Bhavya Lal to head new NASA advisory office

SCIENTIST Bhavya Lal will head the new NASA office to provide data- and evidence-driven technology, policy, and strategy advice to the US space agency's leadership.

Lal, who previously served as NASA's acting chief of staff during the presidential transition and senior advisor for budget and finance, was made Associate Administrator for the Office of Technology, Policy and Strategy (OTPS) earlier this month.

Formed with the merger of the Office of Strategic Engagements and

Assessments and the Office of the Chief Technologist, OTPS will support NASA leadership in developing and guiding the agency's activities across its six mission directorates.

As the lead for the organization, Lal brings her extensive experience and background in space technology, exploration, science, and policy to the role. according to NASA. She will report to NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy.

In January 2021, Lal was the senior-most White House appointee and acting chief of staff at NASA for the first 100 days of the Biden Administration.

Before that, she served as a member of the Biden Presidential Transition Agency Review Teams for both NASA and the Department of Defense.

Lal served as a member of the research staff at the Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA) Science and Technology Policy Institute (STPI) from 2005 to 2020, according to her NASA profile.

She has published more than 50 papers in peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings.