Valentina Sumini

Space architect, her research activities have focused on the development of designs and structures to enable life in extreme environments both on Earth and in orbit, on the Moon, and Mars. With dual degrees in Architecture and Engineering, a Ph.D. in Preservation of Architectural Heritage, she is a Research Affiliate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Lab within the Responsive Environment Research Group and Space Exploration Initiative, and a Visiting Professor at the Politecnico di Milano, where she holds the first course in Italy on “Architecture for Human Space Exploration”. The course is part of an innovative didactic Pilot project atPolitecnico di Milano in collaboration with MIT, featuring the WebinarSeries 'Design Exploration: towards a Moon Architecture,' in whichValentina is also a lecturer.

Her passion for space exploration dates back to 2009 when she had the opportunity to design a hotel on the Moon, MOOREA, with the Alta Scuola Politecnica, aiming to democratize access to space for tourists. In herstudies, she has focused on devising new methods of computational design and multi-objective optimization processes to evaluate the performance of extraplanetary habitats, designing ecosystems for lunar villages and Martiancities, wearable soft robotics to enhance astronauts' mobility and safety in microgravity and during Extra Vehicular Activity.

Since becoming a postdoctoral researcher at MIT in 2016, she hasdeveloped award-winning research and projects in various competitionsorganized by international space agencies, including:

• MARINA, an orbiting Space Hotel in Low Earth Orbit around Earth (NASA RASC-AL Competition 2017),

• Redwood Forest, a city on Mars with its Mars Habitat W.A.T.E.R. (Mars City Design Competition 2017),

• BEAVER, a greenhouse on Mars (NASA Big Idea Challenge 2019),

• H.Y.D.R.A., a system for extracting ice and water from Martianpermafrost (NASA RASC-AL Competition 2018),

• Moon Village in collaboration with Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and the European Space Agency, exhibited at the Venice Biennale 2021 (May-November 2021),

• Tidmarsh Living Observatory Portal, an immersive and multisensoryportal to improve the psycho-physical well-being of astronauts duringspace missions, exhibited at the MIT Media Lab (2019-2023),

• SpaceHuman, a soft robotic exoskeleton tested during Zero-G flights in 2019 and 2021 by the MIT Media Lab - Space Exploration Initiative, exhibited at MAXXI in Rome (September 2022-May 2023).

Valentina has presented her research activities as an Invited KeynoteSpeaker at various international events and conferences in both architecturaland aerospace fields and has published several scientific articles on the subject. She has showcased her projects in international exhibitions and venues, including the Venice Biennale 2022, MIT Museum, Harvard, Yale, Museum of Science in Boston, MAXXI, Museo del 900, Biennale Architettura 2021, International Association of Shells and SpatialStructures, International Astronautical Congress, MIT Media Lab Beyond the Cradle, Ars Electronica, TEDx Talks and others. Her work has beenfeatured in MIT News, Harvard Design Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, WIRED, National Geographic, Structure Magazine and others, and presented at international conferences and institutional events organized by Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Italian Embassies worldwide. Valentina isone of the founding members of the SpaceCHI - Conference on Human-Computer Interaction for Space Exploration, together with colleagues from the MIT Media Lab.

Valentina is a member of both the Technical Committee on Space Engineering and Construction (SEC) of the Aerospace Division (ASD) for the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and the Space Architecture Technical Committee of the American Institute of Aeronauticsand Astronautics, where she serves as Chair of the Education section, aiming to democratize education in the field of Space Architecture globallyfor different generations of students.

In 2021 and 2022, she was appointed Ambassador of Italian Design Day by ADI (Associazione Disegno Industriale), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, and the Ministry of Culture. In 2021, shepresented at the Italian Embassy of Washington on the theme 'Inimitableand Iconic: Italian design in the USA,' and in 2022, at the ConsulateGeneral of Vancouver on the theme 'Ri-Generation - Design and new technologies for a sustainable future,' where she contributed with the talk 'Lessons learned from Space Food Production Systems for improved FoodSecurity on Earth!'. In 2022, her project Engineered Space Kitchen, designed with RANA and COESIA, was selected for the ADI Design Index 2022 in the Research for Business category.

Currently, she is involved in innovation, robotics, and sustainability for COESIA, COESIA Engineering Center, where she analyzes new activitieswith high technological impact aimed at reducing the environmentalfootprint of industrial processes.