Main focus: Space and engineering
Twitter handle: @PoliEleonore
Websites/blogs: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eleonore-cassandra-poli-5aa919b6/ , https://www.hepta.aero/1-staff.html , https://asclepios.ch/asclepios-en/the-astronauts/
Languages: English, French, German
City: Cambridge, UK
Country: United Kingdom
Topics: leadership, music, space, material science engineering, sports, sustainability
Services: Talk, Moderation, Workshop management, Consulting, Coaching, Interview
Willing to travel for an event.
Willing to talk for nonprofit.
Space and engineering
I am a PhD student in Materials and Metallurgy, as well as an amateur athlete, analogue astronaut, Global Shaper and amateur pianist. I was born in Switzerland from an international family, and would like to help reshape the world for the best. As an analogue astronaut, I aim to prepare the future of space exploration, as well as use the knowledge acquired to help life on Earth. I am also organising the first analogue space mission conference to bring analogue mission communities together. As a PhD student, I aim to contribute to science and engineering. As a Global Shaper, I aim to raise awareness on the impact of the clothing and fashion industry on climate change. As a musician and athlete, I seek balance and beauty. Sustainability, understanding and education are key features that I love working on. I have founded and manage two project, The Climate Clock Project, a sustainability website that aims to provide tools for the whole public to mitigate climate change, and CHASM, the Conference on Human Analogue Space missions.
Examples of previous talks / appearances:
This short video was made for school students, to try and motivate them during corona, to follow their dreams. I explain shorty who I am, what my work is as an analogue astronaut and why one must pursue dreams.
This talk is in: FrenchAn interview conducted by the Swiss embassy in the USA in September 2021. The subject was the place of aerospace in Switzerland, juggling triathlon training and PhD life, and analogue space missions.
There was a written and video interview found here :
https://bit.ly/3Csvc1V
This talk is in: EnglishCockpit magazine is a swiss aerospace magazine that contacted me in January. They heard about me after I gave several talks for swiss schools and was the guest of two podcasts, all on the theme of believing in dreams and becoming an astronaut. They were interested in knowing more about my dream to become an astronaut and my training as an analogue astronaut. With the European Space Agency recruiting astronauts this year (first time in 13 years), becoming an astronaut is an extremely hot topic. I will apply for this recruitment round although I'm slightly too young for it, because preparing for it is taking a serious step closer to the stars.
In the interview, I discuss my experience as an analogue astronaut. So far, I have received training in public speaking, psychology, nutrition, health and safety, leadership, space exploration and history, but also in survival skills ! I built an igloo, did scuba diving by night in a frozen lake, slept in a tent in a snowstorm. As the commander for two analogue missions, I will be leading teams in isolation, performing together experiments, respecting tight flight plans and eating and drinking designated types and quantities of food. One analogue mission will be in a tunnel inside a mountain and last 10 days, the other in a lava tube in Iceland for 48h ! These analogue missions prepare us and prepare scientists for Moon and Mars settlements. My favourite argument for analogue missions is the following : 'We must fail down here so we succeed up there'
https://www.cockpit.aero
A short interview for the Swis Radio regarding my application as an astronaut
This talk is in: GermanSixty years ago – on 12 April 1961 – Yuri Gagarin became the first human to fly into space in his Vostok 1 spacecraft. In 108 minutes, the Soviet cosmonaut orbited the Earth and became the first human in space.
Yuri's Night Switzerland, together with the Swiss Space Museum, celebrated this historic event with an inspiring online event featuring several high-profile guests. Dr. Thomas Zurbuchen, NASA Associate Administrator, Science Mission Directorate, Prof. Claude Nicollier, Swiss astronaut who spent a total of 42 days 12 hours, and 5 minutes in space, and Dr. Daniele Piazza, Lead Engineer Space at the University of Bern.
The event is hosted by Miki Adderley, Yuri's Night Switzerland, and Guido Schwarz, Swiss Space Museum.
My fellow analogue astronaut Christian Cardinaux and I were lucky to be amongst the panelists to discuss our experience as analogue astronauts and our future applications to become astronauts
This talk is in: EnglishAn interview regarding the 8-day lunar base mission simulation for Asclepios I for the swiss television RTS1.
This talk is in: FrenchInterview regarding the analogue space mission Asclepios simulating 8-days in a lunar base in the Swiss mountains.
This talk is in: FrenchAs an ambassador for IDUN Technologies, the 2nd round of interview was around the subject of an Ironman 70.3 triathlon competition.
