Adj. Professor Nicola Sasanelli AM – “The Andy Thomas Space Foundation and the Australian Space Ecosystem”

Nicola graduated from the University of Bari, Italy in 1987 with a degree in Electronic Engineering.  He then worked in microelectronic research, before being appointed as Scientific Attaché at the Italian Embassy in Canberra from 2001 to 2008.  In 2009, Nicola joined the South Australian Government as a Special Envoy for Higher Education, Research and Technology Transfer, later becoming Director for International R&D Collaborations.  From 2003 to 2013 Nicola was Adjunct Professor of Science and Technology at the Australian National University in Canberra, and in 2007 he became an Honorary Member of the Order of Australia.  In 2017 the South Australian Space Industry Centre was created with Nicola as Director.  In 2018, Nicola was appointed Adjunct Professor at the University of South Australia in the Division of Information Technology, Engineering and the Environment. In the same year Nicola was appointed to the Board of the Space Industry Association of Australia and awarded the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic for promoting high technology and R&D collaboration between Italy and Australia.  In 2019, Nicola became the Senior Advisor of the South Australian Space Industry Centre, and in 2020 he founded the Andy Thomas Space Foundation, of which he is now the CEO.