INTERNATIONAL ADVISORY COUNCIL
The International Advisory Council (Senate) is a group of distinguished individuals that effectively supplement the Board’s skills and abilities to help guide the Academy toward its stated mission. Furthermore, the Senate provides a forum for the Academy to consult a wide range of interested parties affected by the Academy’s work, with the objective of advising the Board on agenda decisions and priorities in the Board’s work.
International Advisory Council (Senate)

Dr. Benjamin Bonsu
Senator
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Dr. Benjamin Bonsu has more than 8 years of experience in areas that include but not limited to; Small Satellites Mission Design and Development, Small Satellite Thermal Vacuum Chamber Testing, Small Satellite (VHF/UHF/L/S band) Ground Station Design, and Development, and Operations, Space Law and Space Policy and Strategy.
Dr. Benjamin Bonsu is the co-founder of All Nations University Space Systems Technology laboratory (ANU-SSSTL), a member of the Ghana delegation to the UN-COPUOS meeting, Space and Society IAF Award Winner, author of the Ghana Outer Space Act, and technical advisor to the team working towards the creation of the Ghana Space Agency.
Dr. Benjamin Bonsu is a member of the following organizations; Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC), Space and Satellite Professionals International (SSPI), Royal Aeronautical Society, and Africa Space Leadership Council.
Dr. Benjamin Bonsu is a dynamic and motivated professional with a proven track record of managing projects from concept to completion and has successfully managed three historic space-related projects which include the first Ghana satellite (Ghanasat-1), Amateur ground station, and CanSat project in Ghana and international satellite projects such as the Horyu-4 Nanosatellite project and Birds series Cubesat constellation project.
Dr. Benjamin Bonsu has published 24 papers including journals, conference papers, and presentations.

Dr. Malak Trabelsi Loeb
Senator
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Malak Trabelsi Loeb is an entrepreneur, a Futurist, a strategist, and a Senior Legal Consultant specialized in International Business Law and International Space Law, Adjudicator, and International Commercial Arbitrator. Mrs. Loeb is a Lecturer in International Relations and Diplomacy, a multidisciplinary academic researcher, a writer and public speaker, and a Ph.D. Candidate in International Space Law.
Mrs. Loeb is advocating for Sustainable Space For Humanity addressing the complex Space socioeconomic and environmental interrelated dimensions. “Sustainable Space For Humanity” advocacy aims to keep the peaceful use of outer space while ensuring socioeconomic development for the present and future generations without deteriorating the outer space environment.
In the course of her professional journey, Mrs. Loeb has been advocating for employees’ rights. She is a human rights activist and strives to combat human trafficking and gender inequality. Mrs. Loeb has received the title of Champion of Tolerance from the UAE Ministry of Tolerance in 2018. She strives to empower women, avail opportunities to youth from around the world, and raises awareness to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Dr. Prof. Natalya Eremina
Senator
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Natalya Eremina is a Doctor of Political Science and Professor at the Department of European Studies of the Faculty of International Relations, St. Petersburg State University.

Prof. Benarji Chakka
Senator
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Dr. Benarji Chakka is Professor of International Law and Dean, VIT-AP School of Law, VIT-AP University, Andhra Pradesh, India. Benarji Chakka graduated from Andhra University, with a B.A.L, LL.B, LL.M from the School of Oriental African Studies (SOAS) London. M. Phil., and Ph. D., from Centre for International Legal Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India. Postgraduate Diploma Course in Learning, Teaching, and Research in Higher Education, National University of Ireland (NUI), Galway, Republic of Ireland. He was British Chevening Scholar at SOAS in 2015-16. He was Associate Professor of Law and Registrar at National Law University and Judicial Academy, Assam (NLUJAA). He was Lecturer at the School of Law, National University of Ireland, Galway. He was Regional Legal Adviser to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Regional Delegation for South Asia, New Delhi. He was a Research Associate at the Indian Society of International Law (ISIL). He published research articles and books in the field of International Aviation and Space law and international humanitarian law (IHL). He has been invited as an expert to deliver lectures at the UGC Academic Staff colleges in India during UGC Refresher Course and Orientation Programs. He is associated as a Judge with Manfred Lachs International Space Law Moot Court Competition for Asia-Pacific Round, International Rounds (Memorials Judge). As Judge Philip Jessup International Moot Court Competition, Henry Dunant Memorial Moot Court Competition in India and South Asia, Stetson International Environmental Law Moot Court Competitions, Price Media Law Moot Program organized by the University of Oxford. He was a Researcher at the Centre for Studies and Research in International Law and International Relations in 2015 at The Hague Academy of International Law. Doctoral Scholar at The Hague Academy of international law during 2001.

