People

Faculty

Ana Diaz Artiles, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, Aerospace Engineering

Dr. Ana Diaz Artiles is an assistant professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at Texas A&M University. Her interests focus on the engineering, biomedical, and human factors aspects of space exploration, including artificial gravity, spacesuits, space physiology, and human health countermeasures. At Texas A&M University she directs the “Bioastronautics and Human Performance” research lab. She received her Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2015, where she studied artificial gravity combined with exercise as a countermeasure for spaceflight-related physiological deconditioning. Prior to MIT, Ana worked for five years in Kourou (French Guiana) as a member of the Ariane 5 launch team. Dr. Diaz-Artiles has a background in aeronautical engineering from Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (Spain), and SUPAERO in Toulouse (France). She is a 2011 Fulbright fellow and a 2014 Amelia Earhart Fellowship recipient.

Doctoral Students

Rich Whittle

Rich Whittle is a Ph.D. Candidate in Aerospace Engineering at Texas A&M University, working in the Bioastronautics and Human Performance Laboratory under Prof. Ana Diaz Artiles. His dissertation is titled “Quantifying the effects of altered-gravity and spaceflight countermeasures on acute cardiovascular and ocular hemodynamics”. Rich’s research interests focus on understanding and characterizing physiological changes in altered-gravity environments, in particular changes on the cardiovascular system during spaceflight, the effect of countermeasures including Lower Body Negative Pressure (LBNP) and short radius centrifugation, and the relationship to spaceflight associated neuro-ocular syndrome (SANS). He is planning to graduate in Summer 2023.

Rich received a Master of Science in Astronautics and Space Engineering from Cranfield University, where he was the Vice-Chancellor’s Prize Winner, a Master of Arts and Master of Engineering from the University of Cambridge, and a Post Graduate Diploma in Strategic Management and Leadership from Stratford Business School (all UK). He has worked as a British Army Officer since 2009 and is still a serving Captain in the British Army Reserves.

During his military career, Rich deployed on combat operations with The Parachute Regiment in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, and researched the causes of lower limb overuse injury in military recruits. He also served as an Operations Officer within UK Defence Intelligence (GEOINT), helped write the Royal Air Force Centre of Aviation Medicine Human Spaceflight Strategy, and was an industry project management consultant. He is a graduate of both the International Space University Space Studies Program and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, where he was HM Queen Elizabeth II’s Medal Winner.

Curriculum Vitae (last updated May 1, 2022)

[Read more…] about Rich Whittle

Nathan Keller

Nathan Keller is an explorer and adventurer. A Ph.D. student on loan from Texas A&M’s Kinesiology department, Nathan went straight into the workforce after finishing his Bachelor’s degree at Texas Christian University. For years he ran gyms, started businesses, and eventually found his passion for teaching. As a high school science teacher, Mr. Keller taught Biology, Chemistry, Anatomy, and Physics for five years and considers his time in that role to be his highest honor thus far.

The meandering adventure of life has finally led him to pursue his original calling to further the frontiers of science and human exploration. Parlaying his life’s experience and education into his love for all things space, Nathan‘s doctoral work focuses on the implementation of technology countermeasures to the negative effects of prolonged human spaceflight.

Logan Kluis

Logan Kluis is a PhD student in Bioastronautics in Texas A&M’s Aerospace Engineering department. His research interests focus on human spaceflight and in particular, human-spacesuit interaction and performance.

Logan received his B.S. in Aerospace Engineering and minor in Biomedical Engineering at Massachusetts institute of Technology (MIT). While there, he was a recipient of the Aerospace Engineering Department’s James Means Excellence in Space Systems Engineering Award. Outside of the classroom, he was a member of the MIT football team and twice received Academic All-Conference Honors. He was also a member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon Fraternity where he served as President and received the MIT Fraternity Senior Legacy Award.

Poonam Josan

Poonam Josan is a PhD student in Texas A&M’s Aerospace Engineering department. Her interests focus on space human factors, in particular human-system integration (HSI) and human performance optimization in altered gravity environments. She is also interested in understanding human and robotic interactions and using Earth-based analogs to develop related operational frameworks for integrated human-robotic planetary exploration.

Poonam received a B.Tech. in Aerospace Engineering from SRM University, India where her research focus was on improving thrust efficiency of micro-propulsion devices using aerospike nozzles. To pursue her interest in human spaceflight, she moved to the US and received a MS in Space Studies from University of North Dakota (UND). While there, she was heavily involved in student rocketry, high altitude ballooning, planetary space suits and human habitation related analog research (both as a subject and mission controller). She also served as President of UND’s Dakota Space Society which engaged the general public in STEAM related activities. Upon graduation, Poonam worked for start-ups in the Southern California aerospace industry before eventually deciding to return to academia. Her current research work at BHP utilizes NASA’s HSI standards for the experimental design and Human-in-the-Loop (HITL) testing of a Virtual Assistant (VA) tool developed for future long duration exploration missions.

Apart from space exploration, Poonam enjoys traveling, exploring national parks, hiking, and learning about modern history.

Collette Gillaspie

Collette Gillaspie is a Ph.D. student in Aerospace Engineering at Texas A&M University with a demonstrated passion for human space exploration. During the summer of 2020, Collette interned at Collins Aerospace, where she supported the cooling and ventilation loop design efforts for the Artemis spacesuit and the development of a lunar surface mission Concept of Operations. At her alma mater, the University of Notre Dame (B.S. in Aerospace Engineering, 2020), Collette was a four-time participant in the NASA Student Launch competition through the Notre Dame Rocketry Team (NDRT). During her junior year, Collette led the experimental payload team in the design and construction of an unmanned aerial vehicle with simulated navigational beacon delivery. Collette was the Captain of NDRT when she was a senior. Collette was also a fluid-structure interactions research assistant, an electrical equipment intern on Boeing’s H-47 Chinook, and a three-year Boeing Scholar. The focus of Collette’s research at Texas A&M will be at the interface between aerospace material science (under Dr. Darren Hartl) and bioastronautics (under Dr. Ana Diaz Artiles). She will research the thermal control applications of a lightweight, advanced passively morphing radiator for implementation on manned missions to deep space.

