2024's Dr. Michael Simpson Scholarship Recipients Announced

Monday, August 5, 2024

The Secure World Foundation is happy to introduce the winners of the Dr. Michael Simpson Scholarship Fund. These young professionals will receive scholarships for travel to the 2024 International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in Milan, Italy. Each scholarship provides an invaluable platform for emerging professionals to further their career development and contribute innovative ideas to the international space community.

This year, we received an impressive array of 100 abstracts from ambitious young professionals across the globe. Following an exhaustive review and assessment process, we are excited to introduce the five distinguished recipients of the Michael Simpson Scholarship. These individuals will travel and participate in the IAC, showcasing their unique insights and potential:

Alexandra Chronopoulos

Alexandra Chronopoulos currently serves as the Communications Officer at the European Space Policy Institute (ESPI) in Vienna, Austria, and as a Contributing Researcher to the Canadian Department of National Defence, where she specializes in research and policymaking related to space deterrence, security, and defense, and governance. She earned her master's degree from the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, in 2023, where she specialized in international organizations and global public policy with a research focus on space policy and governance and space law. She previously completed a Visiting Research Scholar fellowship at the University of Antwerp, where she specialized in research focused on space debris mitigation and remediation, and held the positions of Strategic Analyst at Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC) in Ottawa, Canada, and Publications Editor at the Mackenzie Institute for the Study of Terrorism, Revolution, and Propaganda in Toronto, Canada. Her work has been published by the Jean Monnet Network on EU-Canada Relations, the Princeton University Journal of Public and International Affairs, and iAffairs Canada (a publication of the Canadian Foreign Policy Journal). 

Kofoworola Faleti

Kofoworola Joshua Faleti is a lawyer who writes about space. He uses this medium to communicate various things he loves about Space. He is a proud trustee of LearnSpace Foundation, a writer at Spacewatch.Global, and generally an advocate for Africa in Space. He also likes Music.

Vinicius Guedes Goncalves de Oliveira

Vinicius Guedes Gonçalves de Oliveira is a lawyer who graduated from the Federal University of Espírito Santo (UFES) in Brazil. He is currently a PhD candidate and scholarship holder co-funded by SmartSat CRC and Flinders University developing a doctoral project focused on the cybersecurity of the Australian space infrastructure and its interaction with the current legal and policy domestic framework.  Vinicius is a Global Fellow at the European Space Policy Institute (ESPI), where he examines the space sector of emerging space-faring nations in Latin America, with a particular focus on Brazil. Additionally, he is also a researcher at the Jeff Bleich Centre for Democracy and Disruptive Technologies on projects on projects related to space, defense, cyber, politics, and law, areas where Vinicius publishes regularly and teaches both in Brazil and Australia.

Pranjal Vikas Mhatre

Pranjal Mhatre is currently working as a systems engineer at Skyroot Aerospace. His work involves system-level analyses, integration, and testing of rocket systems. With a degree in mechanical engineering, he has previously worked on propulsion and thermo-fluid systems. However, Pranjal's passion extends beyond engineering; he is deeply interested in studying the intersection of technology and policy, with a particular interest in space security and sustainability. Additionally, he is working as a NAST (Network for Advanced Study of Technology Geopolitics) research fellow at the Takshashila Institution, where he contributes to developing governance models for a sustainable space environment. He is also an active member of the Space Law and Policy group of the Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC). In addition to his professional pursuits, Pranjal is serving as the National Point of Contact for the SGAC in India. With the aim of bridging the gap between academia and industry, he is dedicated to contributing to research and encouraging young individuals interested in entering the aerospace field.

Victoria Fernanda Valdivia Cerda

Victoria Valdivia Cerda is political scientist from Chile, she holds a Master's degree in International Relations. Victoria has worked as a space policy advisor contributing to the formulation of Chile's defense whitepaper (2017)and to the National Defense policy (2020). Currently, she is a Global fellow at the European Space Policy Institute and lecturer on "Space policies "at the National Academy of Strategic and Politics Studies (ANEPE) from Ministry of Defense in Chile. As a volunteer, Victoria has served as a mentor at the initiative of "space4women", National Coordinator of WSW, and she is Chair for Chile of G100 "Space & Technology" wing. Also Victoria is the recipient of the first place at the GCSP 2024 prize on innovative futures.