Making the cut: Polish engineer named in group of innovators pushing the barriers of science and space.
A Polish engineer has been named by NGO Mars Generation as one of the 24 under 24 leaders and innovators interested in careers in space, and in technology, engineering and maths (STEM).
Mars Generation was established to educate and encourage young people, and each year it awards young people from around the world who are breaking barriers in STEM, and taking their work to the public.
Torchała is just one of 24 to be selected.
Abigail Harrison, the Mars Generation’s founder, said: “The 24 Under 24 awards elevate youth accomplishments in STEM fields, empowering and encouraging them to continue working for a brighter future. This year’s 24 Under 24 are doing exceptional work in STEM, and perhaps even more importantly, in bringing STEM interest and education beyond their computers and labs, including to rural towns and underrepresented communities.”
The 23-year-old Torchała studied automatics, robotics, and later on mechanics and mechanical engineering, and was also involved in projects related to space engineering. He started as a suspension designer for the Scorpio Martian rover, designed by the Off-Road team, and in time became the leader of the whole project.
The Innspace team with pictured Torchała far right.
Piotr co-founded the Innspace collective – a group of students from different Polish universities who take part in competitions related to space, particularly Mars. The group organises lectures and workshops, and its members will be presenting their recent publications at the SpaceOps 2020 conference in Cape Town.
Presenting Torchała’s achievements, Mars Generation wrote: “Growing up, Piotr worked with everything from remote-controlled cars to motorcycles. These days, he’s upgraded to more sophisticated projects, like working on the Mars Rover.(…) After completing his master’s, Piotr wants to head his own start-up and focus on furthering the development of technology that will accomplish easy and cheap removal of debris from the orbit of the earth.”
The team has worked on Mars habitation projects.
Innspace’s most recognisable achievement is the Mars habitat design called Ideacity. The project earned fifth place in the American Mars Colony Prize competition.
To learn more about Innspace’s design for the Mars Habitat, click HERE.
