Christopher Cummins

College of Arts & Sciences

Tell us about what you're doing with your life
Continuing to help humankind have the chance to move beyond Earth: I helped found Nanoracks in 2009. The company  has been one of the biggest users of the International Space Station. Nanoracks even built an airlock (effectively a door for experiments) for the station. Its the only private, operational module on the station. Now, Nanoracks, along with Voyager Space (the majority owner of Nanoracks), and an international team, is working to design, develop, build and operate the next space station - Starlab - to provide a new orbital facility in the late 2020's.

How has your time at Cornell influenced you since you graduated?
Cornell gave me a broad background in science, technology and government policy. Cornell's requirement to be rigorous in all fields, while painful, was and is valuable. Classes at Cornell kept most students humble, but did teach us how to learn.
That skill is invaluable.

What does being a Cornell alumnus mean to you?
I found Cornell pushed us to be responsible, particularly as beneficiaries of the education and experiences we received.

What are you most looking forward to at Reunion 2024?
Thinking about beginning to push for Cornell Mars. Cornell is one of the few places that can bring together the thinkers and doers about what it would mean to inhabit Mars, how to do that, and what not to do.

Will be looking to hear from classmates, faculty and students about how to bring this idea to life.

And Mars is called the Big Red planet for a reason…