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Forty-five researchers in disciplines as unrelated as dentistry and photonics met earlier this month to discuss one interest they all shared: space.

As a result of the meeting — and the discussions it inspired — the Office of the Senior Vice Chancellor of Research has decided to prioritize three lines of space-related research:

• Space engineering: Creating and operating advanced spacecraft systems and applications for on-board sensing, processing, storage and communications as well as maximizing spacecraft reliability, performance, adaptability and AI integration while minimizing power, size, weight and cost
• Space science: Combining cutting-edge observational and computational technology with theoretical techniques to better understand the properties and evolution of the universe, from the dynamic processes of Earth to the structures of the largest galaxy clusters
• Space medicine and biomanufacturing: Designing and developing technologies to support astronaut health and leveraging the space environment to produce biomedical technologies for terrestrial use

Pitt will also join the , a nonprofit organization supporting the growing space industries in Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

The initiative is being led by , vice chancellor for research infrastructure; , R&H Mickle Endowed Chair and professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering; Ìýprofessor of geology and environmental science; and , distinguished professor of surgery and professor of chemical engineering and bioengineering.

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— Brandie Jefferson, photography by Aimee Obidzinski.ÌýPitt has a long history of above-ground exploration. One of the first heavier-than-air craft, the Aerodrome No. 6, which now hangs in Posvar Hall, was built by Samuel P. Langley, who began his research on mechanical flight while a Pitt astronomy professor and director of the University’s Allegheny Observatory.