aspects, and love every step of the journey, not just the end goal.
The event, hosted by ECU School of Engineering Executive Dean, Professor Paulo de Souza, was also attended by Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) Professor Caroline Finch, Director of Research Services, Professor Margaret Jones and Forrest Research Foundation Director, Professor James Arvanitakis.
"This gathering reflects ECU's commitment to research excellence, global collaboration – like we see with the IGNIS Mission and to creating opportunities for our students to engage with global leaders in science and exploration," Professor Paulo de Souza said.
In addition to Dr Pandya's address, ECU staff and students also had the opportunity to hear from Bill Diamond, Chief Executive Officer of the SETI Institute, who discussed the future direction of space exploration and research. The SETI Institute is a not-for-profit organisation that aims to explore, explain, and understand the vastness of space and the nature of the universe.
