In the spring semester of 2016 I co-taught an undergraduate course with Michael Morris and Rebeccah Pailes-Friedman at Pratt Institute as part of the X-Hab grant to develop the design of a transit module for the exploration of Mars. The eXploration Habitat (X-Hab) 2016 Academic Innovation Challenge is a NASA project collaboration with academic institutions titled “Human Centered: Designs for the Mars Transit Habitat.” The students, an interdisciplinary mix of both Industrial Design as well as Architecture program-majors, worked in direct association with NASA astronauts, scientists, physicists and engineers over the course of the semester.

The objective of the course was to understand and propose an environmental solution to support the needs of astronauts living in microgravity for extended periods, accommodating activities such as eating, sleeping, exercise, hygiene and other functions needed to ensure the well-being of crew-members. I assisted in all aspects of research, design and fabrication throughout the course. The students designed and built full-scale prototypes of the habitat in the course, which culminated in an exhibition of the project at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in the summer of 2016.