Dr. Ilaria Cinelli
Senator
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Ilaria Cinelli Eng. Ph.D. FAsMA is a senior engineer with records of accomplishments in biomedical engineering and space exploration. Her work experiences are in biomedical engineering, neural engineering, human factors, mission design, analog missions, space medicine, leadership, coaching, and management.
Ilaria has a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Pisa (Italy), and a structured Ph.D. in Neural Engineering from the National University of Ireland Galway (Republic of Ireland). She is also a graduate of the Space Studies Program run by the International Space University at TU Delft (The Netherlands). More recently, she has completed a Postdoc at Tufts University (USA) in neuromodulation.
Ilaria is a Fellow of the Aerospace Medical Association, President of the Aerospace Human Factors Association, Member-at-Large of the Aerospace Medical Council, and Member-at-Large of the Life Sciences and Biomedical Engineering Branch. She is also Co-Leader of the Space Exploration Group of the Space Generation Advisory Council. In addition, Ilaria is an invited member of The Mars Society Steering Committee, thanks to her extensive experience gained in isolation while conducting several analog missions at the Mars Desert Research Station.

Prof. Luciano Vaz Ferreira
Senator
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Luciano Vaz Ferreira. Ph.D. in International Strategic Studies (UFRGS). Ph.D. Researcher in Law at University of Reading (U.K.). Mphil and LL.B. in Law. Professor at Universidade Federal do Rio Grande (FURG), Brazil. Visiting Researcher at Brazilian Air Force University (UNIFA). Former Research Fellow at American University, Washington, D. C., USA (Center for Latin America and Latino Studies). Former Legal Officer at State Government of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil (Secretary of Justice and Human Rights and Secretary of Public Security).

Hon. Dr. Sahdev Singh
Senator
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Dr. Sahdev Singh, serving the Indian Government for the past 20 years with an excellent service record. He joined the Indian Government services immediately after qualifying for the 10th class. He served as Personal Assistant, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, and later on as a Section Officer in the Ministry of Shipping, Government of India. A Central Secretariat Service cadre officer, Dr. Sahdev Singh is at present serving as Under Secretary in the Department of Justice, Law & Justice/Ministry of Home Affairs, to the Government of India. Earlier, he was on deputation as Assistant Commissioner / Deputy Assessor & Collector, in the South Delhi Municipal Corporation. Dr. Sahdev Singh did his MA in History and LLB from Delhi University. Then he went to Malta & London to do his LLM in International Maritime Laws from IMO – IMLI. He has also done Post Graduate Diplomas in- Constitutional Law, Parliamentary Procedures & Institutions, and International Law and Diplomacy. In brief, Dr. Singh has got various degrees of MA, LLB (DU), LLM (Malta-London), Post Graduate Diploma in Constitutional Law, Post Graduate Diploma in Parliamentary Institutions & Procedures, Post Graduate Diploma in International Law & Diplomacy, and Parliamentary Fellowship. Even, recently, he got the Honorary Doctorate Award of Public Administration (honoris causa), Degree of HONORARY DOCTORATE OF PHILOSOPHY (Ph.D.) in INTERNATIONAL LAW OF HUMAN RIGHTS, and also Honorary Doctor of Laws (LLD). He had attended many short courses, meetings, workshops, and conferences at various renowned institutions and educational centers. He visited about 10 countries. In the past, in the Ministry of Shipping, GOI, Dr. Sahdev Singh was dealing with matters relating to maritime shipping and navigation, lighthouses, national/inland waterways, ports, etc. Earlier, he was Under Secretary in the Ministry of Human Resources Development also. However, in the department of Higher Education, in the Ministry of HRD, Dr. Sahdev Singh was dealing with matters relating to universities. He was also dealing with the matters of NAAC and Indian Research councils i.e. ICSSR, ICPR, ICPHR, etc. Dr. Sahdev Singh has delivered lectures as Visiting Faculty at Indian Maritime University, Chennai to LLM students, and the Central University of Gujarat, Gandhinagar regarding Environmental Law to M.Phil/Ph.D. students. He is likely to be promoted as Deputy Secretary to the Govt of India.

