The Aerospace Women Award continues to be a key event for the Department of Aerospace Science and Technology at Politecnico di Milano. This initiative aims to recognise and promote women's participation in STEM fields, providing tangible recognition to outstanding female students who have distinguished themselves through academic excellence and the quality of their thesis work.
Congratulations to the winners of the 2026 edition!
Gemma Bucherelli and Luyiza Das, graduates in Aeronautical Engineering, awarded for their thesis “Aerodynamic and Aeroacoustic Investigation of a Quadrotor eVTOL Aircraft for Urban Air Mobility Application”.
Chiara Gambarotto, a graduate in Space Engineering, awarded for her thesis “Performance Assessment of Cislunar SSA Network for Fragmentation Event Monitoring”.
The award ceremony was attended by Pierluigi Di Lizia, Coordinator of the Aerospace Engineering Degree Programme, and Mara Tanelli, Rector's Delegate for Diversity and Inclusion at Politecnico di Milano.
Camilla Colombo, Antonio Raimondo and Barbara Re, members of the 2026 evaluation committee, also took part in the ceremony.
The event was further enriched by two seminars delivered by internationally recognised professionals in the space sector, who shared their experiences and perspectives on the future of space exploration, innovation and sustainability:
- Tiziana Cardone, Head of the Structures Section at the European Space Agency (ESA), with the seminar “What Holds the Future of Space Together? Curiosity, Leadership and Innovation in Space Structures”.
- Romana Kofler, Programme Management Officer at the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), with the talk “From Exploration to Stewardship: Women Shaping a Peaceful, Sustainable and Inclusive Space Future – Perspectives from the Work at UNOOSA”.
The Aerospace Women Award 2026 thus reaffirms the Department's commitment to supporting female talent and fostering an increasingly inclusive aerospace sector, where expertise, innovation and equal opportunities contribute to shaping the future of research and technology.
