Derik Heiss, who will graduate from IIT’s master of chemistry in analytical chemistry program this December, will give a talk at this year’s Global Space Exploration Conference (GLEX) in Washington, DC on May 23. GLEX brings together global space exploration stakeholders to network, share ideas, and map out the future of human and robotic space exploration. Heiss’s presentation is titled “Microchannel Air Revitalization System (MCARS) for Closed-Loop Environmental Control and Life Support,” and describes a system that is bio-inspired by green plant photosynthesis, and that can generate oxygen from water and reduce carbon dioxide to a usable product through photo- and electro-chemical means. Heiss gave a similar presentation at IIT in March for his comprehensive exam in the analytical chemistry program, which he says has helped him greatly in preparing for his upcoming talk at GLEX.