KEYNOTE SPEAKER

J. CHristopher MORAN (CHRIS)

J. Christopher “Chris” Moran is Executive Director and General Manager of Lockheed Martin Ventures; the venture capital investment arm of Lockheed Martin Corporation. In this capacity, he is responsible for leading the Corporation’s investments in small technology companies which support Lockheed Martin’s strategic business objectives.

Prior to joining Lockheed Martin, Mr. Moran served in a variety of increasingly responsible positions at Applied Materials, Inc., Santa Clara, CA. He served most recently as the head of the Business Systems and Analytics group in the Applied Global Services Organization. Mr. Moran was with Applied for over 32 years. Prior to his most recent role, Mr. Moran was head of Corporate Strategy and General Manager of Applied Ventures LLC; the strategic investing arm of Applied Materials.

Mr. Moran is a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he obtained both his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Mechanical Engineering.

PANEL: SPACE INVESTING

Alan Pereira

Alan Pereira is a Venture Partner and General Counsel of Seldor Capital LP, a New York City-based venture capital firm investing exclusively in space startups that help to solve some of the Earth's most pressing challenges, such as sustainable development and climate change. Alan has 14+ years of experience in the private sector and multilateral organizations such as the World Bank and the United Nations Development Programme.

Adrian Mangiuca

Adrian serves as Commerce Director at Nanoracks, where he works primarily on advanced program development and focuses on commercial space platform architectures. His work contributes to Nanoracks’ mission to create multifunctional space stations to increase the overall available volume for product and business-case development in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and beyond. In 2018, Adrian served as Principal Investigator to the NASA LEO Commercialization Study, where he coordinated a team of 13 commercial companies in producing a comprehensive study of the future of the LEO Economy beyond the ISS. Prior to joining Nanoracks, Adrian served at the U.S. Department of State, variously working on program development and management in the Bureaus of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor; Narcotics and Law Enforcement; and Counterterrorism. Adrian completed his MsC in International Development Program Management at University College London, and his BA in Communications with a focus on the Political Economy of Social Networks at Franklin College, Switzerland. Adrian feels lucky to have made a career out of his lifelong passions for human space exploration and economics, but in his spare time he has always loved singing, composing, and listening to good music. Preferably while traveling. And eating excellent food.

Robbie Harris, Jr.

Robbie wants to push humanity’s reach into space, and he pursues that goal with a multi-disciplined approach. He has a blended background in business and engineering from across multiple segments of the aerospace industry, and he uses that perspective to think about problems and opportunities through multiple lenses.

Robbie has over 15 years of experience in the aerospace industry with large, medium, and small companies in roles spanning design, manufacturing, research, organizational development, and project management. In his most recent role, he was the Program Office Manager for RUAG Space USA’s Launcher Division.

Robbie excels at leading teams to achieve big goals through novel approaches, focused problem-solving, and systematic methodologies. He seeks to build a collaborative environment to tackle those big goals and promote a pride of ownership amongst his teams.

Robbie holds a Master of Aeronautics and Astronautics and an MBA from MIT through the well-renowned Leaders for Global Operations Program. He also holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Georgia Tech and a Bachelor of Business from the University of Mississippi.

Jeromy Grimmett

Jeromy is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Rogue Space Systems Corporation. He started his career in the US Army where he specialized in missile guidance systems for both ground and air defense platforms. Since then, he’s been attending Harvard University’s School of Extension Studies where he's pursuing Undergraduate and Master's degrees in Government and International Relations, respectively. After founding and running a successful technology services company, Jeromy founded Rogue Space Systems Corporation in 2020 and brought his expertise in AI, tech, and robotics to advance space systems, orbital vehicles, and space services.

Dean Bergman

Dean Bergman is the Director of Business Development at Honeybee Robotics in Pasadena, CA.

He was previously the Risk Manager and Education & Public Outreach lead for Resource Prospector (RP) at NASA Ames Research Center. RP was a rover designed to drill down to 1m searching for resources on the Moon. This would be instrumental in enabling human space flight into deep space.

Prior to that, he was awarded a post-doctoral fellowship through NASA, which at NASA Ames Research Center. His research centered around the development of an autonomous structural health monitoring system for the drill onboard Icebreaker - a search for life mission on Mars. He completed a PhD in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Southern California in May 2014. His area of focus was in the research of spacecraft structural mechanics & more specifically - advanced/novel deployable space structures.

Specialties: DTFM; Autonomous SHM; Nonlinear FEM modeling of composite SMP space structures

PANEL: PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS

Jennifer Trosper

Jennifer Harris Trosper is Project Manager (PM) for NASA’s Mars 2020 Perseverance rover.  In the thirty years since her initial hiring at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Ms. Trosper has held critical engineering leadership roles on every spacecraft ever to have roved the surface of Mars.

Ms. Trosper joined the Perseverance team in 2015 and held several leadership roles during the development and operations of the mission.  Initially, as the Mission System Development Manager and Surface Phase Lead, she worked with her team to envision and design the rover’s on-board autonomous capabilities and state of the art ground system necessary to meet the challenging science objectives of the surface mission.   Ms. Trosper then transitioned to the role of the Project System Engineer and Engineering Technical Authority.  In that role, she led the Project-wide systems engineering teams, verification and validation program, and technical risk assessment for the Launch, Cruise, Entry Descent & Landing (EDL) and Surface capabilities during the integration and test phase of the project’s development.  Shortly before launch, Trosper transitioned to Mars 2020 Deputy Project Manager, leading surface development and supporting the oversight of Cruise operations and EDL verification activities.   She is now the Project Manager and leads the Perseverance team and rover project to acquire a scientifically valuable and diverse sample cache for future return to Earth.

