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Space Architecture Program Welcomes Nippon Foundation Chairman Yohei Sasakawa
By
Inez Hutchinson
Nippon Foundation Chairman Yohei Sasakawa welcomed by UH Cullen College's space architecture program.
Nippon Foundation Chairman Yohei Sasakawa welcomed by UH Cullen College's space architecture program.

The UH Cullen College’s space architecture program, which is administered by the Sasakawa International Center for Space Architecture (SICSA), recently welcomed Nippon Foundation Chairman Yohei Sasakawa.

Yohei Sasakawa is the son of Japanese industrialist Ryoichi Sasakawa, who founded SICSA at the University of Houston with a $3 million endowment in 1987. To this day SICSA remains one-of-a-kind, offering the world’s only Master’s degree program in space architecture, a multidisciplinary field focusing on the design and construction of livable human habitats in extreme environments like space or ultra-deep water.

SICSA founder Larry Bell and Olga Bannova, director of the space architecture program, guided Sasakawa through a tour of the department and a meet and greet with current space architecture students.

Former NASA astronauts Bonnie Dunbar and Walter Cunningham were also in attendance to share their experiences with spaceflight and working with students and professors at SICSA.

SICSA offers comprehensive orbital and planetary facility research, planning and design services to NASA and numerous major aerospace companies. The center is widely regarded as the world’s leading academic organization for the planning and design of habitats in space and other extreme environments.

To learn more about Sasakawa International Center for Space Architecture (SICSA), click here

To view photos from Yohei’s visit, click here

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