Piyush Mehta is an assistant professor of aerospace engineering and space systems and a J. Wayne and Kathy Richards Faculty Fellow at the Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources at West Virginia University. He’s an expert in astrodynamics, machine learning and space weather — conditions caused by solar winds, explosions on the sun’s surface, and other solar phenomena.

Mehta’s research focuses on the development of new tools and technology for space flight and on strengthening national space infrastructure to better withstand threats caused by space weather, such as radiation exposure for astronauts and civil air passengers and communication blackouts.

Mehta the director of the Astrodynamics, Space ScIence and Space Technology (ASSIST) Lab at West Virginia University. He also serves on the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics’ Astrodynamics Technical Committee and is an appointed member of the NASA Space Weather Council. 

In 2019, Mehta was awarded a National Science Foundation grant to conduct research on space weather forecasting at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. He holds a bachelor’s degree and Ph.D. in aerospace engineering from the University of Kansas.

Courtesy of WVU Photo/J. Paige Nesbit

Pronouns: He/him/his

Expertise: Astrodynamics, space weather, aerospace engineering, machine learning

Location: Morgantown, W.Va.

Email: piyush.mehta@mail.wvu.edu 

Listen to Piyush Mehta: Lecture at the Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources at West Virginia University