Our Directors

Dr. Jason Reimuller serves as the Executive Director of IIAS. Prior to IIAS, Jason served for six years as a system engineer and project manager for NASA’s Constellation Program where he lead studies on launch aborts, launch commit criteria, landing conditions, post-landing and emergency crew egress trades, and propulsion options.  Jason was also the Co-I of the NASA PMC-Turbo experiment and various flight research campaigns to study noctilucent cloud time evolution, structure, and dynamics in Northern Canada. Jason has been a Commissioned Officer of the US Air Force and, a commercial research pilot, a NAUI SCUBA Instructor, and the author of “Spacecraft Egress and Rescue Operations.”

Jason holds a Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering Sciences from the University of Colorado in Boulder, an M.S. degree in Physics from San Francisco State University, an M.S. degree in Aviation Systems from the University of Tennessee, an M.S. Degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Colorado, and a B.S. degree in Aerospace Engineering from the Florida Institute of Technology.

Mr. Chris Lundeen is IIAS’s Director of Operations. Prior, Chris has served as program coordinator for IIAS’s educational programs. Chris brings extensive expertise in prototyping and simulation development. He is IIAS’s lead spacesuit technician and simulator technician for IIAS’s various simulation facilities. Chris is a NAUI SCUBA instructor.

Dr. Aaron Persad is a researcher in Space Sciences with 15 years of experience in the field. He leads various Space Science projects such as studies of the behavior of water in low-gravity environments, how to harvest water from the Moon to support long-duration human space missions, the performance of organic-based solar cells in the stratosphere, testing the next generation of space suits, and many others. His experiments and payloads have been performed in drop towers, stratospheric balloons, reduced gravity aircraft, and the International Space Station.

Dr. Persad is also a Postdoctoral Associate in the Mechanical Engineering department at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His research in the MIT Microfluidics and Nanofluidics Research Lab investigates how to filter molecules of different shapes and masses across custom-made membranes that are only one atom thick. The filters may help improve water purification, and recycling of harsh solvents from industrial processes. His doctoral degree is in Mechanical and Industrial Engineering (MIE) from the University of Toronto, where his work focused on applying quantum mechanics to explain evaporation processes and was ranked as the top in the department at the time of his graduation.

Dr. Persad is enthusiastic about teaching and was recognized as the top Teaching Assistant by the Faculty of Applied Sciences and Engineering at the University of Toronto in 2013. He is training to be an astronaut and was ranked amongst the top 60 candidates in the Canadian Space Agency’s 2017 Astronaut Recruitment Campaign. Aaron enjoys snowboarding in the winter, hiking in the summer, and learning about history and philosophy in between.

Kenneth Trujillo is a Systems Engineer and Program Manager with over 25 years’ of experience in management of complex NASA, DoD, and commercial engineering projects. Mr. Trujillo’s NASA experience includes Space Shuttle and International Space Station astronaut training, mission design, and flight control. Mr. Trujillo’s major focus at NASA was with the training and operation of the Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) used during Extravehicular Activity (EVA) and with the Advanced Crew Escape Suit (ACES) full pressure suit used during Shuttle ascent and re-entry. Mr. Trujillo developed pressure suit-related NASA astronaut training curriculum and procedures at Johnson Space Center, conducted Space Shuttle Extravehicular Activity (EVA) system and operations instruction consisting of classroom, vacuum chamber, neutral-buoyancy, and simulated micro-g training, and conducted ACES pressure suit training. Mr. Trujillo supported over 70 Space Shuttle and International Space Station missions from JSC Mission Control Center. Among other projects, Mr. Trujillo was also assigned as project engineer for system development, test, and certification of NASA’s X-38 lifting body.

After leaving NASA Mr. Trujillo worked as a Flight Test Engineer on the F-35 program at Edwards AFB, CA.  As an aircraft lead Mr. Trujillo conducted over 100 sorties as Test Conductor/Test Director for mission system and flight science missions on all three F-35 aircraft variants. Mr. Trujillo developed the F-35 flight controller training curriculum to qualify FTE and IPT personnel to support F-35 flight test missions and provided vehicle systems classroom training, and control room training using high-fidelity, human-in-the-loop simulators leading to control room qualification for test operators. Mr. Trujillo is currently a senior test and airworthiness engineer on the A-29 program in Denver, Colorado.

Dr. Shawna Pandya is a physician, aquanaut, speaker, martial artist, advanced diver, skydiver, pilot-in-training, VP Immersive Medicine with Luxsonic Technologies and Fellow of the Explorers’ Club. She holds degrees in neuroscience (BSc Hons. Neuroscience, University of Alberta), space (MSc Space Studies, International Space University), entrepreneurship (Graduate Studies Program, Singularity University) and medicine (MD, University of Alberta), and is currently completing a fellowship in Wilderness Medicine (Academy of Wilderness Medicine).

In 2015, Dr. Pandya was part of the first crew to test a commercial spacesuit in zero-gravity with IIAS; her work was captured in the CBC Documentary, “We Are Canada.” She has continued to test commercial spacesuits with IIAS’s annual microgravity parabolic flight campaigns, and has completed over 100 parabolas in microgravity to date. Dr. Pandya is also the chief instructor for  EVA 102: Operational Space Medicine. She has recently been named as an ambassador for the PoSSUM 13, an initiative to make space opportunities and engagement more accessible to students, particularly girls and young women. She also serves as the Chair of Strategic Development for this initiative. In early 2020, Dr. Pandya was also named Director of the IIAS Space Medicine Group, which aims to catalyze the development of knowledge, data, testing, protocols, tools and technologies that will positively contribute to the development of space and terrestrial medicine.

