BIO
Gro Mjeldheim Sandal is a full professor of psychology and the leader of the Society and Workplace Diversity research group. She is a specialist in work and organizational psychology and holds a Ph.D. in psychology. Her primary research focuses on how individuals cope in extreme environmental conditions and countermeasures—such as selection, training, and support—to enhance mental health and performance in these settings. Much of her work has been closely tied to the European Space Agency (ESA), where she has served as Principal Investigator on large international projects involving crews at the International Space Station and numerous space simulation studies. In these projects, she has led interdisciplinary and international research teams. Sandal’s research extends to other extreme environments, including expeditions to remote areas and over-wintering crews in polar regions. She has participated in a number of international expert groups advising on human space missions and is a member of the Human Spaceflight and Exploration Science Advisory Committee (HESAC), the senior advisory body to ESA’s Directors of Human and Robotic Exploration. Additionally, she serves on the Life Science Committee of the International Astronautical Federation. In 2017, she co-edited the book Space Safety and Human Performance (Elsevier), which won the PROSE Award from the Association of American Publishers for best book in Engineering & Technology (2019) and the International Academy of Astronautics Life Sciences book award (2018). Beyond her research on extreme environments, Sandal has conducted large-scaled studies on cultural diversity in organizations, covering topics such as recruitment and selection, health and burnout, and leadership.
Preliminary title
Human adaptation in the context of space missions