Damiana Catanoso is currently working on a Joint European Masters in Space Science and Technology in Würzburg, Germany after recently completing an internship at Airbus Defence & Space. She has pursued studies in satellite throughout her academic career with a particular focus in cubesats. Damiana received her bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering from La Sapienza in Rome, where she was a member of the Sapienza Aerospace Student Association (SASA) and was eventually elected President of the Aerospace student body. She participated in the NASA International Space Apps Challenge, building a team of international students to design a greenhouse for use on Mars. Her team’s project won first place nationally and second place globally, and NASA has invited them to Kennedy Space Center in Florida to watch the launch of MAVEN to Mars. Damiana received numerous commendations for this achievement, including the “We build” prize from the Kiwanis Club of Messina and an invitation to be team representative at Telecom Italia’s TILabs 50th Anniversary Celebration. During the summer of 2016, Damiana attended the International Space University’s Space Studies Program in Haifa, Israel, and one of her papers written during that period of study has been presented to the International Astronautical Congress of 2016. Damiana’s scholarship from SSPI will be funding the fourth and final semester of her Masters in Space Science and Technology to be completed at Stanford University in California.

Damiana received a scholarship from SSPI in 2017.

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