From helping NASA improve satellite communication security to investigating the early days of the universe, University of Miami College of Arts and Sciences faculty are exploring the “final frontier.” Their space-related research includes probing signs of life, known as biosignatures, and examining the complex relationship between science and faith.
Yelena Yesha, a professor of computer science and radiology, is leading a NASA-funded project that uses blockchain technology to protect communications between traditional large satellites, clusters of nanosatellites, and ground stations.
“Small satellites are owned and operated by a wide variety of public and private organizations, creating network vulnerabilities,” said Yesha, who is also the Knight Foundation Endowed Chair of Data Science and AI.
“Without effective cybersecurity, attackers could eavesdrop and steal sensitive information or sabotage the data,” she added, noting the use of these tactics in the Russia-Ukraine war. “Our blockchain technology work for NASA could also be applied to smart city projects, personalized medicine, and other digital initiatives.”
Nico Cappelluti, an associate professor of physics, is investigating one of the mysteries of the early days of the universe: the supermassive black holes at the center of the Milky Way and other galaxies.
“We don’t understand how these black holes, which can be billions of times the mass of the sun, were formed relatively shortly after the big bang that started our universe,” he said. “They also seem to grow with their galaxies for reasons that are not clear to us.”
Cappelluti is one of the scientific leaders for the initial phase of a proposed NASA mission to observe these supermassive black holes with the Advanced X-ray Imaging Satellite (AXIS). “If NASA approves this mission, our University would become one of the main centers for the study,” he said. “In any case, we need more powerful technology to get a better picture of the role of supermassive black holes in the universe.”
NASA is also funding a collaborative project led by Cynthia Silveira, an assistant professor of biology, on how viral infections of anaerobic bacteria—microorganisms that do not need oxygen to survive —may affect the biosignatures of life. These infections impact researchers’ ability to identify signs of life in harsh environments, such as on the surface of Mars or on Jupiter’s moons.
“Some viral infections can change the chemical structure of organic pigments, as well as the bacterial metabolism,” said Silveira, whose project also has international collaborators funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation. “Understanding how viruses affect these biosignatures is essential to understanding early life on our planet and detecting signs of life on other planets where microbial life may have emerged.”
From a different perspective, Catherine L. Newell, a professor of religious studies, has examined how faith helped shape the U.S. “space race” in the 1950s. Her book, "Destined for the Stars: Faith, the Future, and America’s Final Frontier," focuses on how a deep-seated belief in a sense of divine destiny to reach the heavens contributed to America’s support for space missions into the final frontier of the universe.
“I saw that religious themes from America’s expansionism into the ‘Wild West’ were used to build a case for exploring space,” she said. “The result was a very positive picture of the future, as shown in 1960s TV shows like ‘The Jetsons’ and ‘Star Trek.’ This belief that humankind was destined to explore and settle outer space is, for me, a really good example of the ways science and faith actually complement each other in many ways.”
In addition to serving as a hub for space research, the college also offers opportunities for students interested in space-related careers. The University’s U.S. Air Force ROTC program, commanded by Lt. Col. Regina Purnell-Adams and housed in the college’s Department of Aerospace Studies, provides a pathway for cadets interested in joining the U.S. Space Force.
© 2026 University of Miami College of Arts and Sciences By Richard Westlund
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