NASA appoints Indian-American scientist Bhavya Lal as acting chief of staff

TIL Desk/World/Washington/ Indian-American Bhavya Lal was on Monday appointed by NASA as the Acting Chief of Staff of the US space agency. Lal served as a member of the Biden Presidential Transition Agency Review Team for the agency and oversaw the agency’s transition under the administration of President Joe Biden.   

In a statement, NASA said Lal brings extensive experience in engineering and space technology, serving as a member of the research staff at the Institute for Defence Analyses Science and Technology Policy Institute from 2005 to 2020.         

There, she led analysis of space technology, strategy, and policy for the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and National Space Council, as well as federal space-oriented organisations, including NASA, the Department of Defence, and the intelligence community.          

Lal is an active member of the space technology and policy community, having chaired, co-chaired, or served on five high-impact National Academy of Science committees.