Hal Levison
NASA Lucy Mission Principal Investigator
Speaker Bio
Dr. Hal Levison -- Hal is this the Principal Investigator of the Lucy Mission. He did his undergraduate studies in physics at Franklin & Marshall College and received his Ph.D. in Astronomy from the University of Michigan. He is currently a planetary scientist at Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, CO. His research focuses on the formation and dynamical evolution of the Solar System, including being a co-author of the leading model for explaining the origin of the Trojan Asteroids. He enjoys sharing his love of science with the public and is often interviewed as an expert in his field for television for BBC, NOVA, and other television programming and is routinely interviewed by print media. When he has time, he enjoys working on his vintage 1950s cars.
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46
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46
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46
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to your destination
Orlando Figueroa
Retired NASA Senior Executive
Speaker Bio
Mr. Figueroa has 33 years of experience in the management, planning, and development of scientific space programs, missions, and related technologies. Versed in interacting with national and international government and non-government organizations. Founder of Orlando Leadership Enterprise, LLC; focused on the development of enterprise-level strategies, planning, and organization for performance, assessment of capabilities, quality management and policy development, leadership and team development, and independent review of programs and projects.
Mr. Figueroa's career demonstrates a record of consistent achievements in the planning, design, development, and oversight of multi-faceted scientific space missions. He is well versed in national and international government and non-government organizations' relationships. Considered a highly competent strategist and director of scientific space systems and technology, management of large (>1300 employees) multidisciplinary engineering organizations; and management of complex multi-project programs with multibillion-dollar portfolios. Present clients include NOAA, NASA, other Federal Government Agencies, and private for-profit and not-for-profit organizations. Experience in federal service at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), and Headquarters (HQ) include GSFC Deputy Center Director for Science and Technology, GSFC Director for the Applied Engineering and Technology Directorate, HQ Deputy Associate Administrator for Programs in the NASA Science Mission Directorate; HQ Director for the Solar System Exploration Division; HQ Director for Mars Exploration; and HQ NASA Deputy Chief Engineer for Systems Engineering, GSFC Director of Systems, Technology and Advanced Concepts, and NASA Explorers Program Manager.
Mr. Figueroa has received numerous achievement and performance awards. Among the most notable are: the National Space Society Pioneer Award, the Smithsonian Latino Center Legacy Award, the Service to America Federal Employee of the Year Medal, NASA Presidential Rank Awards for sustained extraordinary accomplishment in management of programs of the United States Government; Hispanic Business Magazine most influential Hispanics in the Nation, Pioneer Award from the Hispanic Engineer National Achievement Awards Corporation; NASA Outstanding Leadership Medals, and 1994 Community Stars Award from the Maryland Science Week Commission.
Mr. Figueroa received an honorary doctorate degree in science from Dominican College in New York in 2004. He is the author of several technical publications in the field of cryogenics, the SMEX missions, and the Mars Exploration Program. He obtained a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez Campus in 1978, and completed advanced studies in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Maryland. Mr. Figueroa is fully bilingual in English and Spanish. (edited)
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Dr. Michael Meyer
Lead Scientist for the Mars Exploration Program
Speaker Bio
Michael Meyer is a Senior Scientist at NASA Headquarters in the Science Mission Directorate. He is the Lead Scientist for NASA’s Mars Exploration Program, responsible for the science content of current and future Mars missions, and Program Scientist for the Mars Science Laboratory/Curiosity mission. Dr. Meyer has also served as the science liaison for the Review of Human Spaceflight Plans Committee (Seeking a Human Spaceflight Program Worthy of a Great Nation). In 2009, Dr. Meyer was awarded the Exceptional Service Medal and the Presidential Rank Award for Meritorious Professional Service.
