On Science Policy IRL, we talk to people in science policy about what they do and how they got there. In this installment, host Lisa Margonelli talks to Bhavya Lal about the trajectory of her career. Lal began as a nuclear engineer, then completed a midcareer PhD and began to work in science policy. A few years in, she decided to specialize in space policy—which is when things really started to get interesting. Lal has since served in a variety of roles at NASA, including acting chief of staff, chief technology officer, and associate administrator for technology, policy, and strategy. She is currently a professor at the RAND School of Public Policy. In this episode, Lal shares how policy and governance became her passion, how she went from writing reports to leading programs at NASA, and the big questions that drive her work. ResourcesRead Lal and Roger M. Myers’ Fall 2025 Issues piece, “A Strategy for Building Space Nuclear Systems That Fly,” to learn more about NASA’s efforts to build a nuclear reactor in space. Read Lal and Myers’ white paper “Weighing the Future: Strategic Options for US Space Leadership.”What does space leadership mean? Lal explores this in her SpaceNews piece, “The US can get to the moon first — and still lose.”Check out Earth Abides, the novel that inspired Lal’s career.

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