NC Space Symposium Highlights Pathways to the Space and Aerospace Industries

May 11, 2026 Rebecca Jones 3-min. read

Large screen and an audience looking toward it. — NC Space Grant Symposium opening plenary honors the connections between our state and the space industry.

Raleigh, N.C. – The 2026 North Carolina Space Symposium, hosted at the McKimmon Conference and Training Center, brought together students, researchers, and industry leaders for a day highlighting innovative research, networking, and STEM workforce development.

Susan White, NC Space Grant Director, opened the conference with images of Zena Cardman and Christina Koch, both alumni of the NC Space Grant program who have recently been to space.

“At some point, they sat in an audience similar to this one eager to learn and excited about doing their own research. In the past year, they have traveled to the International Space Station and around the moon,” said White.

Christopher Chung, Chief Executive Officer of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina (EDPNC), served as the plenary speaker. Chung has more than 30 years of experience in statewide economic development, which includes working to bring new companies to North Carolina.

Chung spoke directly to the students in the audience about what they bring to the table: “You are a key part. When I get up in front of an audience of business leaders who aren’t as familiar with North Carolina, I always start with the human equation in terms of our talent availability,” said Chung. “It doesn’t matter what industry your company is in. You depend on people to be successful.”

Two people sitting on high stools on a stage. — Chris Chung speaking with Susan White during Symposium opening plenary.

The highlight of the symposium included two energetic poster sessions where students shared their research on topics ranging from astrobotany to black holes to geospatial analysis. These sessions also included demonstrations from students who competed in team engineering challenges across the country, building rockets, rovers, and robots for competitions sponsored by NASA and other STEM organizations. This year, NC Space Grant funded 11 student teams across the state.

Full student posters and team abstracts can be viewed at go.ncsu.edu/2026-abstracts.

The symposium also included lightning talks, a fast-paced format giving students just five minutes to present their work. Speakers represented a range of disciplines including engineering, computer science, and health sciences, with some sharing NASA internship research and others presenting work from campus labs across the state.

Debbie Wells, Vice President of Exploration, Environment and Earth Intelligence at Leidos, an engineering service provider for a variety of markets, delivered the luncheon address. After sharing her experience transitioning from traditional plant sciences to the space industry, Wells encouraged students at the symposium to consider careers in the field regardless of their discipline or major.

Woman speaking at a podium picture of Artemis astronauts on the screen — Debbie Wells speaks during lunch plenary presentation.

“The space industry needs all kinds of disciplines,” said Wells. “There will always be a place for you somewhere.”

The conference closed with a research spotlight from Timothy Dobroski, a Ph.D. candidate in the Virginia Tech – Wake Forest University School of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences (SBES) who works in the Wake Forest’s Institute for Regenerative Medicine. Dobroski walked attendees through the institute’s work on the NASA Vascular Tissue Challenge, including the unique difficulties of keeping live cells viable in space.

Man speaking into a microphone — Timothy Dobroski gives research spotlight at NC Space Grant Symposium.

The energy brought by students made the 2026 North Carolina Space Symposium memorable. The Space Grant team is grateful to the students, researchers, and especially the NCSEA volunteers who made everything run smoothly.