In her prior roles on JPL missions, Ms. Trosper was the Deputy Project Manager and Mission Manager for the Mars Science Lab (MSL) Curiosity rover.  She has provided leadership of systems engineering and operations for the Mars Exploration Rovers, SMAP, Mars 2001 Odyssey, and the Mars Pathfinder  missions.  She also worked at NASA HQ on robotic exploration mission definition.

Ms. Trosper originally joined JPL as a power subsystem engineer and then transitioned to the attitude control, and command data handling subsystem engineering areas.  This, coupled with her experience as a testbed engineer formed the basis for her transition into systems engineering.   Ms. Trosper’s end-to-end expertise in leading system engineering teams through design, verification and validation, and operations of complex systems has been the hallmark of her success at JPL.   She has also been a key leader in the infusion of autonomy and state of the art ground operations systems into the JPL Mars rover missions.  Jennifer was named a JPL Fellow in 2013.

Ms. Trosper holds a Bachelor’s in Aerospace Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Master of Science degree in the same from the University of Southern California.  Raised on a farm in Ohio, inspired by her father’s stories of rocket launches he saw as a member of the Army Corps of Engineers, Ms. Trosper, together with her husband, Air Force Lt. Col. (Ret) Randy Trosper, now raises three children in Southern California.

Jeffrey Hoffman

Dr. Jeffrey Hoffman is a professor in MIT’s Aeronautics and Astronautics Department. He received a BA in Astronomy (summa cum laude) from Amherst College (1966); a PhD in Astrophysics from Harvard University (1971); and an MSc in Materials Science from Rice University (1988). As a NASA astronaut (1978-1997) Dr. Hoffman made five space flights, becoming the first astronaut to log 1000 hours of flight time aboard the Space Shuttle. He was a member of the spacewalking team that repaired the optics of the Hubble Space Telescope. His primary research interests are in improving the technology of space suits and designing innovative space systems for human and robotic space exploration. He is Deputy PI on the Mars2020 rover MOXIE experiment, which for the first time will produce oxygen on Mars using local resources. Dr. Hoffman is director of the Massachusetts Space Grant Consortium. In 2007, Dr. Hoffman was elected to the US Astronaut Hall of Fame.

Grant Stokes

Dr. Grant H. Stokes is Head of the Space Systems and Technology Division of MIT Lincoln Laboratory. In this position, he is responsible for the Laboratory’s programs in space control and electro-optical systems and technology. In that capacity, Dr. Stokes supervised the demonstration and transition of the first space-based space-surveillance system to Air Force operations and has initiated programs to develop next-generation technology for establishing Space Situation Awareness (SSA). These programs include the Space Surveillance Telescope (SST), which will provide a 3.5-meter aperture prototype ground-based space surveillance search system, and a program to upgrade the Haystack Radar to W-band operations, yielding high resolution radar images of satellites.

Dr. Stokes has been a member of the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board (SAB). In that capacity, he was the Chairman of the 2006 SAB Summer Study on Space Survivability. In addition, he chaired the 2006 Science and Technology Review of the VS Directorate of Air Force Research Laboratory and the 2007 review of the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR). Dr. Stokes was honored with the Air Force Meritorious Civilian Service Award for his four years of service to the Air Force Science Advisory Board. Dr. Stokes was appointed an IEEE Fellow in 2010 for his leadership in the development and implementation of advanced space search systems. Dr. Stokes is the co-chair of the Defense Science Board Space Resilience Task Force.Dr. Stokes was elected as a member of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) in 2016 for innovations in systems for space situational awareness and the discovery of near-Earth asteroids. Dr. Stokes directs the development and operations of the Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research (LINEAR) Program, which, as part of the NASA/Space Command partnership, has become the world’s premiere asteroid search capability, finding ~50% of the near-Earth asteroids discovered since 1998. As Principal Investigator of the LINEAR Program, Dr. Stokes founded the Ceres Connection Program, which promotes science eduction by naming minor planets in honor of science student award winnersDr. Stokes holds a Ph.D. degree in physics from Princeton University and is a member of the International Astronomical Union.

 Lisa Watson-Morgan

Lisa Watson-Morgan stands in a critical role in the United States plan to return people to the Moon, the latest chapter in a career devoted to space flight and advancing scientific and national interests. In being picked to manage NASA’s planned lunar landing system, she is continuing the state’s tradition of leadership in the country’s space flight program.

With more than 30 years of contributions and accomplishments at NASA, Watson-Morgan has proven leadership experience and subject matter expert strengths in NASA systems engineering, project leadership, strategic planning, independent assessment, and management of people, policy, and processes. Her highlights with NASA include reputable and diverse experience in launch vehicles, space vehicle systems, science, operations, and payloads.

As the program manager for NASA’s Human Landing System at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, she oversees the integrated lunar landing systems, to include vehicles and systems that will transport astronauts to the Moon’s south pole. Working with U.S. industry, her agency-wide team will deliver a sustainable landing system to ferry crew to and from the lunar surface.

Watson-Morgan graduated from The University of Alabama in 1991 with a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering, and the University of Alabama in Huntsville with a master’s degree in industrial and systems engineering in 1994 and a doctorate in engineering management in 2008.

