Alex Marburgh, B.S. 2018

Alex Marburgh received his B.S. in biomedical engineering from Cornell University in 2018. After graduation, he began working at NASA’s Johnson Space Center as a biomedical flight controller. This was an unexpected turn for him as he had no formal aerospace engineering education. Fortunately, there’s a lot more to human spaceflight than just aerospace. 

As a flight controller, Marburgh is a member of an engineering team that works in Mission Control to support real-time operations on the  International Space Station. His time at Cornell prepared him well for this. The undergraduate BME program covers a wide breadth, but there is always an emphasis on teamwork and problem solving. Marburgh is able to apply those skills each day in his work. Each flight controller has a specific area of focus, such as power generation, or atmospheric cleansing. The flight controllers combine their expertise to support the astronauts and ensure a safe flight. 

As a BME flight controller, Marburgh works with a team of surgeons to ensure that crew health is maintained. This involves helping to remotely guide onboard medical exams, planning and executing maintenance activities on exercise hardware, and collaborating with international partners from Japan, Europe, Russia, and Canada to ensure requirements are met. Marburgh never expected to end up at NASA, but he’s looking forward to seeing where it takes him, and what the future holds for human spaceflight.