About the Authorsthe International Academy of Astronautics’ psychosocial committee, and program
committees for various space-related congresses. From 2004 to 2007, she was a mem-
ber of the external advisory council of the NSBRI, advising the Neurobehavioral
and Psychosocial team, and currently serves on several Institute of Medicine com-
mittees dealing with the health of astronauts and others in extreme environments.
She is a board member and chair of the World Association for Disaster Medicine’s
international psychosocial task force to develop guidelines for responding to and
managing disasters, and she is on the editorial board of Prehospital and Disaster
Medicine.
Valerie A. Olson is a doctoral candidate in social/cultural anthropology
at Rice University. She is currently completing an ethnographic dissertation
on contemporary American astronautics culture, after conducting fieldwork at
NASA and the ESA and within the private space development sector. Using
coordinated case studies on space biomedicine, space analogs, space architec-
ture, planetary science, and interplanetary mission design, her dissertation specif-
ically analyzes how astronautics scientists and engineers understand and produce
knowledge about the human-environment relationship. From 2005 through 2007,
she served as an NSBRI research intern in support of behavioral health research.
She can be reached at [email protected].
Julie A. Robinson is the Program Scientist for the ISS at NASA JSC. She
serves as the chief scientist for the ISS Program, representing all ISS research
inside and outside the Agency. She provides recommendations regarding research
on the ISS to the ISS Program Manager and the Space Operations and Exploration
Systems Mission Directorates at NASA Headquarters.
Robinson has an interdisciplinary background in the physical and biological
sciences. Her professional experience has included research activities in a variety
of fields, including virology, analytical chemistry, genetics, statistics, field biology,
and remote sensing. She has authored over 50 scientific publications. She earned
a B.S. in chemistry and a B.S. in biology from Utah State University in 1989. She
earned a Ph.D. in ecology, evolution, and conservation biology from the University
of Nevada, Reno, in 1996.