In my last blog I detailed my experience at the Peaceful Use of Lasers in Space Conference, the errors made, the lessons learned, and what I wanted to improve upon at my next summit. Well last month, I got my change. SSI’s PI Zack Donohew and I had the good fortune of attending the Secure World Foundation’s 4th Annual Space Sustainability Summit in London. Co-hosted with the United Kingdom Space Agency, the two day summit featured keynote speakers from across the domain of space sustainability, panel discussions covering everything from transatlantic cooperation to space’s PR problems, and many, many networking opportunities. So armed with my iPad, a digital business card, and concerning amounts of coffee, I set off to learn all I could and expand my network.
Unlike PULS, which at its largest moments had 40 attendees, this summit had over 350 in person, with many more attending virtually.
I didn’t get many opportunities for first impressions at PULS, and most of those first impressions presented a slightly-unsure and unfocused undergraduate. Since PULS, I have focused my field of research, now pursuing an honors thesis and looking to find employment post-graduation (job inquiries can be sent to samuel.rodgers@colorado.edu if anyone wants to hire me). Furthermore, I knew a few people attending the conference, giving me a starting point.
Youthful Power
Yet the biggest boost to my confidence and comfort was the large number of young professionals (YP). The summit had a sponsorship program for YPs ( <30 yrs old), where any organization which sponsored a YP’s attendance became a sponsor of the summit with free attendance for one additional person. Plus, the conference had special networking sessions for YPs.
At PULS, I was the youngest person there by at least ten years. Here, I was the youngest by only one to two years. As a result, I could always find someone like me to talk to, and someone to point me in the direction of helpful individuals. For example, a YP who studies at a grad school I’m interested in gave me insight on his experience and pointed me in the direction of both a university professor and a representative from a local business.
"They made me feel at home, made me feel accepted as a member of the community"
All these factors gave me greater confidence to reach out, introduce myself, engage in discussion, and promote both my research and upcoming employability. What surprised me, however, was the enthusiasm and excitement radiating from almost everyone I talked to; everyone had something to say, share, or promote. The excitement tenured industry professionals expressed towards me and the other YPs was incredible, they wanted us to be there, to network, to contribute our thoughts and opinions. They made me feel at home, made me feel accepted as a member of the community. I walked out of this summit more sure than ever that I wanted to enter the field of space sustainability, of space policy, of space business. Let me walk you through the conference that solidified my decision.
A Day in the Life
Held at the Science Museum in Kensington, London, the conference began bright and early at 8:30 am, and thank God there was unlimited coffee because I was severely jet-lagged. I’ll admit, in the 30 coffee and snacks session that preceded the first speakers I did no networking, I was too busy stuffing my face with any food I could find. I, being an ignorant American, assumed that the “light breakfast” provided would be an American-sized light breakfast. As a result I skipped breakfast at the hotel. Man was I wrong. I forgot to readjust my portion-size expectations once I touched down, a light breakfast consists of 8 oz of (delicious) parfait and fruit. I blame no one but myself for this mistake.
Peter Martinez, the executive director of SWF, opened the conference with a preview of the events to come, as well as thanking the various sponsors who made this event possible. He stressed the crucial timing of this conference, how it will be these next few years that determine whether humanity charts a sustainable path in space or continues along the status quo. To hammer the point home Peter Martinez welcomed Paul Bate to the stage.
Paul Bate is the Chief Executive of the UK Space Agency, the co-host of this summit. His speech gave government legitimacy to this push for space sustainability and highlighted work that the UK Space Agency was doing to mitigate space debris, decongest LEO, and better equip their spacecraft with proper collision-avoidance technology.
These keynote speeches set the stage for the main events of the day, the panels. Both days featured four panel discussions, two in the morning and two in the afternoon. And while I could recap in extraordinary detail the exact minutes of each panel, I want to instead highlight an issue that holds back space and space sustainability advocates: poor communication and presentation skills.
The Problem With Panels
While some panels were absolutely excellent in engaging with the audience and communicating their point, such as the aptly named Billionaires, Buzz, and Benefits: How Do We Fix Space’s PR Problem?, many of the panels fell into typical academic “panelisms”, or as I like to call it, “let me restate exactly what you just said but with less enthusiasm and fancier language”. The speakers had the perfect audience, hundreds of fellow academics at the top of this shared field all waiting to hear what their colleagues had to say, and they still could not hold their audience’s attention.
