Professor Danielle Wood is an associate professor in the Media Arts & Sciences program and holds a joint appointment with the Department of Aeronautics & Astronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Professor Wood serves at MIT as the Faculty Lead for African and African Diaspora Studies. Within the Media Lab, Prof. Wood, the founding director of the Space Enabled Research Group, seeks to advance justice in Earth’s complex systems using designs enabled by space. §
Prof. Wood’s background includes satellite design, earth science applications, systems engineering, and technology policy. In her research, Prof. Wood applies these skills to design innovative systems that harness space technology to address development challenges worldwide. Before serving as faculty at MIT, Professor Wood held positions at NASA Headquarters, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Aerospace Corporation, Johns Hopkins University, and the United Nations Office of Outer Space Affairs. Professor Wood studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, earning a PhD in engineering systems, an SM in aeronautics and astronautics, an SM in technology policy, and an SB in aerospace engineering. Professor is a full member of the International Academy of Astronautics. In this role, Prof Wood co-chairs the IAA Space Traffic Management Committee and is a co-editor for the space journal Acta Astronautica. Professor Wood has served multiple times as a Private Sector Advisor to the U.S. Delegation for the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space. Prof Wood has been honoured with the National Science Foundation’s CAREER grant, selected as a Bloomberg New Economy Catalyst and induction into the Black Women’s Executive Leadership Fellowship.