She began working at Marshall while a student at UA and has supported and led a variety of NASA programs and projects, including serving as manager of Marshall’s Chief Engineer’s office from 2011 to 2013 and director of the Spacecraft and Vehicle Systems Department from 2015 to 2018. She was appointed in 2013 to the Senior Executive Service, the personnel system covering top managerial positions in federal agencies.

Watson-Morgan previously was deputy director of Marshall’s Engineering Directorate from 2018 to 2019, helping oversee an organization of more than 2,300 civil service and contractor personnel supporting development, testing and delivery of flight hardware and software associated with space transportation and spacecraft systems, science instruments and payloads under development at Marshall.

Appointed to her current position in July 2019, Watson-Morgan is responsible for the cost, technical, and scheduling of sending the first woman and the first person of color to the south pole of the lunar surface on a rapid schedule. The landing system is a key element of NASA’s bold Artemis Program, which will leverage NASA’s Space Launch System and Orion crew spacecraft to return explorers to the Moon by 2024, and, via the lunar Gateway orbital platform, enable a long-term human presence there by 2026, reigniting America’s leadership in crewed exploration of the solar system and taking the next giant leap toward human exploration of Mars.

She is implementing a new operating model for NASA enabling commercial industry to design the systems with heavy NASA insight creating a truly integrated public private model where both parties benefit.

Her numerous NASA awards include the Exceptional Service Medal in 2001, the Exceptional Achievement Medal in 2010, and a Meritorious Presidential Rank Award in 2018.  In February 2022, Mrs. Watson-Morgan was also inducted into the Alabama Engineering Hall Of Fame.

Charlie McGillis

Charlie McGillis is Vice President Partnerships at Slingshot Aerospace Inc., a company that is bringing the space domain into the digital environment with its world-class space simulation and analytics solutions.  The company is driven by its vision of accelerating space sustainability to create a safer, more connected world.  Ms. McGillis focuses on expanding corporate development activities including strategic partnerships, merger & acquisition activities, fundraising, and investor relations.

Charlie McGillis has more than 30 years of defense and executive leadership experience. 

She served over twenty-six years in the United States Air Force as an Intelligence Officer, retiring in June 2014, at the rank of Colonel.  Following retirement, she served as a Commercial Integration Cell Consultant, representing seven Commercial Satellite Operators to facilitate better coordination and information sharing with the United States Government.

Her broad defense career spanned a wide variety of leadership and staff positions.  In her last assignment, she served as the Director of Intelligence at Fourteenth Air Force (Space) where she led all intelligence for Air Force space forces to support operations.  In other assignments, she served as Deputy Chief of Staff at USSTRATCOM, Deputy Political Advisor at USSOCOM, and Deputy Director of the Commander’s Action Group at NORAD-USNORTHCOM.  She commanded at the squadron level at Air Command and Staff College where she led a multiservice and multinational unit.

Ms. McGillis received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Industrial Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology.  She is also a graduate of three post graduate studies: Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict from the Naval Postgraduate School, Military Arts and Sciences from the United States Army School of Advanced Military Studies, and Master of Strategic Studies from the United States Air Force Air War College. 

Ms. McGillis is a defense operations and intelligence subject matter expert and speaks frequently at conferences about the value of situational intelligence and advancing space awareness.  She is a member of the IAA committee on Space Traffic Management.  She is also a champion for STEM initiatives for girls as a member of AstraFemina and teaches at two summer camps sponsored by American Association of University Women.  She was also selected into the first cohort to support the SpaceHero Insider Program, a global community to advance space for humankind. 

FIRESIDE CHAT: LUNAR STATION

Scott Amyx

Managing Partner at Astor Perkins, TEDx, Top Global Innovation Keynote Speaker, Forbes, Singularity University Smart City Accelerator, SXSW Pitch/Accelerator, IBM Futurist, Tribeca Disruptor Foundation Fellow, National Sloan Fellow, Wiley Author, TechCrunch, Winner of Innovation Awards.

Scott Amyx is the Chair & Managing Partner at Astor Perkins. Astor Perkins is a deep tech and sustainability VC that backs mavericks solving some of the hardest problems facing humanity on Earth and in space.

From climate change mitigation and adaptation, longevity, and human survival on Earth and in deep space, to the space economy itself, Astor Perkins is tackling some of the most difficult scientific, engineering, and technical problems that have global market potential.

Scott is also a Forbes New York Business Council Member, Singularity University/ Smart City Accelerator mentor and startup board member and SXSW Pitch (formerly SXSW Accelerator) judge. Scott is a Tribeca Disruptor Foundation Fellow, a disruptive innovation awards program of Tribeca Film Festival. Scott is a national Sloan Fellow/ Woodrow Wilson Fellow. He has spoken at TEDx on exponential technologies, Fourth Industrial Revolution & success. Scott is a global thought leader on breakthrough innovation, voted top global innovation keynote speaker, and author on smart cities, the Fourth Industrial Revolution and winner of the Cloud & DevOps World Award for Most Innovative and was voted Top Global Exponential Technologies Expert by Inc. Magazine, HP Enterprise, and Postscapes & Top 10 Global Innovation Keynote Speaker by Speaking.com. Scott has been nominated to the World Economic Forum as a committee member for the Future of the Internet. The Republic of Korea nominated Scott to present at the ITU Telecom World, United Nations. Sovereignties, governments, multinationals, and international consulting & research firms look to Scott for unrivaled insights and pulse on the changing landscape.