Dr. Armin Kleinböhl is a research scientist in the fields of atmospheric and planetary science at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, CA. He is an expert in airborne and spaceborne remote sensing and the Deputy Principal Investigator and algorithm lead of the Mars Climate Sounder instrument onboard NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft, which has been observing the atmosphere of Mars since 2006. Dr. Kleinböhl is a veteran of several airborne and balloon-borne field campaigns that lead him on deployments in the Arctic, Europe, North America and Africa in order to study the stratospheric ozone layer and to validate satellite measurements.

Dr. Kleinböhl’s scientific work focuses on the chemistry and dynamics of the atmospheres of Earth and Mars. His has made significant contributions to understanding processes controlling the polar ozone chemistry in Earth’s stratosphere and to characterizing tides and dust storms in Mars’ atmosphere. He has been leading investigations with diverse teams of investigators in the fields of Earth’s atmosphere, Mars’ atmosphere, exoplanetary atmospheres and exobiology. His results were published in over 80 articles in scientific journals. He has authored or co-authored three book chapters and has presented his research in invited talks to scientific audiences and the public.

Dr. Kleinböhl holds a Master in physics from the University of Frankfurt and a Ph.D. in atmospheric physics from the University of Bremen, Germany.

Matt Harasymczuk is the Manager of the Polish Unmanned Aircraft System Traffic Management (UTM) with Polish Air Navigation Services Agency and the Chief Aerospace Systems Engineer at Astro Tech and Bioastronautics, He is a former YGT engineer at European Space Agency. He holds a BSc in software engineering and an MSc in Aerospace and Astronautics from Polish Air Force Academy. He won a Copernicus Medal for creating foundations for human spaceflight in Poland and a first prize for Best Educational Initiative in Global Space Balloon Challenge 2019.

Matt is a PADI Scuba Diving Assistant Instructor, general aviation pilot in training, trained in combat medicine (TCCC, ACLS) and SERE levels A and B. Additionally, Matt has consulted 100+ organizations in project management and software engineering and trained 7.3k+ people in software engineering. He led project management transformation for Center of Information Technology at Polish Ministry of Interior. Matt has published on Astronaut Selection and Training for Long Duration Spaceflight and Extravehicular Activity, Geophysics experiments from Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package. Designed and flight tested human centrifuge with Soyuz MS acceleration profiles for launch, ascent, reentry, descent, landing and contingencies: abort launch, ballistic reentry.

Dr. Aidyl Gonzalez-Serricchio is a dynamic scientist, educator, and science communicator passionate about advancing STEM education, research accessibility, and social justice. With a Doctorate in Molecular Genetics from the prestigious California Institute of Technology, Dr. Gonzalez-Serricchio completed her postdoctoral work on myotonic dystrophy at the Institute of Genetic Medicine at the University of California, where she gained valuable experience in translational research. As a senior postdoctoral fellow for the Center of Excellence in Genomic Science at CalTech, Dr. Gonzalez-Serricchio conducts groundbreaking research on sperm motility and mitochondrial defects using roundworms, resulting in several peer-reviewed papers on the topic.

Dr. Gonzalez-Serricchio’s dedication to promoting STEM education is evident in her work as the Outreach Director and Senior Researcher at the International Institute of Astronautical Sciences. In this role, she provides students, fellow scientists, and engineers with the support, resources, and skills necessary to engage in authentic learning opportunities with a space focus. As the Principal Investigator for the Soil Science Citizen Science project, she has helped students gain hands-on experience and solve real-world STEM challenges through authentic learning opportunities.

With over 15 years of experience designing and promoting Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) initiatives within STEM workspaces, Dr. Gonzalez-Serricchio has become a leading voice in the field. Her efforts have contributed to groundbreaking innovations in the microcosmos and cosmos alike. She regularly collaborates with fellow JEDI directors through the NAIS People of Color Conference (PoCC) to create an inclusive community that recognizes the power and benefits of all voices while ensuring equitable access to resources and opportunities.

Beyond her research and teaching experience, Dr. Gonzalez-Serricchio is an accomplished advocate for STEM education, research accessibility, citizen science, and social justice. Her over 15 years of experience training and leading K-12 educators and fellow scientists in designing, promoting, and facilitating JEDI-related initiatives within STEM workspaces have ensured that all individuals feel they belong in STEM. Dr. Gonzalez-Serricchio’s impressive background and dedication to promoting diversity and inclusion make her a respected and inspiring leader in the field.

Shayla works as an engineer and teaches at the National STEM Academy in her spare time. She received her bachelor’s of science degrees in Aerospace Engineering and Physics from Tuskegee University and a Master’s of Science Degree in Systems Engineering with a concentration in space systems from the Air Force Institute of Technology. Shayla participates in professional development for teachers and volunteers year-round to support educating people of all ages. She balances between being a mother of two and an active advocate of STEAM with her new non-profit STEAM Unlimited where she develops events that incorporate the “ARTS” in the sciences. She looks forward to continuing her knowledge in research and the testing field of the upper atmosphere and beyond as well as developing educational entertainment with cartoons, movies, and public shows that are not so science fiction.