Keypoints:
- Lal will also be serving as the senior budget and financial advisor at the space agency.
- Lal was a member of Joe Biden’s Presidential Transition Agency Review Team for the space agency.
- Lal is also an active member of the space technology and policy community, having chaired, co-chaired, or served on five high-impact National Academy of Science committees.
Bhavya Lal is an India American scientist who saw NASA’s transition under President Joe Bidens administration. Lal has been appointed as the acting chief of the staff in NASA. She also served as a member of Review Team for the agency. As the acting chief of staff, Lal will be responsible for the day-to-day operations at NASA’s headquarters and will work towards shaping the strategic direction of the space agency.
Who is Bhavya Lal?
In a statement issued by NASA, it said that Lal served as a member of the research staff at the Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA) Science and Technology Policy Institute (STPI) from 2005 to 2020 where she led the analysis of space technology, strategy, and policy for the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and National Space Council, as well as federal space-oriented organizations, including NASA, the Department of Defense, and the intelligence community.
She also has earned a degree in Bachelor of Science Master of Science degrees in nuclear engineering. Not only this, but she also has second MS degree in technology and policy, from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.Lal also holds a doctorate in public policy and public administration from George Washington University and is a member of the nuclear engineering and public policy honor societies.
In the summer 2016 issue of the journal Issues in Science and Technology, she noted that in the next 10-15 years, the US government may not be the principal hub of the space community and that “Given the pace of innovation and its geographic diversity, government may not always be the owner of the most innovative technology, approach, or architecture.” In the same article, Lal said that space ambitions were no longer restricted to major space-faring nations, but included countries such as India, Israel. South Korea, the UK and Singapore that have started showing growing expertise in space exploration and in technology development.
Being the acting chief of staff, Lal will be responsible for the day-to-day operations at NASA’s headquarters and will be working towards shaping the strategic direction of the space agency.
