About Dr. Mehta

Dr. Piyush Mehta is an associate professor of space systems in the department of mechanical, materials, and aerospace engineering at West Virginia University. He is the director of the Astrodynamics, Space ScIence and Space Technology (ASSIST) Lab and the Center for Innovation in Space Exploration and Research (CISER) with interests at the intersection of astrodynamics, space weather, data science, and space safety and sustainability. He is also an adjunct faculty member of the Lane Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering.

Since starting as a faculty at WVU in 2018, Dr. Mehta has received numerous accolades and awards. These include being elected to the class of 2025 AIAA Associate Fellows, the 2022-23 Statler College Outstanding Researcher Junior Level Award, a Wayne and Kathy Richards Fellowship in 2021, and the NSF CAREER award in 2021.

Dr. Mehta is an appointment member of the NASA Space Weather Council and the Space Weather Advisory Group (SWAG) — a Federal Advisory Committee for the White House Space Weather Operations, Research and Mitigation subcommittee. SWAG advises the Space Weather Interagency Working Group informing their interests and work to help improve the ability of the United States to prepare for, mitigate, respond to and recover from space weather phenomena. 

Dr. Mehta has taught multiple course at the undergraduate and graduate level. These include Spaceflight and Systems, the Capstone Spacecraft Design Course and a new course in Space Weather and Space Systems.

Mehta received his undergraduate degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Kansas in 2009 and completed his Ph.D. in aerospace engineering there in 2013.