Scott has been featured on New York Times, TIME, Forbes, The Washington Post, WIRED, TechCrunch, Inc., Pew Research, Chicago Tribune, InformationWeek, Forrester, Gigaom, ReadWrite, Shots Magazine, Business News Daily, IBM Big Data & Analytics, Intel, Geektime, Examiner, TechBeacon, EE Times, IEEE, El País, Costco Magazine, and television and radio programs. He has spoken or scheduled to speak at TED, European Commission, World Economic Forum, ITU Telecom World (United Nations), International CES, SXSW, IBM Insight, IBM Amplify, IBM Watson IoT, IBM InterConnect, PTC LiveWorx, AMEX, SAP, CRM Evolution, THINK!, NED, Cloud Expo Europe, Cloud & DevOps World, KAIST, Samsung SDS, ArabNet Dubai & Riyadh, Internet Summit, JCK Las Vegas, Customer Service Experience, Razorfish Tech Summit, Location & Context World, Internet of Things World, K-Global Startup, and more. Scott is the co-author of Internet of Things and Data Analytics Handbook, an academic publication by John Wiley and Sons and The Advances in Information Security, Privacy, & Ethics (AISPE) Book Series: Managing Security Issues and the Hidden Dangers of Wearable Technologies, an academic publication by IGI Global.

Kevin O’Connell

Kevin M. O’Connell is a recognized expert on space commerce, the global space economy, international intelligence and U.S. national security matters. For almost four decades, he has focused on space commercialization and technological competitiveness and how to advance them in global markets. He has also focused on how these innovations impact U.S. and allied national security.

His U.S. government assignments include the Department of Commerce (SES), The Department of Defense, The Department of State, The National Security Council, The Office of the Vice President, and The Office of the Director of Central Intelligence. Within the private sector, Mr. O’Connell was a senior research analyst at RAND and was the first Director of RAND’s Intelligence Policy Center. In 2007, he founded Innovative Analytics and Training, LLC, a consulting firm specializing in assessing high-tech market areas including geospatial markets, cloud computing, and cyber analytics.

Mr. O’Connell’s most recent role was Director of the Office of Space Commerce (OSC) within the U.S. Department of Commerce. He was the principal architect of outreach to U.S. private space companies to facilitate innovation and encourage increased market growth and viability. He focused on the growing role of the private sector in space, encouraged new space partnerships, worked to ensure the competitiveness of the U.S. commercial space industry, and advanced American leadership in space safety and sustainability. Mr. O’Connell testified before Congress on space policy and regulatory issues, American space competitiveness, and the growth of space commerce. He was awarded the Vice President’s Dedicated Service Award for his support to the National Space Council.

Mr. O’Connell also expanded international outreach on space commerce issues with a wide range of U.S. allies and partners, especially to compare notes on regulation, encourage new partnerships and advance space safety and sustainability. His overseas space engagements included participation in the U.S.-Japan Comprehensive Space Dialogue, as part of a Space Delegation to Luxembourg, and including high-level discussions with the EU, India, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, and Commonwealth partners.

Mr. O’Connell is a recognized expert on the policy, security, and commercial aspects of satellite remote sensing technologies and markets. He served as the Executive Secretary of the Independent Commission on the National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA) in 2000 and later as an advisor to the Director, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. He was a long-standing member of NOAA’s federal advisory committee, ACCRES, including as Chair between 2012 and 2016.

Mr. O’Connell has been a regular author on space commerce issues. He contributed the foreword to "Space Policies for the New Space Age: Competing on the Final Economic Frontier,” by Bruce Cahan and Mir Sadat (NewSpace New Mexico, December 2020). He co-authored Commercial Observation Satellites: at the Leading Edge of Global Transparency (ASPRS/RAND, 2000). He has an active TS/SCI security clearance with additional special accesses. He taught graduate courses in Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and the RAND Graduate School for many years and has lectured at academic and research organizations around the world.

Blair DeWitt

Blair’s career is anchored on building great teams that tackle emerging market challenges by creatively developing advanced technologies for the betterment of the communities he serves.

Never settling for yesterday’s answers for tomorrow’s problems, Blair is driven to push the capabilities of technology and remove barriers for others so they can be successful in their endeavors. For 30+ years Blair has been focused on helping others achieve audacious goals and objectives. As the consummate futurist he has anticipated the needs of the market and has used his talent in many different organizations over the years while pushing himself with audacious goals personally. Blair’s primary core tenant is “Leadership by Example” and his career is the exemplification of this style of management.

Blair has worked at NASA, IBM, TIBCO, EMC, Psion, and many other organizations holding various roles and responsibilities throughout his industrious career. Volunteerism is the second core tenant of his personality and has given his energies to helping others in many different groups and organizations over the years.

Blair completed his under-graduate degree from St. Thomas Aquinas College and recently earned an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management.

PANEL: INTERNATIONAL SPACE

Ewan Reid

Prior to founding Mission Control, Ewan worked at a major Canadian space company as a systems designer and project manager. He has been a subsystem design lead on three rover prototypes for the Canadian Space Agency. Ewan was a systems and electrical designer, and operations engineer on the Space Shuttle Program and was a mission controller for 10 of the last 12 Space Shuttle missions at NASA JSC. He also conducted numerous testing and verification activities at NASA KSC. Ewan has degrees in Electrical Engineering and Economics from Queen’s University and a Master’s degree in Technology Innovation Management at Carleton University. In his spare time, he likes to read, write, and escape to the cabin.

