International Space University
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| Type | Non-profit Interdisciplinary University |
|---|---|
| Established | 1987 |
| Chairman | Chris Sallaberger |
| Chancellor | Buzz Aldrin |
| President | Walter Peeters |
| Vice-president | Steve Brody, Vice President, North American Operations |
| Director | Chris Welch, Omar Hatamleh |
| Students | 200/year |
| Location |
Illkirch-Graffenstaden near Strasbourg, Alsace, France 48°31′23″N 7°44′13″E / 48.5231°N 7.7369°ECoordinates: 48°31′23″N 7°44′13″E / 48.5231°N 7.7369°E |
| Website | isunet.edu |
The International Space University (ISU) was founded as an international institution of higher learning, dedicated to the development of outer space for peaceful purposes through international and multidisciplinary education and research programs (ISU Bylaws, Article 2.1). It is a not-for-profit interdisciplinary university founded in 1987 that offers a Master of Science in Space Studies (MSS) in addition to the flagship Space Studies Program (SSP), a professional development program that has convened annually every summer since 1988 at various locations around the world.
The International Space University Central Campus and global headquarters are located in Illkirch-Graffenstaden near Strasbourg, France. ISU was founded on the "3-Is" philosophy providing an Interdisciplinary, Intercultural, and International environment for educating and training space professionals and post-graduate students. As of January 2014, there were over 3700 ISU alumni from more than 100 countries.
The ISU faculty members include astronauts, space agency leaders, space engineers, space scientists, managers, and experts in space law and policy comprising an international collection of experts in technical and non-technical space-related fields.
The Chancellor of the International Space University is Apollo astronaut Buzz Aldrin, who succeeded then–European Space Agency Director General Jean-Jacques Dordain and acclaimed science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke, in 2004. The fifth President of the International Space University is Prof. Walter Peeters, who took office in September 2011.
In 1985, three young space enthusiasts created the Space Generation Foundation, dedicated to fostering a sense of identity for those people born since the beginning of the space era. The ISU founders are Peter Diamandis, a medical doctor with a Master's in aerospace engineering from MIT; Todd Hawley, a graduate from Space Policy Institute at George Washington University, and Robert D. Richards, an engineer and physicist, and former assistant of the well-known astrophysicist Carl Sagan. They generated a series of novel ideas from which a "Space University" was exceptionally well received. The idea garnered the support of a number of important personalities in the space field, including Prof. U.R. Rao, president of the Indian Space Research Organization; Dr. Harrison Schmitt, an Apollo 17 astronaut and former senator; Dr. Burton Edelson, Associate Administrator of NASA for Space, Science, and Applications; Dr. Gerard K. O'Neill from the Space Studies Institute; space pioneer Prof. Hermann Oberth; and Arthur C. Clarke, the visionary writer, along with many others.
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