Handbook of Bioastronautics

Laurence R. Young is the Apollo Program Professor of Astronautics and Professor of Health Sciences and Technology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He was the founding Director (1997-2001) of the National Space Biomedical Research Institute. He directs Harvard's HST Ph.D. program in Bioastronautics. Dr. Young was elected to the National Academy of Engineering and the Institute of Medicine of the NAS and is a full member of the International Academy of Astronautics. He received an B.A.. from Amherst College in 1957; a Certificate in Applied Mathematics from the Sorbonne, Paris, as a French Government Fellow in 1958; S.B. and S.M. degrees in Electrical Engineering and the Sc.D. degree in Instrumentation from MIT, from 1957-1962.

Dr. Young has been active on many professional and government committees, including the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board for which he chaired the Airlift Panel and received the Air Force Decoration for Exceptional Civilian Service, the Space Medicine and Biology Committee of the National Academy of Sciences, NASA's Life Science Advisory Committee and the NIH Training Committee on Biomedical Engineering. He serves on several NASA Advisory panels relating to life sciences and the Space Station. He currently serves on the Institute of Medicine Standing Committee on Aerospace Medicine and the Medicine of Extreme Environments (CAMMEE). He is also a member of the Bárány Society for vestibular research, the Human Factors Society, and the Aerospace Medical Association. He is a Fellow of the IEEE, The Biomedical Engineering Society, The American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering and the Explorers Club.

Professor Young's contributions to the aerospace medical field have been in instrumentation (eye movement measurement) and basic and applied research in the field of vestibular function. Dr. Young is also recognized for his leadership in the aerospace human factors including applications of manual control theory, and especially for his research on adaptive manual control. His work on the vestibular system has led to his role as principal investigator for experiments on vestibular adaptation to weightlessness conducted aboard five Spacelab missions for which he received NASA's Public Service Group Achievement Award. Author of more than 200 journal articles, Prof. Young serves on the Scientific Advisory Board for the Encyclopedia of Neuroscience.

Jeffrey P. Sutton holds the Friedkin Chair for Research in Sensory System Integration and Space Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, where he is Professor of Medicine and Space Medicine, and Founding Director of the Center for Space Medicine. Dr. Sutton is also Chairman of the Board of the NASA-supported Translational Research Institute for Space Health. From 2001–2017, he served as President and Institute Director of the National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI) and was Chief Executive Officer from 2011–2017. Among his accolades, Dr. Sutton is the recipient of the NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal, NIH Scientist Development Award, NSBRI Pioneer Award and Diploma in Space Medicine and Biology from the Institute of Biomedical Problems, Russian Academy of Sciences. The Scientific Achievement Award of the Space Medicine Association is named in his honor.