Kristina Rojdev, Ph.D.

I am an aerospace engineer by education and practice, but that's only the beginning. I am also an artist, a long-distance runner, a hiker, a backpacker, a rock climber, an adventurer, a reader, and so many other things. I am passionate about the world around me and the worlds we have yet to discover.

My primary work is centered on the exploration of deep space, beyond low Earth orbit. I've led projects on understanding what type of instrumentation a home in deep space would need to be autonomous and keep a crew alive for many days. I've led research on understanding the space radiation environment and how we engineer that home to keep crews safe and healthy. I've also led research to understand what happens to the materials we would use for a deep space home in the harsh environment of space. I am excited about the possibility of living off the Earth and I am a problem solver committed to figuring that out.

I’m also someone who loves to travel and meet new people. I grew up in Ohio, but went to school in Michigan. I lived in California for a couple of years, then Texas, and then back to California. So far, I really love California. I’ve also traveled to Hong Kong, Iceland, Macedonia, Italy, and France. I’d love to live in another part of the world some day and really experience living amongst another culture.

I’m also a life-long learner. I have so many interests and can’t wait to explore all of them. I’ve been taking classes in life drawing, and in turn learning a lot about anatomy. I’m also interested in synthetic biology and astrobiology. The new field of data science is also particularly intriguing for me. With the advent of free online education (MOOCs), there’s no end to what I can learn.

So, I hope that gives you a sense about who I am and the adventures I’ve had so far. I can’t wait to find out what adventures await me in my future!