Dr. Moriba Kemessia
Senator
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Moriba Kemessia Jah is an American space scientist and aerospace engineer known for his contributions to orbit determination and prediction especially as related to space situational awareness and space traffic monitoring. He is currently an associate professor of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics at the University of Texas at Austin. Jah previously worked as a spacecraft navigator at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where he was a navigator for the Mars Global Surveyor, Mars Odyssey, Mars Express, Mars Exploration Rover, and his last mission was the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. He is a Fellow of the American Astronautical Society, the Air Force Research Laboratory, the International Association for the Advancement of Space Safety and, the Royal Astronomical Society. Jah was also selected into the 10th anniversary class of TED Fellows. He also was selected into the AIAA class of Fellows and Honorary Fellows in the year of the 50th Anniversary of Apollo 11. The AIAA “confers the distinction of Fellow upon individuals in recognition of their notable and valuable contributions to the arts, sciences or technology of aeronautics and astronautics.”

Mr. Ish Jain
Senator
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Mr. Ish Jain is a Senior Partner at Regius Legal LLP, a law firm with the head office based in India. Mr. Ish Jain heads the firm’s practice area of Air & Space Law, Technology Law, International Dispute Resolution, International Project Financing, and International litigation/dispute management services in the UK, UAE, Singapore, Hong Kong, and the US.
Mr. Ish Jain’s academic pursuit has been a story-to-tell. This journey began in the year 2004 and by the age of 23, Mr. Jain had not only completed B.L.S., L.L.B. degree (5 years course) along with Masters in the field of Technology law from University of Edinburgh but also completed his Masters in the field of International Arbitration Law and International Commercial Law and several diplomas in a related field like Intellectual Property Rights. This academic pursuit gave him an insight into the different perspectives of the technology and space-tech industry of several countries and also taught him to compare and comprehend laws of various jurisdictions around the world. Subsequently, Mr. Jain also pursued a course in Astrophysics from the University of Mumbai and obtained formal education in Air and Space Law.
Meanwhile, after returning from the UK in 2010, for the initial 2 years he worked with top-tier law firms and handled matters that gave him exposure to technology law. In 2012, he started his own practice in this process, he developed a legal practice with a special focus on Arbitration, Real-Estate, Commercial law, and Technology law and it is during this course of time where he was first introduced to Space technology practice. The peculiarities of the Space sector kindled his fire to learn more about it and after spending a considerable amount of time in research and knowledge exchange with several industry players, he realized that the companies entering the space sector are not hedged against potential risks. The plight of several companies being forced out of the sector soon after they enter (or sometimes even before they make a full-fledged entry) influenced Ish Jain to contribute his legal knowledge and acumen to the Space sector and provide end-to-end Legal assistance to players in the Space sector. Mr. Ish Jain is also uniquely placed as an expert in advising these players in Air and Space sector due to his experience and knowledge in the field of Aerospace and Technology law but also due to unapparelled grasp and experience of 15 years in the documentation and negotiations in commercial transactions & project financing, Arbitration, and International litigation management services. Mr. Jain is poised with a team of lawyers capable of catering to all the requirements of the Air and Space sector.
Mr. Ish Jain is also appointed as an Arbitrator in several cases since the age of 29 and has been impaneled as an Arbitrator at the Bombay High Court at the age of 30. Mr. Ish Jain is also an Aerospace Arbitrator in India with required Technical as well as Legal knowledge in the field of Air and Space Law.
Apart from the Air and Space Law, Technology, Project Financing, and Arbitration practice of the firm, Mr. Ish Jain also handles the law firm’s practice in Litigation, Commercial and Corporate law. Mr. Ish Jain is also a member of the Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC).

