Dr. William P. Schonberg, a professor of civil engineering at Missouri S&T, has been elected a Fellow of the International Association for the Advancement of Space Safety (IAASS).  
 
“Being elected as a Fellow is a great honor that I am very happy to receive,” Schonberg says. “I am fortunate to be part of this association, whose prime directive is to make space a sustainable place where everyone can safely live, play and work.” 
 
IAASS is focused on advancing international cooperation and research related to the safety of space missions. To be elected a Fellow, members must demonstrate outstanding achievements related to spaceflight safety and directly contribute to the goals and activities of the association. They must also hold a doctoral degree.  
 
Schonberg has researched space-related topics for nearly four decades. Some of his focus areas include orbital debris protection systems for spacecraft and the use of materials found on the Moon to support future human habitats.  
 
He was listed among the top 2% of researchers cited in his field both for the previous year and for his career in a 2024 analysis published by Stanford University and is a two-time participant in Fulbright programs for the U.S. Department of State. 
 
Schonberg joined the Missouri S&T faculty in 1999 and has served as visiting professor at the University College of the Cayman Islands and a visiting scholar for the Fraunhofer Society in Germany. 
 
He has worked as a summer faculty research fellow at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center and the Air Force Research Laboratory. 
 
In 2011, Schonberg was a member of a National Research Council committee that issued a report sounding the alarm on the dangers of space debris. 
 
Before coming to S&T, Schonberg was a professor and department chair at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. He earned both a Ph.D. and master’s degree in civil engineering at Northwestern University, as well as a bachelor’s degree in the same field at Princeton University.  
 
Schonberg also holds Fellow status with the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the American Society of Civil Engineers. 
 
For more information about S&T’s civil engineering programs, visit care.mst.edu.

About Missouri S&T

Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T) is a STEM-focused research university of over 7,000 students located in Rolla, Missouri. Part of the four-campus University of Missouri System, Missouri S&T offers over 100 degrees in 40 areas of study and is among the nation’s top public universities for salary impact, according to the Wall Street Journal. For more information about Missouri S&T, visit  www.mst.edu.