Leonardo Barilaro
Visiting Associate Professor of Space Technology and Sonic Arts, Artist in Residence
Affiliation: Visiting
Education: PhD University of Padova; MM Pollini Conservatory of Music
Research Areas: Space Debris Mitigation; Hypervelocity Impacts; Spacecraft Repair Technologies; Orbital Sustainability; Transdisciplinary Space Art; Sonic Arts; Space Music; Musical Creativity in Microgravity
Leonardo Barilaro is a transdisciplinary polymath known as the 'Space Pianist,’ merging the worlds of advanced aerospace engineering and contemporary music in synergy.
Cultivating his scientific and musical foundation in his native Italy, he holds a PhD in Science, Technology, and Measurements for Space from the University of Padua, alongside a Master of Music in Piano from the Conservatory of Music "C. Pollini."
As a Visiting Associate Professor of Space Technology and Sonic Arts at NYU Abu Dhabi, Barilaro spearheads the NYUAD Space Art Lab, an innovative hub dedicated to merging cutting-edge scientific research with advanced artistic expression. His scholarly research focuses on sustainable technologies for space exploration, emphasizing space debris mitigation, hypervelocity impacts, and spacecraft repair methodologies.
Barilaro served as the Principal Investigator for the ASTROBEAT project, successfully testing an innovative cold-welding adhesion technique for spacecraft exostructures aboard the International Space Station. Furthermore, his work actively advances the rapid prototyping of satellite shields, exploring the use of 3D-printed composite materials to improve spacecraft survivability against space debris impacts. He has authored over 30 academic publications, with his research on cold-welding and satellite shielding featured in journals such as Acta Astronautica and the Journal of Space Safety Engineering.
His extensive professional trajectory includes a postdoctoral fellowship at the Centre of Studies and Activities for Space (CISAS) of the University of Padua (Italy), five years of engineering experience in multinational corporations, and academic roles as a researcher at the University of Malta and a tenure as Senior Lecturer in Aerospace Engineering at the Malta College of Arts, Science, and Technology (MCAST).
A defining signature of Barilaro’s career is the direct integration of his artistic endeavours with aerospace projects. He has had his original musical compositions broadcast from Space three times, with these extraterrestrial premieres directly tied to the scientific payloads he sent to the International Space Station. Further pushing the boundaries of live performance, he recorded his musical EP, ‘Zero Gravity, Note One,’ while playing in micro-gravity and hyper-gravity conditions during a parabolic flight.
As a dedicated sonic artist, Barilaro expanded his artistic scope beyond classical performance through modern composition studies and the exploration of synthesizers and electronic music under the mentorship of Jordan Rudess. Today, his extensive catalog includes four studio albums, six EPs, and numerous singles. He performs his Space music to audiences worldwide, spanning venues across Europe and the Middle East, and frequently takes his art to unconventional stages, having performed at locations like the ESRANGE Space Center in Sweden. His multidisciplinary vision has also cultivated rich collaborations with an array of world-class creators, including Grammy-nominated cellist Tina Guo, composer Steve Mazzaro, Yossi Sassi, Mariangela Demurtas, and quantum physicist and dancer Merritt Moore.
Beyond his artistic performances, he presents his work on the intersection of Space and Art at international conferences worldwide, alongside leading public outreach initiatives. Contributing to the avant-garde Space Art movement, he continues to design new frameworks for communicating orbital sustainability and human creativity in Space.
Summary of Research
The NYUAD Space Art Lab represents a pioneering research environment that organically integrates advanced space systems engineering with deep artistic inquiry. Operating as a hub for polymathic knowledge, the laboratory investigates the human condition within the cosmos, treating art as an active research instrument capable of translating complex scientific data into embodied sensory experiences. The lab's interdisciplinary methodology ensures that artistic exploration is approached with the same analytical depth as its engineering counterparts, enriching the output of both domains.
On the aerospace and technological frontier, the laboratory drives critical investigations into orbital sustainability, space debris mitigation, and spacecraft survivability. A primary focus is the development of in-situ spacecraft repair methodologies, including advancing cold-welding adhesion techniques for exostructures exposed to vacuum and radiation environments. The lab also explores novel space debris detection systems, utilizing CubeSat-based acoustic technologies and micro-electromechanical sensors to monitor sub-millimeter debris strikes on pressurized orbital structures. Furthermore, this research extends to lunar exploration, designing payloads to measure micrometeoroid and regolith impact degradation on optical surfaces. This engineering portfolio is actively contextualized within the broader paradigms of In-Space Manufacturing and Assembly (ISMA) and the utilization of upcoming commercial low Earth orbit platforms. In parallel, the lab's sonic and space art research explores how meaning, resilience, and culture are constructed within the extreme constraints of spaceflight. Central to this is the direct integration of art into active missions, employing artificial intelligence and data-driven performance to translate scientific telemetry into immersive cultural artifacts. The lab investigates the "algorithmic sky" by transforming space-derived datasets, such as solar wind and auroral activity, into live, generative audio-visual performances that couple acoustic instruments with hybrid electronic systems. The research also examines musical creativity in microgravity, utilizing parabolic flight experiments to analyze acoustic execution and sensorimotor adaptation under extreme physical conditions.
To enable interactive global concerts and data-driven performances, the facility will incorporate advanced networked acoustic pianos equipped with high-fidelity remote broadcasting capabilities, actively curating humanity's evolving cultural presence in the New Space Economy.