Apurva Jakhadi
Senator
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1) Apurva Jakhadi is a Space Educator, based in Nashik, India. She has earned her Bachelors Degree in Electronics & Telecommunication, from G.I.T., (VTU, Belgaum). She is a Life Member of IEI, IETE, CSI and is also a Chartered Engineer. 2) She is presently the Special Invitee of the apex, National Organization that is, ‘The Institution of Electronics & Telecommunication Engineers’ (IETE Nashik Sub-Centre) and Past Secretary of IETE, ‘The Institution of Engineers’ (IEI Nashik Local Centre); and ‘Computer Society of India’ (CSI Nashik Chapter). Moreover, she is the first Lady Secretary of IEI, IETE & CSI Local Chapters. 3) She has earlier worked as a Senior Project Engineer at ‘Rishabh Instruments’, Nashik- India; in Electrical Instrumentation – Digital Multimeters & Transducers Division. 4) Moreover, she is presently the Director of a family-owned business firm – ‘Shree Engineers’, Nashik- India; which is involved in manufacturing components for Defense & Aerospace industries; including DRDO, HAL, TAL, L&T Aerospace & Defense, Godrej; and also in Lift panels & components. 5) Presently, she has been appointed as a Member of the Board of Advisors for Space Settlement, at Lifeboat Foundation, USA. She has been appointed as a Member of the Technical Advisory Committee of Planetarium by Nashik Municipal Corporation- NMC. Recently, she is also appointed as an Advisor to Space Development Nexus (SDNx) and as its National Coordinator, Mission Kalpana (dedicated to NASA Astronaut of Indian origin- Late Dr.Kalpana Chawla). 6) Moreover, she is also nominated as a Member of the Advisory Committee of the Editorial Board by Lokmat Media Group, Nashik. 7) Also, she is the first person from her city to visit NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center and the ‘U.S. Space & Rocket Center’ (Alabama, USA) in June 2010. 8) She is also a Member of the International Organizations: Member-U.N. Space Generation Advisory Council (UN-SGAC), in support of UN-PSA, Vienna, Austria; Member-National Space Society, Washington D.C., (NSS) the USA; Member-Planetary Resources, USA; Member (Board of Advisors: Space Settlement)-Lifeboat Foundation, USA; Volunteer-U.N. World Space Week Association (WSWA), Houston, USA. 9) Achievements & Recognitions : 1) Felicitated with ‘Lady Engineers Award’ in Sept 2000 by The Institution of Engineers (IEI), Nashik Local Centre, and in March 2008 by ‘The Institution of Engineers’ (IEI) Maharashtra State Centre, Mumbai. 2) Felicitated with ‘Lady Entrepreneur Award’ in Sept 2010 by Sakal Group, Nashik. 3) Felicitated by Nashik Municipal Corporation at Womens’ Forum, on the International Womens’Day functions in 2010, 2011. 4) Felicitated with ‘Nav Durga Puraskar’ by ‘Divya Marathi / Dainik Bhaskar Group’, Nashik in October 2013 and also, ‘Entrepreneur of the Year 2014’ in June 2014. 5) Felicitated with ‘Lokmat Sakhi Award’ by ‘Lokmat Media Group’, Nashik in October 2016. 6) Also, felicitated with ‘Corporate Excellence Award’ by ‘Suryadatta Group of Institutes’, Pune in February 2017. 7) As a NASA Space Educator; a Space Ambassador, Science Communicator & as a Member of UN-Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC), UN PSA, Vienna, Austria since 2010, she has delivered around 800 plus ‘Lectures and Popular Talks’ on ‘Space Science & Technology’, in various High Schools, Junior Colleges, Polytechnics & Engineering Colleges, all over India. 8) Moreover, for the last 5 years, she is the Coordinator for the UN-declared World Space Week (UN WSW) program. 9) Also, she has contributed towards reviving and upgrading Nashik Municipal Corporation’s (NMC) -Yashwantrao Chavan Planetarium, Nashik’s Tauranga. 10) She was invited as Guest Speaker @ various Chapters / Centres of ‘The Institution of Engineers, IEI’ – Ahmednagar, Aurangabad, Pune & Mumbai Centres on many occasions. Also, she has delivered motivational talks to the Diversity wings and the Women Engineers of Bosch Ltd. Nashik in March 2015 and also at Mahindra & Mahindra, Nashik in March 2016. She was also a member of a panel discussion during a One-day session on ‘International Women’s Day’ event, organized by Nashik Engineering Cluster – NEC in March 2016. Moreover, she was also felicitated by former US and German Ambassador Mrs. Meera Shankar, IFS during this function. 11) She regularly contributes to articles on Space Science/Technology, Educational columns in leading English & Marathi newspapers; for increasing public awareness and encouraging students, youngsters to take-up Aerospace Engineering & Space Technology as careers. 12) Also, she is regularly invited on various Radio & TV Channels for panel discussions and interviews during important events, especially during launches of ISRO, NASA, ESA & of other Space Agencies. 13) Since the last decade, she has been a Jury Member for umpteen Project Competitions for Polytechnics, Engineering Colleges & also for Science Project Contests for High Schools; including DIPEX, Karmaveer Expo, M&M’s AWIM Competition. 14) During her tenure as the first lady Secretary of ‘The Institution of Engineers’, IEI Nashik Local Centre; for the first time in its history of 27 years, it bagged the “Best Centre Award” for 2014-15 at the National Engineering Congress, Guwahati in Dec. 2015. 15) She was felicitated with ‘Samaj Gaurav Puraskar’ by ‘Akhil Brahman Madhyavarti Sansthan’ Nashik in December 2018. 16) Also, she was recently felicitated with ‘Nav Durga Puraskar’ by ‘Kalika Mandir Sansthan’ Nashik in March 2019. 17) Apurva was recently invited to SRM University, Chennai as one of the panelists during the ‘Aaruush-2019’ Industrial Conclave on 27 & 28th Sept. 18) Also, she was invited by Dassault Systemes, SolidWorks Pune, at ‘Aakruti-2019’ National Product Design Competition, as a Jury Member for the final round on 3rd Oct. Also, she got the opportunity to represent for the International Conference at Nashville, TN – the USA in Feb. 2020. 19) She was invited by Marathi Vidnyan Parishad, IEI Pune on 6th Aug.’19, and recently by Saarvajanik Vachnalaya (SaVaNa) Nashik, to talk on the latest topic, ‘Chandrayaan-2 & India’s Future Space Missions’, at the prestigious ’52nd Zilla Sahityak Melava’ during the U.N.-declared World Space Week, at Aurangababkar Hall on 4th Oct’19; also to deliver a talk at ‘VJTI Mumbai- Technovanza’ in August 2019 and also on ‘Space Mission’s at HAL Nasik in Oct”19. 20) Delivered umpteen webinars/ seminars/ talks on ‘Space & Defense’ related topics, during the pandemic phase; especially on various platforms, hosted by chapters of well-known organizations viz.- IEI, IET, IEEE, IETE, CSI, ISF, ISTE, AeSI, etc; for students and Corporate Members. 21) She is also nominated by SPPU (Pune University), as an External Examiner (Industry Expert) for Project Evaluation for B.E./ B.Tech., M.E./Tech, M.S. & PG Conferences for Electronics & Telecommunication, Industrial Engineering & Instrumentation courses. 22) Moreover, she is extremely proud to state that, her students have graduated from the best global Universities including- International Space University France (ISU), Cranfield University UK, Caltech USA, Georgia Tech USA, MIT USA, etc to name a few among them; and they are well-placed at world-renowned Defense & Aerospace organizations including- NASA JPL, ISRO – India, DRDO- India, Aeronautical Defence Agency- ADA India, National Aerospace Laboratories-NAL India, CSIR- India, etc.

