Theoretical physicist, Dr Adriana Marais will make a keynote address entitled, Off-World: Above and Beyond, at the IDA World Congress opening day ceremonies on Monday 21 October.
Dr Marais is founder of Off-World, director of the Foundation for Space Development, and an astronaut candidate for the Mars One Project.
Dr Marais’ keynote address will field questions such as the sustainability of our world, the new frontiers of research and technology, and how we can create a #ProudlyHuman future on earth, as well as above and beyond.
In December 2020, Dr Marais’ Off-World team will depart for an overwinter, off-world settlement simulation experiment in Antarctica to demonstrate off-grid capabilities in the harshest and most isolated environment on Earth. “The reason I want to explore beyond the world as we know it is simple,” says Dr Marais. “The allure of the unknown is far more powerful than the comfort of the known.”
Dr Marais holds an MSc in quantum cryptography and a PhD in quantum biology. She is currently pursuing a second PhD in economics in resource constrained environments at the University of Cape Town.