Dr. Meyer was the Senior Scientist for Astrobiology from 2001 to 2006. The Program, which is dedicated to the study of life in the universe, started in 1997 with Dr. Meyer as the Discipline Scientist. Since 1993, Dr. Meyer managed NASA’s Exobiology Program and from 1994 to 1997, was also the Planetary Protection Officer for NASA, responsible for mission compliance to NASA's policy concerning forward and back contamination during planetary exploration. Dr. Meyer was the Program Scientist for the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission, which was launched in 2001 and is still orbiting Mars, and for the Mars Microprobe mission (DS-2) and for two Phase I Shuttle/Mir experiments. He was detailed from the Desert Research Institute, University of Nevada, where he was an assistant research professor from 1989-97. From 1985 to 1989, he served as associate director and associate in research for the Polar Desert Research Center, Department of Biological Science, Florida State University. In 1982, he was a visiting research scientist at the Culture Centre for Algae and Protozoa in Cambridge, England.
Dr. Meyer's primary research interest is in microorganisms living in extreme environments, particularly the physical factors controlling microbial growth and survival. He has conducted field research in the Gobi Desert, Negev Desert, Siberia, and the Canadian Arctic. He is also a veteran of six research expeditions to Antarctica, to study microbial ecosystems in the McMurdo Dry Valleys (1985/87), investigate krill-phytoplankton relations (1978/81), and research primary productivity in the Weddell Sea (1977). His experience also includes two summers working as a treasure salvager off the coasts of Florida and North Carolina.
Dr. Meyer earned his Ph.D. and M.S. in oceanography from Texas A&M University (1985 and 1981) and his B.S. in biology from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (1974).
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Pre-Session Speaker Bio
Sarah Stewart is a NASA Pathways engineering intern at the Johnson Space Center (JSC), a 3rd-year mechanical engineering student at Iowa State University, and an L'SPACE MCA alum. In her first rotation at JSC, Sarah worked in mission control with the flight controllers responsible for the electrical and external thermal systems on the International Space Station (ISS) and the mechanical and power systems for the Orion spacecraft. In this role, Sarah completed the initial portions of flight controller training, observed and assisted with astronaut training, became certified to teach a flight controller lesson, sat in Artemis I mission control during a portion of the mission, and received her certification to send commands to the ISS. Previously, Sarah worked as a research intern at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory in Washington DC during the same period she was participating in the L'SPACE Mission Concept Academy. She has also interned at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, where she designed new parts for a balloon-borne astrophysics telescope. At Iowa State, she designed and tested lunar astronaut tools for two years through the NASA Micro-g NExT Challenge. Sarah loved her time in L'SPACE and is grateful for the learning opportunities the program provided!
Sarah Stewart
NASA Pathway Intern, Johnson Space Center
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Dr. Jonathon Hill
Lead Scientist for the Mars Exploration Program
Main Session Speaker Bio
Dr. Jonathon Hill is a mission planner at Arizona State University’s Mars Space Flight Facility, where he has operated the THEMIS camera onboard NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft since 2006. He previously operated the Mini-TES instruments on the Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and Opportunity for over five years, and is leading the mission operations planning for the E-THEMIS instrument on NASA’s Europa Clipper mission to Jupiter's icy moon Europa. He has also worked on NASA’s OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample return mission, NASA’s Lucy mission to the Trojan asteroids, and the UAE’s Hope mission to Mars. He is also the lead of the “Walk on Mars” program, which uses a basketball court-sized map of Mars to teach students and the general public about the Red Planet. The “Walk on Mars” map has been used at schools and STEM events across the southwest and was even displayed on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. as part of the American Geophysical Union’s 100th Year Celebrations. Dr. Hill graduated from Arizona State University with undergraduate degrees in Aerospace Engineering and Russian, master’s degrees in Aerospace Engineering and Geological Sciences, and a Ph.D. in Geological Sciences, which focused on studying salt deposits in the southern highlands of Mars using infrared remote sensing.