Chiara Chiesa
Senator
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Chiara Chiesa is an International PR and Space Technology Commercialization Transfer advisor. She helps to infuse space technology into the commercial sector, connecting people, startups, companies, and institutions within the aerospace and NewSpace domain. Public relations expert, her background includes foreign literature studies, communication, marketing, and business. NASA Space Apps Challenge Brescia Lead and organizer since 2018, Chiara profoundly believes in bonds amid people for the relentless pursuit of a sustainable planet for our species. She is Mentor and role model for the Space4Women Network initiative, a program by UNOOSA (United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs) to inspire girls and women to pursue STEM and space careers. President and co-founder of INTERSTELLARS and fond of new technologies, she is sales advisor for Graphene-xt and PR and advisor for many other startups. Chiara is one of the 1000 “Unstoppable women” that are changing Italy through innovation, list by StartupItalia. Tedx Speaker, listed in “Million STEM”, is known as a game-changer on her way to face new challenges by anticipating solutions to complexities: a quantum of energy to fuel every possible future.
Standing Guard Over The Rule Of Law In Space Since 2019
“Governments should promote the development of the international legal order. We see this not only in the global efforts of the Netherlands but as a fundamental principle enshrined in Article 90 of the constitution of the Kingdome.” – Sohair Salam Saber
Making an Impact Across the Globe
Individuals and legal entities distinguished by their contributions to or of proven interest in the field of space law or other social science aspects related to space activities are authorized to apply for a membership at the International Academy of Space Law.