Danny Bavli

Dr. Bavli has over 10 years of experience in the fields of microfluidic, organ on chip and single cell genomics and help sending 6 organ on chip experiments to the international space station during 2021-2022. He is an expert in droplet-based antibody (scFv) detection for immunotherapy, droplet-based single cell RNA sequencing, ‘organ-on chip’ models for pharmaceutical compounds safety evaluation, and microfluidic-based nanoparticle synthesis for drug delivery systems. He has 3 registered patents under his name and 12 publications. Dr. Bavli holds an M.Sc. in biotechnology, a Ph.D. in Bioengineering, a postdocoral in single cell genomics and an MBA in Bio Medical Industry from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. In addition to his role in Spacepharma, Dr. Bavli is also a postdoctoral fellow at the Harvard university.

Brent Abbott

Brent is the CEO of the newly formed NanoAvionics US and has stood up the US office and factory. He has securing new business in the US with NASA, MIT, Latin America and commercial concerns. Before joining NanoAvionics, Brent was the CEO and head of North American operations for AAC/Clyde Space. Prior to that, he held several senior roles at Surrey Satellite Technologies US (SST-US), where he was instrumental in landing the joint US-Taiwanese COSMIC-2/Formosat-7 constellation and payload supplier for the NASA CYGNSS constellation. He also started the hosted payload program at SST-US with the first all commercial hosted payload satellite OTB-1 (Orbital Test Bed) which is hosting, amongst other payloads, JPL’s Deep Space Atomic Clock and lead to >$80 Million revenue of follow-on business with OTB-2 and 3. Prior to joining Surrey in 2008, Brent served as business development manager at Honeywell Defense & Space for 8 years and also invented their Miniature Momentum Control System using Control Moment Gyros.  His background also includes work as an engineer at Honeywell Commercial Aviation.  Abbott is a registered professional engineer and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from Iowa State University.

Toyotaka Kozuki

Toyotaka Kozuki is currently the CTO at GITAI (since 2016), where he is leading the engineering team through extensive robotic hardware development. Born in 1987, he earned a PhD at the University of Tokyo in 2016, and is a former mechanical engineer at WHILL(personal EV manufacturer). Notable accomplishments are:

• Principal investigator for GITAI S1 Robotic Arm Tech Demo 2021.

• Main Author for IROS2016 Best Application Paper Award.

FIRESIDE CHAT: GEO-SAT MONITORING

Bill Blackwell

Dr. William J. Blackwell is the Associate Leader of the Applied Space Systems Group at MIT Lincoln Laboratory, where he leads a number of projects involving atmospheric remote sensing, including the development and calibration of airborne and space-borne microwave sensors, the retrieval of geophysical products from remote radiance measurements, and the application of electromagnetic, signal processing, and estimation theory.

Dr. Blackwell has served as associate editor of the IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing and the IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society (GRSS) Magazine, cochair of the IEEE GRSS Remote Sensing Instruments and Technologies for Small Satellites working group, the NASA Aqua science team, and the National Academy of Sciences Committee on Radio Frequencies. He is currently the principal investigator on the NASA TROPICS Earth Venture mission and the MicroMAS (Micro-sized Microwave Atmospheric Satellite) missions. He was previously the Integrated Program Office sensor scientist for the Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder on the Suomi National Polar Partnership launched by NOAA in 2011 and the Atmospheric Algorithm Development team leader for the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) Microwave Imager/Sounder.

Dr. Blackwell received the MIT Lincoln Laboratory Technical Excellence Award in 2019 for his "innovative contributions to the science and practice of environmental monitoring." He was selected as a 2012 recipient of the IEEE Region 1 Managerial Excellence in an Engineering Organization Award "for outstanding leadership of the multidisciplinary technical team developing innovative future microwave remote sensing systems." In 2009, he was presented with the  NOAA David Johnson Award for his work in neural network geophysical parameter retrievals and microwave calibration and is coauthor of "Neural Networks in Atmospheric Remote Sensing" (Artech House, 2009) and "Microwave Radar and Radiometric Remote Sensing" (Artech House, 2015). Dr. Blackwell has also been an author of more than 180 publications related to atmospheric remote sensing. He is a Fellow of the IEEE and an Associate Fellow of the AIAA.

Dr. Blackwell received the BEE degree in electrical engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and the SM and ScD degrees in electrical engineering and computer science from MIT, where he was a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow.

CARLES FRANQUESCA

Chemist, Chemical Engineer and Engineer in Industrial Organization, MBA from ESADE and PDG from IESE. Technological entrepreneur in the fields of space, food, and software. Co-founder of Aistech Space, a new space technology company, and partner and founding member of Improva Consulting, a strategic consultancy for operational excellence. Carles has more than 20 years of management experience in industrial companies in the chemical and automotive sectors and in strategic consulting, leading improvement projects, coordinating teams, and achieving results. In addition to his professional activities, Carles is also a member of the Esade Entrepreneurship Institute and the Department of General Management at ESADE, where he advises entrepreneurship programs.

PANEL: COMMUNICATION NETWORKS

Charles Miller

Charles Miller is co-founder and CEO of Lynk, and a serial space entrepreneur with more than 30 years’ experience in the commercial space industry.  Miller has been a leader in 3 decades of breakthroughs in the commercial space industry:

• In 1996, Miller founded ProSpace, which managed a multi-year national campaign to pass the Commercial Space Act of 1998 into law. This law required that NASA buy “commercial” space station cargo delivery services.  Because of this law, a decade later, NASA signed a $1.6B ISS cargo delivery contract with SpaceX, which saved SpaceX from bankruptcy.

