Pooja Lepcha

Government Technology Agency, Bhutan

Pooja Lepcha is currently a postdoctoral fellow at the Laboratory of Lean Satellite Enterprises and In-Orbit Experiments (LaSEINE). She received her bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the College of Science and Technology, Royal University of Bhutan. In 2017 she received a UN/Japan Long term fellowship “Post Graduate Studies on Nano Satellites (PNST)” to pursue a master’s degree in Space Engineering at Kyushu Institute of Technology and continued to the doctoral degree at the same university with the same scholarship. Back in Bhutan, she works in the Division of Telecom and Space under the Government Technology Agency, Bhutan. During her master’s degree, she was involved in the BIRDS-2 satellite project that developed the first satellite of Bhutan, BHUTAN-1. She has been actively involved in four more satellite projects and mainly works on the Electrical Power System (EPS) of the satellites. Her research is on the development of low-cost sensor stations for remote data collection using satellites. She is currently coordinating with more than 11 developing countries to build sensor stations that can measure sensor data and transmit the data to the satellite to provide connectivity in remote locations of those countries. She strives to promote international cooperation in space for enabling access to space development and utilization in developing countries. After her return to Bhutan, she aspires to engage in STEM education for youths and get involved with space activities in Bhutan.

Contact: lepcha.pooja586(at)mail.kyutech.jp