Danielle Wood, head of the Space Enabled group, has been selected as the recipient of the 2026 Paul Gray Faculty Award for Public Service by the PKG Public Service Center at MIT.

The award recognizes MIT faculty members who exemplify building a better world through their teaching, research, advising, and service. Prof. Wood was recognized for her commitment to addressing pressing environmental and social justice challenges through the work of the Space Enabled group.

The PKG Center was especially moved by the ways Prof. Wood brings local activists, interest groups, and authorities together to ensure insights translate into meaningful change on the ground. Her contributions span creating innovative courses connecting space technology and development, as well as creating the new MIT major in African and African Diaspora Studies. As the nomination letter noted, "[Dr. Wood is] a unique leader who will help shepherd humanity into a 'better world' for us all."

The Paul Gray Award for Public Service, honoring MIT's 14th president, recognizes faculty who have addressed pressing social or environmental issues through research, taught innovative courses that engage community expertise, inspired students in their own service work, or led initiatives that respectfully engage with communities external to MIT.