Selene Cannelli

Background

About Selene Cannelli

An archaeobiologist (archaeology+microbiology) turned chemist, experienced in experiment designing and protocol optimisation. Shawn McGlynn lab, at ELSI: I'm working with hydrothermal vents, to investigate mineral-organic interactions at the macro and micro scale. 🧪Developing a microfluidic experiment to replicate a dynamic environment ‍Computational modelling Microscope analysis investigating prebiotic chemistry processes to study the emergence of life on Earth and beyond. Who am I 🤔 Dinosaurs, nature, and space were always on my mind, together with sports, in fact, outside academia, I am a karate and rugby player (recovering from an ACL fracture). I became an archaeobiologist mainly for two reasons- an archaeologist once dug in my backyard and found megafauna animal remains (of course I went and dug random holes)- I just knew that the Moon was always following me. Driven by curiosity and to better understand the world, I started to discover its nature and multiple cultures, becoming a world explorer, aiming to soon become a space explorer. After receiving a BSc in archaeological sciences, applying modern scientific techniques to investigate the past, and a year spent in New Zealand, I decided to specialize in investigating and reconstructing past environments and evolution, which brought me to obtain my master's in molecular biology, working on how viruses influence the ocean environment 🦠 Still, something didn't feel right, so I thought that it was time that I followed the Moon. My space journey started again. I first joined the Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC) and led a team to win the 2021 Moon Society Moon Base Design Competition. Through this project, I transferred my archaeological skills to the space sector, allowing me to advocate for implementing space environmental and human heritage protection policies, and for including Earth's orbits as part of the World Heritage protected sites. ‍I also applied my archaeological skills on my first analog research mission, creating the first Analog Habitat Interactive Space Museum, at the Analog Astronaut Training Centre. Wanting to know more about space, I took part in the International Space University Space Studies Program, where I acquired a broad knowledge of the space sector, from law, economy, engineering, and satellite applications, developed an ecological closed-loop life support system for the agriculture module of a permanent Mars settlement. Since then, I never looked back and kept on moving toward the universe. To be continued.