Afshin Beheshti represented Pitt Space in Harrisburg

Afshin Beheshti (pictured), director of the University of Pittsburgh’s Center for Space Biomedicine, represented Pitt Space at the second annual Aerospace Day in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. 

Beheshti — also associate director at the McGowan Institute of Regenerative Medicine and a professor of surgery and computational and systems biology — joined government officials, representatives from NASA and industry leaders on May 6 to discuss Pennsylvania’s future as a national leader in aerospace, aviation and defense.

The group was convened by Lt. Gov. Austin Davis, chair of the Pennsylvania chapter of the Aerospace States Association. They focused on a number of issues, including workforce development and training, also a mission of Pitt’s Space Biomedicine program, which aims to establish a robust educational environment to prepare the next generation of researchers.

In addition to the roundtable, Aerospace Day featured astronaut and Pennsylvania native Warren “Woody” Hoburg, and a hands-on lunar lab, courtesy of Pittsburgh’s Moonshot Museum.

Photography courtesy of Commonwealth Media Services