• In 2004, Miller coined the term “New Space”, creating a new industry category to distinguish the emerging commercial space revolution as a focus area for investors. Since that time, the “NewSpace” brand has gone viral and has captured the attention of the investment community, resulting in billions of dollars of investment capital invested in space. Today the “NewSpace” industry has become one of the most exciting tech industries in the world.

• From 2006-2008, Miller served as co-founding CEO of NanoRacks, which commercialized the International Space Station and has delivered more than 700 payloads to space.  

• From 2009-2012, Miller served as NASA Senior Advisor for Commercial Space. At NASA, he managed teams focused on commercial reusable launch vehicles, on-orbit satellite servicing, orbital debris removal, microgravity research, lunar development, space communications, and space solar power.

• From 2012-2016, Miller supported multiple DARPA programs working commercial approaches to reusable launch vehicles, satellite servicing and repair, and on-orbit satellite assembly.

• In 2015 Miller served as the Principal Investigator (PI) for a NASA-funded study to assess commercial public-private-partnerships to return humans to the Moon. In 2017, NASA’s leadership adopted the recommendation to return to the Moon with commercially-owned and -operated lunar landers.  In 2021, NASA signed a $2.9 Billion contract with SpaceX for a lunar lander.

• In 2016-17 Miller served as the PI for the USAF “Fast Space” study that proposed commercial partnerships to achieve “Ultra Low Cost Access To Space” and to accelerate development of big LEO constellations.  In 2018, the DOD adopted the study recommendation to stand up a brand new DOD organization focused on speed — resulting in the creation of the Space Development Agency.

• In 2017, Miller co-founded Lynk.

Hermant Chaurasia

Dr. Hemant Chaurasia is Vice President of Product Management at Astra, leading development of Astra’s Constellation and associated Space Services. Since joining Astra in 2019, Hemant has held a range of leadership positions including leading Strategy, Program Management, and Product Management for Astra’s innovative orbital launch system. Through this work, Hemant helped make Astra the fastest privately-funded company in history to demonstrate orbital launch capability, and publicly listed in 2021 (NASDAQ:ASTR). Prior to joining Astra, Hemant was an Engagement Manager in the Aerospace & Defense Practice at McKinsey & Company, where he led a series of projects advising Fortune 100 C-suite executives on growth strategy and product development. Hemant completed his Masters and Ph.D. at MIT in Aerospace Engineering (2014), and Bachelors degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Physics at Monash University, Australia.

Mina Mitry

Mina Mitry is Co-Founder and CEO of Kepler Communications, a company seeking to lay the foundation for the “Internet outside Earth”. Kepler is presently building its business by offering connectivity on Earth, using satellites it manufactures and operates in-house. In the future, Kepler will begin to relay traffic for customers in space, connecting satellites to each other or to the ground in real-time. Under Mina’s leadership, Kepler has grown to the largest Canadian satellite operator and was named one of the most innovative space companies in the world by Fast Company. Prior to Kepler, Mina commercialized his research work on numerical methods and machine learning at a major aircraft engine manufacturer.

Tim Deaver

Tim Deaver serves as the VP of Strategic Solutions and U.S. Government Business Development and Sales in the Mynaric Washington D.C. area office and is responsible for creating and marketing customer solutions for Mynaric’s industry leading Laser Communication Terminals. Tim leads a team focused on Customer Success, from requirements capture, to solutions development, and customer delivery. He works closely with the Mynaric Sales and Engineering teams across critical Government and Commercial markets. 

Prior to joining Mynaric, Tim worked for Airbus U.S. Space and Defense for 3 years leading their US Government focused small satellite capture and engineering efforts. 

Mr. Deaver also worked for SES and SES Government Solutions for over 10 years where he led the business and product development activities.  Mr. Deaver led the SES GS team which won the USAF Space and Missile System Center (SMC) Pathfinder 1 contract for the purchase of near-end of life transponders, SMC’s Pathfinder 3 contract for pre-launched capacity on an SES satellite, the NASA Global-scale Observation of Limb and Disk (GOLD) hosted payload launched on SES-14 (built by Airbus Defense and Space) in 2018 and the FAA’s Wide-Area Augmentation System (WAAS) payload launched on SES-15 in 2017. Mr. Deaver also served as the program manager and eventually the Program Executive for the Commercially Hosted Infra-Red Payload (CHIRP) program which was launched in September 2011 aboard the SES-2 spacecraft.

Prior to joining SES, Mr. Deaver served 22 years in the U.S. Air Force in various space operational, acquisition and policy positions.  Tim holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Nebraska, a Master’s Degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Colorado and a Master’s Degree from Air University.  

PANEL: SPACE INFRASTRUCTURE

Gareth Keane

Gareth Keane is a Partner with Promus Ventures, based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Promus Ventures invests in early-stage deep-technology software and hardware companies that are run by visionary and tenacious founding teams. Promus funds companies shaping the future in areas like robotics, AI/ML, space, and synthetic biology.

Gareth’s career to date has stretched from engineering roles to venture capital investment.  Prior to joining Promus Ventures he worked at Qualcomm Ventures, the venture capital investment arm of Qualcomm Inc, a leading US technology corporation. 

Before Qualcomm Ventures, Gareth worked for two years in the corporate development teams at National Semiconductor and Texas Instruments, focused on strategic investment, corporate M&A and corporate strategy. Previously he worked for PMC-Sierra and a number of other technology firms in engineering and engineering management roles across the hardware and software domains, in both Europe and North America.

