Women in Aerospace Europe (WIA-E) would like to congratulate the following winners of the WIA-Europe 2023 Grants and Awards!
WIA-Europe is devoted to providing support to its members through a variety of initiatives that strive to encourage upcoming talent and to support professionals dedicated to growing a gender-balanced aerospace community and who look to advance the aerospace industry as a whole. The WIA-Europe Awards & Grants program is designed to support upcoming talent, both young #professionals and students alike.
We are delighted to announce that the winners of the Women In Aerospace Europe Awards & Grants Programme 2023 are:
- Ariane Mansard (Conference Grant)
- Evgenia Yvonni Tseloni (Conference Grant)
- Serena Campioli (Essay Award)
- Natalia Lemarquis (Essay Award)
Young Professionals Conference Grant Winner: Ariane Mansard 
Ariane Mansard is a 23 years old student in aerospace engineering. She obtained her master degree in aerospace system engineering at the Institut Polytechnique des Sciences Avancées (IPSA) in Ivry-Sur-Seine, France, in September 2022. Sge is currently doing a Second Level Specializing Master’s Program in SpacE Exploration and Development Systems (SEEDS) at Politecnico di Torino, Italy, in collaboration with Thales Alenia Space and ALTEC, and endorsed by ASI and ESA. This master offers her the opportunity to work on the preliminary design of two different projects: HEMERA, a Human Mars Lander, and ECLIPSE, a European Commercial Space Station. During these 6 months of project, she had the chance to attend some CEF sessions at the Italian Space Agency in Rome. With other students from the master, she will attend the IAC 2023 in Baku, to present 5 different papers about their projects.
Young Professionals Conference Grant Winner: Evgenia Yvonni Tseloni
Evgenia Yvonni Tseloni is an attorney at law from Athens, Greece. On 28 August 2023, she graduated from the Advanced LL.M. in “Air and Space Law” from Leiden University (cum laude) and the Leiden Leadership Program (cum laude). Moreover, she completed an Interinstitutional – Interdisciplinary M.Sc. in “Law and Informatics” at the University of Macedonia and Democritus University of Thrace and a Bachelor of Laws at the National Kapodistrian University of Athens. In her Master Thesis of Adv. LL.M., entitled “On the Cusp of a New Era in Space Governance: The Application of Smart Contracts in Space Activities”, she analyzed the research question, “To what extent can smart contracts be used as a valid legal basis for space governance in the context of the new era of Space 4.0?”. The Thesis was charecterized by her supervisor as “an original research into a novel topic at the crossroads of law and technology”. Furthermore, Evgenia Yvonni completed the “Artificial Intelligence & Space Law” summer course organized by ALTI Multidisciplinary AI Academy at Vrije University in Amsterdam and her internship with the World Space Week Association, which provided her with the opportunity to attend the Sixty-sixth session of the UN COPUOS in Vienna and contribute to WSWA efforts to focus global attention on space and raise awareness of the importance of active participation in World Space Week 2023. Evgenia Yvonni is a member of Women in Aerospace, a prospective member of the International Institute of Space Law (IISL), and a member of Space Generation Advisory Council. Evgenia Yvonni authors the paper “Protection of patents in outer space. Could blockchain technology be a sufficient solution?” which has been accepted for interactive presentation at the upcoming IAC 2023 in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Essay Award Winner: Serena Campioli
Serena Campioli holds a Master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering with a specialization in space from Politecnico di Torino, which she completed in 2022. Her passion for space led her to a role as a Young Graduate Trainee at the European Space Agency’s ESEC center in Belgium from September 2022 to August 2023. During this time, Serena focused on Training and System Engineering for Cubesat and Downstream Applications as part of the ESA Academy. At ESA, Serena played a supportive role in the Training and Learning Center as well as the Fly your Satellite! program, aiming to foster education and engagement among university students.
Since January 2023, Serena took on the co-lead position for the HOPE (High-technology Operations for Planetary Exploration) Research Unit within the ACHIEVED initiative. This initiative, guided by the Space Exploration Project Group (SEPG) of the Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC), provides a platform for collaborative space mission design among students and young professionals.
Looking ahead, Serena is set to pursue a PhD in Space Systems Engineering at Politecnico di Torino starting in November 2023. Beyond her engineering pursuits, she maintains a keen interest in space-related outreach and education, as well as personal interests in books, athletics and cats.
Essay Award Winner: Natalia Lemarquis
Natalia Lemarquis is passionate about Space Exploration and wants to go beyond the frontiers to build a sustainable space society. Natalia developed a solid engineering background by education (MSc in Aerospace Engineering) and professional experience in the Aerospace Industry in global companies such as General Electric and Rolls-Royce plc. Natalia polished her leadership skills managing complex projects and successful teams including the delivery of the rideshare mission Earth Observation Spacecraft at In-Space Missions.
Most recently Natalia is holding a position of the Head of Space Segment at GMV Innovating Solutions, delivering space missions software. Natalia is honored with Chartered Engineering status awarded by Royal Aeronautical Society and Qualified Project Manager by the UK Association for Project Management.
Natalia is an experienced Mentor of UNOOSA Space4Women and Royal Aeronautical Society in the UK. Natalia wants to reach out to talented women and empower them to reach for the stars. Hence, she co-founded a design brand “Space it design” to encourage women into the space industry and provide alternatives to share and express the love of Space. Natalia is a proud mother of two girls (4 and 1 years old) and knows exactly how much effort it takes to balance a career and motherhood.