Renée Abbott (Woodruff)

Renée Abbott is a Ph.D. student in Texas A&M’s Aerospace Engineering department. She is a 2021 NASA NSTGRO recipient, and her research will include developing and assessing the effectiveness of virtual reality technologies as tools to enhance the behavioral health of astronauts on long duration missions. Her additional work is focused on assessing physiological function in altered gravity environments via parabolic flight and short-radius centrifuge analogs. In 2020, Renée received her B.S. in Aerospace Engineering with minors in mathematics and astrophysics from Texas A&M. She has also been a member of the A&M Gymnastics club since 2017 and served as the Women’s Team Captain from 2020-2021.

Undergraduate Students

Vani Vellore

Hrudayavani “Vani” Vellore is a senior Aerospace engineering major from Missouri City, Texas. Her research interests involve the various ways human physiology is altered by spaceflight and ways to simulate then mitigate these effects. She is currently working on her first publication, which is a literature review on the effects on the cardiovascular system caused by gravity dosing on parabolic flights.

Outside of the BHP lab, Vani is a member of the Thermal, Mechanisms and Structures Team for AggieSat6 at the AggieSat Laboratory where she conducts structural modeling and testing. She is also the president of the Texas A&M chapter of the Society of Women in Space Exploration.

Eric Hall

Eric Hall is a Junior pre-med Biomedical Engineering major from Nashville, Tennessee with a focus in biomolecular and cellular engineering. He is currently the Director of Aggie Astronaut Corps and is heavily involved with Students for the Exploration and Development of Space, being a former Vice President of the organization. His research interests include cardiac responses to altered gravity environments and countermeasure development for long duration exploration missions. In the future, Eric hopes to attend medical school and work in the field of aerospace medicine.

Outside of the lab, Eric volunteers extensively with TAMU BUILD, an organization dedicated to building mobile medical clinics for use around the globe. He also is an avid ice hockey player and ancient history enthusiast.

Leah Davis

Leah Davis is a sophomore undergraduate student majoring in Aerospace engineering at Texas A&M University. She is from Dallas, Texas and is interested in researching the impacts of variations of gravity on the human body.

She and her team will be experimenting with the effects of changing gravitational force on the cardiovascular and metabolic systems of humans. This research will continue the work on understanding how astronauts modified in their flights and orbits to find preventative measures.

Outside of her studies, Leah is a resident advisor at the on campus apartments and enjoys relaxing with friends and family when she can.

Lindsay Stapleton

Lindsay is a sophomore pre-med honors Aerospace Engineering major. This year, she is serving as the director of Aggie Astronaut Corps, a new program providing financially accessible opportunities in spaceflight science and development to Texas A&M students. Lindsay is heavily involved with Students for the Exploration and Development of Space, previously as Head of Public Relations and Marketing in 2018-2019 and now in an advisory role. This past spring, she worked as a technical artist in former NASA astronaut Dr. Gregory Chamitoff’s SpaceCRAFT VR lab, in which she 3D modeled and textured forms for use in SpaceCRAFT’s open-access Virtual Reality Sandbox environment.

Lindsay is a Craig and Galen Brown Scholar, a President’s Endowed Scholar, a National Merit Scholar, and a National AP Scholar. She’s also a student pilot with over 40 hours of single-engine flight training and is working towards her Private Pilot Certificate. In the future, Lindsay aspires to graduate from medical school and become an aerospace physician working to facilitate long-duration space missions and the human exploration of Mars.

Visiting Researchers

Sara González De la Torre Muñoz

Sara is a Health Psychologist (MA) and is an interim Professor of the Personality, Evaluation and Psychological Treatment in the Department of Psychology at the University of Cadiz in Spain. In general, she is interested in psychosocial and clinical aspects of people in extreme environments. Currently, she is a researcher in Neuropsychology and Experimental Psychology Lab (Neurotek Lab) at the University of Cadiz where she is working toward her PhD on the psychological and cultural aspects of adaptation to space analog environments and space missions.

Sara was awarded a Predoctoral Contract associated with Projects and R&C – PIF grant in 2018. She has a Masters Degree in Health Psychology from University of Seville (Spain). She was Lecturer in Cognitive Neuroscience and Brain-Tech Interface at International Space University in 2021. She is psychologist and researcher in a psychotechnological intervention MRI project to reduce anxiety. Sara also has experience in studying the psychological aspects of cancer and other chronic diseases. She has been an analog astronaut for Astroland Agency Mars analog in 2019.

Sara combines her work with a passion for dance, reading, philosophy, poetry, art and culture in general.

Fèlix Real Fraxedas

Fèlix Real Fraxedas is a visiting student at the Bioastronautics and Human Performance Lab of Texas A&M University. His research focuses on the altered gravity cardiovascular changes and countermeasures.

Having grown up in a small town near Barcelona, Spain, he is finishing a Bachelor’s Degrees in Mathematics and Engineering Physics, in the CFIS program at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) in Barcelona. He has been enrolled insome mathematics-focused academic programs and he has also done internships at two start-ups: Adsmurai and Wikiloc, doing Software Engineering and Data Analysis, respectively.

Outside of the academic world, Fèlix loves sport, both practising it and watching it on TV. He competed in swimming for ten years, and he also likes playing basketball or soccer with friends or going running or cycling. He also enjoys going to the cinema or reading a book.