Gareth has an MBA from The Wharton School of The University of Pennsylvania, with a major in Finance and Entrepreneurial Management. He holds a PhD in Electronic Engineering from The Queen’s University of Belfast (UK) and a BE in Electronic Engineering from the National University of Ireland, Galway. Gareth is also a Kauffman Fellow, where he was a member of Class 15 under the mentorship of Bart Schachter, VP of Corporate Development at National Semiconductor.

Mark Shumbera

Mark Shumbera is the Vice President Space Services for Alpha Space. In this role, he is responsible for expanding the market for Space Testing as a Service (STaaS)TM by focusing on the needs and expectations of Alpha Space’s current and future customers. Mark has decades of diverse management and leadership experience. Before joining Alpha Space as its Director of Business Development in 2019, he was the president of AM Biotechnologies for about 13 years until the sale of the company. Before that, he managed numerous space-related programs and contracts with MEI Technologies, Inc

WILLIAM Notardonato

Dr. William Notardonato is co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Eta Space LLC, a new space company that specializes in cryogenic propellant technologies for the emerging space sector and solutions for energy efficient storage of liquid hydrogen for terrestrial applications. Eta Space is developing highly efficient modular hydrogen liquefaction and storage systems for Lunar and terrestrial use, LH2 servicing solutions for long duration UAV’s and other transportation systems, and zero-gravity cryogenic fluid management technologies for orbital propellant depots.

Prior to joining the private sector, Dr. Notardonato was a Senior Principal Investigator at the Cryogenic Test Laboratory NASA Kennedy Space Center. He became an internationally renowned expert in cryogenic refrigeration, LH2 storage and transfer, and in-space cryogenic solutions. Dr. Notardonato has led or participated in a number of cryocooler and refrigerator developments and created the concept of Integrated Refrigeration and Storage (IRAS) to provide direct cryogenic refrigeration into the liquid storage region of a cryogen. IRAS provides the capability for zero loss storage and transfer or liquid hydrogen as well as in-situ liquefaction and propellant densification. Dr. Notardonato served as Principal Investigator and Project Manager on the GODU LH2 project that demonstrated 18 months of zero boil-off, no-vent transfers and tanker offloads, and densification to slush conditions a 33,000-gallon batch of LH2. The project was so successful in demonstrating zero boil off of LH2 that NASA has incorporated the technology into the new 1.4-million-gallon LH2 sphere being constructed at LC-39B for the Artemis Program. Prior to joining the CTL, William was a Space Shuttle Operations Engineer, servicing the Fuel Cells System with supercritical hydrogen and oxygen. Dr. Notardonato earned his Ph.D. in Engineering from the University of Florida, and he has published over 50 papers in the field of cryogenics and space exploration and holds 4 patents for related work.

Justin Pourkaveh

Justin started his space career at Arizona State University, as a student worker on the Thermal Emission Spectrometer for NASA’s Osiris REx asteroid sample return mission.  After school he spent 6 years at SpaceX in various roles, owning the Cargo Dragon Thermal Control System and performing thermal analysis for Crew Dragon.  In addition, he was a primary operator in mission control, flying five Cargo Dragon missions to the ISS.  After SpaceX he spent time at Blue Origin doing fluids hardware design and thermal analysis for the New Glenn program.  He is now at Varda Space Industries, working to build a robust economy in space by manufacturing capital goods in microgravity for use on Earth.

Forrest Meyen

Dr. Forrest Meyen is an American engineer and scientist. He is a senior member of the technical staff and Sembler startup office program manager at Draper. He is also a member of the NASA Mars Oxygen ISRU Experiment Science Team and focuses on solid oxide electrolysis characterization, modeling, and control. At Draper he develops spacecraft avionics systems, analysis software, and wearable technologies for astronauts.

In 2017, he earned his doctoral degree at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Aeronautics and Astronautics with a minor in Management. The topic of his PhD thesis is system modeling and development of the Mars Oxygen ISRU Experiment (MOXIE). Forrest also earned his master’s degree from MIT and bachelor's degrees in mechanical engineering and in biological engineering from the University of Missouri.

PANEL: PROPULSION

Eduardo RONDON

He is a T-shaped structural analyst at Ursa Major, specializing in fatigue and fracture analyses, while also excelling in nonlinear structural, modal, and thermal analyses. He loves being presented with problems and developing creative solutions to resolve them. Collaborating with his team both to improve designs as well as to mentor / increase the team's level of knowledge is the facet of the job I find most rewarding. He has extensive experience working in extremely fast-paced environments and have stood out for my agility to meet ever-changing project requirements.

His specialties include: High Cycle (HCF) and Low Cycle Fatigue (LCF), Fracture (safe-life / crack-growth) analysis, Strength assessment, Nonlinear structural problems (e.g. plasticity / strain hardening), Modal and Random Vibration analyses, Static and transient thermal analyses, Assessment of 3D printed (DMLS) metal structures, Optimization (topology, DOE, RSM), Recommending instrumentation, Analyzing data from test and operation

Raichelle Aniceto

Raichelle is a senior Terran product engineer at Relativity Space, where she has been for the last 9 months. Previously employed by Amazon Kuiper and Facebook, she has used her extensive space systems background to help us stay better connected. She holds a bachelors, masters, and PhD from MIT where her research was focused on Coherent Optical Modem for Low Earth Orbit Optical Inter-Satellite Links.

