Forward Thinking Speaker Series

Level Up with Dr. Shawna Pandya
Wednesday, January 22, 2025 at 7 p.m.
Triffo Theatre at MacEwan University
Tickets for this event are SOLD OUT

What can flying 0g in a spacesuit teach us about success, failure, and becoming better versions of ourselves? More than you think, as it turns out! In this talk, commercial astronaut Dr. Shawna Pandya draws on her experiences in astronautics, aquanautics, piloting and medicine to share lessons on overcoming challenges, dealing with conflict, and becoming better teammates and leaders, and 'leveling up,' in our day-to-day lives.

About Dr. Shawna Pandya

Dr. Shawna Pandya is the first named female commercial Canadian astronaut, and will be flying to space with the Virgin Galactic Delta class of spacecraft with the International Institute for Astronautical Sciences (IIAS) as early as 2026. She is also a physician, aquanaut, skydiver, pilot-in-training, VP Immersive Medicine with Luxsonic Technologies, Director of IIAS’ Space Medicine Group, Executive Director of the IIAS Flight Opportunities Program, and Chief of Space Medicine at the Advanced Spacelife Research Institute.

Dr. Pandya was on the first crew to test a commercial spacesuit in zero-gravity in 2015. She earned her aquanaut designation on the 2019 NEPTUNE (Nautical Experiments in Physiology, Technology and Underwater Exploration) mission, and completed a second aquanaut mission, NEP2NE, in May 2023, for a total of 11 days, 10 nights underwater. She served as Payload Crew and co-PI of the 2023 IIAS-01 suborbital research flight, as well as a PI and/or co-I for Ax-2, Polaris Dawn and Blue Origin payloads. Her publications include a paper on medical guidelines for commercial suborbital spaceflight, and book chapters on space technologies that have benefitted terrestrial medicine, psychological resilience in long-duration spaceflight, reproduction and sexuality in long-duration spaceflight, and the future of space medicine. Her work is permanently exhibited at the Ontario Science Center alongside Dr. Roberta Bondar, the first Canadian woman in space. In 2022, Dr. Pandya was named to the Explorers' Club's “50 Explorers Changing the World." In 2024, she was recognized for her contributions by the Women’s Space Awards in the Medicine and Health category, and named a Karman Pioneer. Also in 2024, she was further inducted as a full member of the International Astronautical Federation’s Human Spaceflight Committee. Her work has been profiled by Nature Careers and the Royal Canadian Mint.