NASA Appoints Indian-American Bhavya Lal As Acting Chief Of Staff

The United States (US)'s apex space research body National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has appointed Indian-American Bhavya Lal as its acting chief of staff, reports Times of India.

As per a statement issued by NASA, Lal has previously served as a member of the research staff at the Institute of Defence Analyses Science and Technology Policy Institute (STPI) from 2005 to 2020 and has also led the analysis of space technology, strategy and policy for NASA, White House's office of science and technology policy and the National Space Council, the US' Department of Defence and the intelligence community.

Lal holds Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in nuclear engineering, and also a Master of Science degree in technology and policy from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She also holds a doctorate in public policy and public administration from George Washington University.

It should be noted that Lal was a member of President Joseph Biden's presidential transition agency review team for NASA and oversaw the space body's transition to the new political administration from the previous one led by former president Donald Trump.