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Michael Fogg
L'SPACE Mentor
Pre-Session Speaker Bio
Mike is a mentor for the Mission Concept Academy, a former Lucy intern at KinetX Aerospace in Simi Valley, California, and an alum of both MCA (Spring 2022) and NPWEE (Fall 2022). During his internship, he worked with the Optical Navigation team at KinetX. In this role, he learned how they help perform navigation for NASA craft in deep space. As part of his duties, he designed and created a searchable database of navigation images to aid the team in their work.
Born in Ohio, Mike attended the Ohio State University as a National Merit Scholar in the 1990s, but didn’t finish his degree. Since then, he’s attended the University of Maryland – Baltimore County, Blue Ridge Technical and Community College (earning an Associate’s Degree), and the American Public University, where he is currently a senior. He will be graduating this summer with a degree in Space Studies, 29 years after first starting his university path.
Mike has worked in a variety of industries, notably at the United States Patent and Trademark Office, where he served as a Computer Systems Analyst (Troubleshooter) for more than 16 years, and as the Project Lead for ten of those years. He has experience in other fields as well, including technical writing and editing, customer service, and management. He is grateful for L’Space providing opportunities to hone his skills as well as focusing them on the civil space field.
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Donya Douglas-Bradshaw
Deputy Director, Planning and Business Management
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Main Session Speaker Bio
Donya Douglas-Bradshaw has twenty-nine years of experience at NASA Goddard, Wallops, and Headquarters as a thermal systems engineer, technologist, product development lead, thermal analyst, experiment manager, principal and co-investigator for technology developments, instrument systems engineer, line manager, Instrument Project Manager, and Deputy Project Manager. She has experience across the entire project lifecycle from concept development to decommissioning and on in-house and out-of-house projects. She was previously the Project Manager of the Lucy Mission. Prior to Lucy, she was the Project Manager for the ICESat-2 ATLAS instrument, ATLAS, which is the largest and most technologically advanced instrument built in-house at Goddard, successfully launched aboard ICESat-2 on September 15, 2018.
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Logan White
L'SPACE Mentor
Pre-Session Speaker Bio
Logan is a mentor in Mission Concept Academy and an alum of MCA (Spring 2022) and NPWEE (Fall 2022)! She is currently a third-year undergraduate at North Carolina State University majoring in Physics and minoring in Computer Programming. Prior to transferring to NCSU, she earned an Associate’s degree from Alamance Community College and was a NASA Community College Aerospace Scholar.
Logan began researching solar active regions and space weather prediction under Viacheslav Sadykov at Georgia State University in the summer of 2022 and is continuing that research in collaboration with COFFIES, one of three NASA-funded Heliophysics Phase II Drive Science Centers. She also works in Carla Fröhlich’s research group at her current institution, exploring core-collapse supernovae through numerical simulations. In addition to computational astrophysics, Logan has experience in observational astronomy and is certified to operate the 3.5-meter telescope at Apache Point Observatory in Sunspot, New Mexico.
Outside of academia, Logan is passionate about STEM outreach and giving back to her community. She has collaborated with local afterschool programs to teach elementary-age students how to code, and volunteered at events such as Astronomy Days and Lego Brick Builds. Logan is grateful for her time with the L’Fam and considers the experience she’s gained through L’SPACE to be invaluable.
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John Dankanich
Chief Technologist, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center
Main Session Speaker Bio
John Dankanich has had career evolution from a window washer, knife salesman, security guard, public school teacher, university guest lecturer, and rocket scientist. He has two young children and hopes to pass his love of reading of all subjects and continuous learning to them both. He received undergraduate and graduate degrees from Purdue University in Aeronautical and Astronautically Engineering. He served as the Chief Technologist of the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center and the NASA Agency capability lead for In-Space Transportation. He is a champion of innovation and fosters a culture of continuous improvement. He works with Space Technology entrepreneurs and promotes cross-industry collaboration. He is a recognized subject matter expert in advanced propulsion technology, system testing, and mission design. He helps prioritize investments in technologies to support future needs of the US Space Sector.