Comment from IDUN Technologies : "We at IDUN Technologies want to unravel the mysteries of the brain. Along the way, we always have the opportunity to work with inspiring personalities.
On of these personalities is our brand ambassador Eleonore Cassandra Poli. In here young age she is a PhD candidate, astronaut and Iron Man athlete. Her ambition is to achieve great things in life and grow as both mentally and physically. We fully support that.
Last week, we had the chance to accompany her for her Iron Man competition and ask here a few questions afterwards. Tune in for our athlete portrait and get to know Eleonore in the full length interview on our page."
This talk is in: EnglishShort video giving advice to future commanders from the experience as a commander of Asclepios I analogue space mission
This talk is in: EnglishOn Lucy Cavendish Research day (University of Cambridge) in March 2020, I presented my research as a first year PhD student in materials and metallurgy. I had an audience with a varied background, mainly based on education, so I had to adapt my talk to make it understandable for my audience. I started by explaining that my research focussed on alloys that were just like superheroes: super strong, super tough, resistant to all kind of environments. But like all superheroes, my alloys needed a side-kick. My coatings are like side-kicks, they allow the superhero to go even further. However, they have flaws, and my research focussed on research these flaws, what they originate from and how to prevent them.
This talk is in: EnglishDuring my MPhil in Materials & Metallurgy at the University of Cambridge, I presented my research on thermal barrier coatings for gas turbine. Thermal barrier coatings are materials that protect the base material of turbine blades by serving as a heat shield. However, the environment of turbines is full of contaminants, which can penetrate those porous thermal barrier coatings and damage the base material of the turbine, leading potentially to failure. My research was focussing on combining existing thermal barrier coatings with additions of titanium, which would serve as trap for those contaminants, reendering the thermal barrier coating corrosion resistant.
I presented my research at the Lucy Cavendish College Research day in March 2019 (University of Cambridge), for an audience of all backgrounds, so I had to reender it accessible to all. I then presented my research in a seminar at the department of Materials & Metallurgy of Cambridge.
This talk is in: EnglishThis talk was the first edition of a series of talks on sustainable fashion. As a member of the Global Shapers Cambridge Hub, I lead a project on sustainable fashion, where we aim to raise the awareness of all on the impact of fashion on the environment. I hosted a webinar with Gordon Renouf as main speaker, CEO from the Good On You application, and coorganised by Jivan Jivanji. I explained the role of Global Shapers, the project, as well as coordinated the Q&A session
This talk is in: EnglishIn September 2020, I was asked to be a speaker for a highschool and present my work as a candidate astronaut, scientist and analogue astronaut. I was asked to share my experience, and I chose to tell them about my failures, how they led me to a become a better person. I interacted with the students throughout the talk, trying to inspire them. I told them to become their own heroes, to never give up, and presented my recipe on how to make dreams come true. The talk was one hour long, mostly improvisation, and the public made of 80 highschool students in their 14-18s.
This talk is in: FrenchPodcast hosted by IDUN Technologies, where I discuss my passion for space, how the analogue space mission works and give insights on how to keep believing in dreams.
This talk is in: EnglishHosted by Sheen Gurrib, this podcast aims to inspire young women and give them role models in science and different careers. I discuss my career path, give my best tips to become an astronaut.
This talk is in: EnglishA summary of the uses and purposes of social media and public speaking for space exploration. Why they matter, since when and how they have influenced space exploration so far.
This talk is in: EnglishHabitat Marte hosts analogue space missions which simulate a base on Mars. For the function of the mission, concepts of base design are prepared by the astronauts of the mission. This 1h presentation was focussed on the needs of engineering centre needed Mars, with a focus on the habitat design, the ressources, the astronaut roles, the food and material supply as well as applied technologies needed.
This talk is in: EnglishAs part of a series of YouTube videos, this video discusses inspiring moments from astronauts.
This talk is in: EnglishThis talk was given in November 2021 as part of the TEDx Zürich 2021 event. The title, Analogue space missions: a rehearsal of mistakes for the achievement of greatness, is in reference to the need for mistakes for improvement in everyday tasks. It explains what analogue space msisions are and why we need to have them and to make mistakes for planetary exploration and space exploration in general.
This talk is in: EnglishInterview of Helen Bremm, PhD student at the University of Cambridge in arts. Discussion on the similarities of the material characterization techniques used for different purposes.
This talk is in: English