Charlie Garcia

Charlie is the Special Program Chief Engineer and Production Manager at AGILE Space Industries, where is responsible for the technical development of a state of the art rocket propulsion system and for the production planning of flight hardware for all Agile Space Industries programs. He holds a degree in Aerospace Engineering from MIT.

LOUIS PERNA

Louis Perna is the Chief Scientist and Co-Founder at Accion Systems. With his expertise in electric propulsion and his experience in space systems design, he guides the conception of new technologies and the development of current products toward higher performance, increased reliability, and reduced cost. In addition, Louis manages Accion’s patent portfolio, supports new business acquisition, leads thruster characterization equipment design and implementation, develops advanced manufacturing processes, provides space environment and mission analyses, and supports manufacturing outsourcing.

Louis has over a decade of direct experience with Accion’s ion electrospray propulsion systems and their underlying technologies. This experience and Accion’s origins are rooted in his undergraduate and graduate work on fundamental electrospray operation and on the development, manufacture, and experimental characterization of prototype micro-electrospray thruster devices. The microsystems design, microfabrication process development, and passive propellant distribution testing Louis completed for his master’s thesis in the MIT Space Propulsion Laboratory were the foundation of Accion’s initial thruster products.

Prior to his time at Accion, Louis worked both academically and professionally with NASA to investigate ion engine operating modes at Glenn Research Center; to design, test, and assemble interplanetary exploration rovers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory; and to manage technical and programmatic risks for manned spaceflight systems for Johnson Space Center. 

Louis holds an S.M. in Aeronautics and Astronautics and an S.B. in Aerospace Engineering from MIT, and he was named one of Forbes’ 30 Under 30 and Inc. Magazine’s 30 Under 30. Louis has been cleared to the Top Secret SCI level for work with the U.S. Government.

PANEL: HUMAN PRESENCE IN SPACE

Michelle Hanlon

Michelle L.D. Hanlon is Co-Director of the Air and Space Law Program at the University of Mississippi School of Law and its Center for Air and Space Law.  She is the Editor-in-Chief of both the Journal of Space Law, the world’s oldest law journal dedicated to the legal problems arising out of human activities in outer space and the Journal of Drone Law and Policy.  Michelle is a Co-Founder and President of For All Moonkind, Inc., a nonprofit corporation that is the only organization in the world focused on protecting human cultural heritage in outer space.  In this capacity, she was instrumental in the development of the recently enacted One Small Step Act in the United States.  For All Moonkind has been recognized by the United Nations as a Permanent Observer to the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space.  Michelle is also the President of the National Space Society and the mentor to the newly-formed National Space Society Legal Fellows program.  She was recently appointed to The Hague Institute for Global Justice Off-World Approach project. 

Michelle received her B.A. in Political Science from Yale College and her J.D. magna cum laude from the Georgetown University Law Center.  She earned her LLM in Air and Space Law from McGill University.  Prior to focusing on aviation and space law, Michelle was engaged in a private business law practice.  Michelle continues to provide advice and counsel in respect of all aspects of air, space and cyber law through the consulting firm of ABH Aerospace, LLC. 

Erika Wagner

Dr. Erika Wagner serves as Senior Director of Emerging Market Development for Blue Origin, a developer of vehicles and technologies to enable human space transportation.

Prior to joining Blue Origin, Dr. Wagner worked with the X PRIZE Foundation as Senior Director of Exploration Prize Development and founding Executive Director of the X PRIZE Lab@MIT. Previously, she served at MIT as Science Director and Executive Director of the Mars Gravity Biosatellite Program, a multi-university spacecraft development initiative to investigate the physiological effects of reduced gravity. Erika has previously served as a member of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation’s Suborbital Applications Researchers Group, the Board of the American Society for Gravitational and Space Research, and NASA’s Planetary Protection Independent Review Board. Today, she serves as a Trustee of the Museum of Flight as well as a member of the National Academies’ Space Studies Board.

Dr. Wagner’s interdisciplinary academic background includes a bachelor’s in Biomedical Engineering from Vanderbilt University, a master’s in Aeronautics & Astronautics from MIT, and a PhD in Bioastronautics from the Harvard/MIT division of Health Sciences and Technology. Her research spanned both human and mammalian adaptation to microgravity, partial gravity, and centrifugation, as well as organizational innovation and prize theory. She is also an alumna of the International Space University and an Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

Kevin Duda

Dr. Kevin Duda is a Space Systems Program Manager at Draper Laboratory.  Kevin has been at Draper for over 15 years, and his previous role was Technical Lead for Lunar Landing programs at the Lab.  Kevin got his B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and S.M. and Ph.D. in Aeronautics and Astronautics from MIT.

Katie NEUMAN

Ms. Neuman earned a B.S. in Mechanical engineering in 2005 and has worked in the design, development, and flight operations of spaceflight hardware for much of her career. She worked in the Flight Operations Directorate (FOD) at the NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) as an Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) astronaut and flight controller instructor where she successfully completed a complex multi-year certification flow to instruct astronauts and flight controllers on complex EMU, ISS, and Space Shuttle systems and tasks. Additionally, Ms. Neuman was the Engines and Motors Product Delivery Team (PDT) Lead for the Atlas V and Delta IV rockets for the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) at the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Facility. At Paragon, Ms. Neuman led the Integrated Product Team (IPT) for the Dynetics Human Landing System (HLS) Air Ventilation System (AVS) and is currently Chief Engineer on a Portable Life Support System (PLSS) and Spacesuit program.