Indian-American Bhavya Lal appointed as the Acting Chief of NASA

NASA has appointed Indian-American Bhavya Lal as the new Acting Chief. She was a member of Biden's NASA Transformation Review Team.

Indian-American Bhavya Lal was appointed Acting Head of the US space agency by NASA on Monday. Red is a member of the review team on NASA's change by the newly elected President of the United States, Joe Biden, and oversaw change-related work at the agency under the Biden administration.

The US space agency NASA said in a statement that Lal has vast experience in engineering and space technology. She worked as a Research Staff at the Institute for Defense Analysis Science and Technology Policy Institute(STPI) from 2005 to 2020. There she led the inspection for the policy of White House Science and Technology Policy and National Space Council as well as the US space-related programs, including NASA, the Defense Department,and the Intelligence Community. Lal is a lively member of the space technology and policy community.

Bhavya served twice in a row at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Federal Advisory Committee on Commercial Remote Sensing. Along with this, she was an external council member of the Technology, Innovation and Engineering Advisory Committee of NASA's Innovative Advanced Concepts Program and NASA Advisory Council. Talking about her academic background, Lal holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Bachelor of Science degree in nuclear engineering and technology and policy. Along with this, she did her doctorate from George Washington University in Public Policy and Public Administration.

For her many contributions to the space sector, she was nominated and selected to be a Corresponding Member of the International Academy of Astronautics, the statement said.