I have seen it time and time again where supremely qualified experts take to the stage with the desire to share their results but fail to effectively present their findings in an engaging and educating manner. Furthermore, during discussions panelists frequently fall into cycles of restating the panel consensus over and over and over again until the moderator asks another question. The panel fails to actually discuss the topic at hand, responding to the moderator’s leading question with either an affirmative or negative statement, not a discussion. And when discussion does finally begin, the speakers struggle to break out of monotone speeches and animate their dialogues.
This is not unique to the Space Sustainability Summit, they deserve credit in having fewer panelisms than most. While the conference had some truly engaging speakers and panelists (Moriba Jah and Camille Calibeo deserve special mention), too many failed to effectively stimulate discussion and engage the audience. As someone who strives to blend scientific and policy understanding with accessible communication, I have to identify this problem whenever I see it. I know the power of an engaging speaker, they are who we need to promote space sustainability to the public, to industry, and to governments.
"I want to contribute and teach others how to be effective science communicators"
Yet in a way, this reaffirmed my decision to pursue space sustainability as a career; I can provide this change, use my performance background to connect with colleagues and the public alike. I want to contribute and teach others how to be effective science communicators. So while I saw this problem frequently during the conference, it conversely inspired me to work towards change.
A Networking Speedrun
In between the morning and afternoon sessions were luncheons designed to encourage networking. And network I did. I wanted to apply the sit, ask, and listen technique I learned at PULS, but thanks to the other YPs, I got a chance to practice back and forth educated conversation.
After a lunchtime chat with my PI Zack Donohew and another YP, I realized that I could not only use this conference as a way to find interviewees for my personal research, which was my original plan, but to try and walk out with a job offer. So after finishing my boxed chicken salad I turned around to the table behind me and introduced myself.
And wouldn’t you know, it was two representatives from a Colorado startup looking to hire. One thing led to another and after an impromptu elevator pitch evolved into an invitation to tour the factory and apply after graduation. The company reflected what should be the future of space, young people with excellent communication skills providing services to keep space sustainable.
But no networking session topped what came after the first day: a live-taping of StarTalk with Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson and ensuing YP cocktail reception. Let me tell you, Dr. Tyson’s voice is just as smooth in person as it is in recordings. The podcast episode was an introduction to space sustainability, and while almost everyone in the room knew all they discussed and more, it was truly a learning experience to see how one talks about this subject and science at large to a non-science audience. Dr. Tyson and his on-stage experts Dr. Danielle Wood and Dr. Jenna Tiwana both distilled their vast knowledge into easily consumable bits that anyone could readily process. Us YPs left the conference that day absolutely buzzing, with many of us having met a career idol for the first time. We were buzzing all the way from the reception to the pub.
"It was truly a learning experience to see how a professional talks about this subject and science at large to a non-science audience"
As I detailed in my PULS article, it is the after-hours events where the true networking and friendship making occurs. This time around I was grabbing drinks with others my age compared to those already in their mid-careers (I was still the youngest there by at least 1-2 years). I got a chance to seek advice from those who are only a few steps ahead of me in their careers, and in turn I regaled them with stories about college during covid. I also learned just how insanely expensive Chelsea and Kensington really are.
Day 2: I Know What I Want to Do
The second day was much of the same, with a prominent British politician opening the event, four panels, five short keynotes instead of one, and a reception at the end of the day to cap things off, all with multiple coffee breaks and networking hours in between.
At the final reception I went on a networking blitz. Apllying from PULS and the rest of this conference, I ran around asking those I already knew who else I should talk to for education, research, or employment, and then running around the reception hall talking to as many people as I could. It was exhilarating and everyone I talked to was so genuine, open, excited and ready to share.
This was the norm throughout the entire event. Nearly everyone in attendance was excited to be there, ready to engage with others, and more than willing to entertain and educate an overly-excited undergraduate. Across those two day I made new friends, connections, and mentors, as well as put in-person faces to people whom I’ve only seen over the zoom camera. If this, combined with the research and work I’ve been doing as part of SSI, is what life in this field holds, then I will work however I can to maximize myself towards space sustainability.
"Nearly everyone in attendance was excited to be there, ready to engage with others, and more than willing to entertain and educate an overly-excited undergraduate"
Seen below: The view from the 5th floor of the London Science Museum, the location of the Summit.
