May 22, 2019

moriba jah photo in visualization labMoriba Jah, an associate professor of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics in the Cockrell School of Engineering, has been elected a member of the International Institute of Space Law (IISL). He is one of only three technical members across the globe to be elected to the institute.

An independent, non-governmental organization founded in 1960, the International Institute of Space Law is dedicated to promoting the development of space law and “the expansion of the rule of law in the exploration and use of outer space for peaceful purposes.” Members from across the world are elected by the IISL board of directors based on their contributions to the field of space laws or other social sciences related to space activities.

Jah is recognized world-wide for his expertise in space traffic management and the tracking of orbital debris. He and his research group developed AstriaGraph, a web-based database that draws on several public and private sources to track and visualize objects orbiting Earth.

Last month Jah was selected to join a global team of experts with the introduction of a Space Sustainability Rating (SSR) system, which was announced at the Satellite 2019 conference in Washington, D.C. The new system will help tackle the problem of space traffic congestion in the Earth’s orbit. Jah will work alongside Diane Howard from UT’s School of Law, with whom he also works with to lead the Space Security and Safety program in UT’s Robert Strauss Center for International Security and Law.

Jah is a core member of the Oden Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences and the UT Center for Space Research. His research interests are in non-gravitational astrodynamics and advanced/non-linear multi-sensor/object tracking, prediction, and information fusion. Jah was elected a Fellow of AIAA and a TED Fellow this year, and he has published over 75 publications in peer-reviewed journals, conferences and symposia. He has been an invited lecturer and keynote speaker at over 20 national and international space events, workshops and fora.

Most recently, he was invited by the United Nations Disarmament Institute to present his research in Geneva at the 2019 Space Security Conference. Learn more about Jah’s research.