Speaker: Space Sustainability

Simonetta Di Pippo was appointed Director of the UN Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) in March 2014.

After having graduated with a Master’s degree in Astrophysics and Space Physics from the University "La Sapienza" in Rome, Italy in 1984, Ms. Di Pippo joined the Italian Space Agency (ASI) in 1986. Her responsibilities ranged from Earth Observation to Automation & Robotics, Science and Human Spaceflight and in 2002 she took up duty as Director of the ASI's Observation of the Universe. From 2008 to 2011, Ms. Di Pippo served as Director of Human Spaceflight at the European Space Agency (ESA), before leading the European Space Policy Observatory at ASI-Brussels until March 2014. Ms. Di Pippo co-founded, in June 2009, Women in Aerospace Europe (WIA-E) and has acted as President since then. Since April 2013 she has been a member of the Global Board Ready Women (GBRW), She received an Honoris Causa Degree in Environmental Studies from the St. John University in Vinovo (TO). Still in 2013, she was appointed Academician of the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA), where she chaired the study "Public/Private Human Access to Space", which considered future commercial human spaceflight.
In 2015 Ms. Di Pippo became a member of the IAA Board of Trustees, and she is currently a member of the jury of the Hubert Curien award of Eurisy.

Author of 1 book and co-author of 3 books, more than 60 publications, more than 700 articles and interviews on magazines and newspapers, members and President of scientific committees of international congresses, member and President of scientific awards’ jury, she has been invited to teach at various Universities, including the George Washington University in Washington D.C. and the LUISS-Business School in Rome. Ms. Di Pippo was knighted by the President of the Italian Republic in 2006 and, in 2008, the International Astronomical Union assigned the name "dipippo" to asteroid 21887, in recognition of her effort in space exploration.