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Pre-Session Speaker Bio
Antonio was a part of the L'SPACE staff since 2019 and acted as the programs Lead Engineer as well as being a primary instructor for the ASU SpaceWorks classes. Antonio has a bachelors in Aerospace Engineering and a masters in Mechanical Engineering. He has worked as an engineer for the E-THEMIS instrument that will be going to Europa in 2024 on the E-Clipper spacecraft. Antonio now works as a Mechanical Systems Engineer at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, tune into the session to learn more about his path to JPL!
Antonio Acuna
Mechanical Systems Engineer, JPL
Pre-Session recording
Main Session Speaker Bio
Dr. Denise Cervantes is the Project Manger of the OSTEM/Interns at the Goddard Space Flight Center for the Engineering Technology Directorate (ETD). She has her PhD in Organizational Management from the University of Maryland Easter Shore and has work at Goddard for over 10 years. Dr. Cervantes is the Organizational Effectiveness & Workforce Development Manager as well as the ETD OSTEM/Internship Program Manager.
Dr. Denise Cervantes
Project Manger, OSTEM/Intern Directorate - GSFC ETD
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Jessica Harder
NASA Pathways Intern
Pre-Session Speaker Bio
Jessica Harder is a Junior in Aerospace Engineering major at Mississippi State University. She is also am a NASA Pathways Intern (engineering) at Stennis Space Center working as part of Safety and Mission Assurance/Quality Assurance where she works on a variety of unique tasks to include test firing of a variety of different rocket engines; one of which being an RS-25 which is being used as part of the Artemis mission.
Prior to this internship, and prior to her academic career in engineering, Jessica was an active-duty
soldier in the United States Army where she worked as a Military Police Officer. The skills developed as a soldier drove her to be where she is today, and is grateful for every moment spent in that uniform.
Another opportunity that helped lead to where she is today was the chance to participate in
NASA’s NCAS program both phase 1 and phase 2, as well as NASA’s L’Space MCA program. The NCAS program gave insight into NASA and the first opportunity to experience what it is like to work as a team to come up with a mission concept. The MCA program helped her to solidify the desire to be at NASA as well as helped fine tune those previous skills developed from NCAS. The MCA program gave a deeper dive into the mission concept design experience and how to work as a large team to accomplish goals.
Upon Completion of MCA, Jessica was accepted into NASA’s L’Space Lucy Mission internship where she worked at Arizona State University. During this internship, she further tuned those mission concept skills by working as a team to not only come up with a concept design but to also execute and bring to life that design. This opportunity alongside the MCA and NCAS opportunities are the pivotal steppingstones that led to where she is today. Jessica's goal is to work at NASA’s Mission Control Center at Johnson Space Center and to one day put her fingerprints on something that will contribute greatly to the future of human space flight and the mission to make it to Mars.
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Coralie Adam
Optical Navigation Lead at KinetX & Deputy Nav Team Chief on NASA's Lucy Mission
Main Session Speaker Bio
Coralie joined KinetX and the OSIRIS-REx team in 2011, and has served as the optical navigation lead engineer throughout mission development and into proximity operations at Bennu. She holds a B.S. and M.S. in aerospace engineering from the University of Illinois and University of Colorado, respectively. Coralie first started studying and imaging asteroids at age 16, and has since been involved in many small body exploration missions including Stardust-NExT, EPOXI, New Horizons, ROSETTA, and the upcoming Lucy mission. In 2018, she was honored with a NASA Early Career Achievement medal for her contributions to the Optical Navigation field. In addition to leading the OpNav team, Coralie has had an active role in preparations for TAG, including sample site selection and most recently as the TAG Navigation Manager. Outside of space navigation, Coralie enjoys listening to music, learning new skills, collecting vintage wares, and being outdoors.
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Speaker Bio
John Dankanich has had career evolution from a window washer, knife salesman, security guard, public school teacher, university guest lecturer, and rocket scientist. He has two young children and hopes to pass his love of reading of all subjects and continuous learning to them both. He received undergraduate and graduate degrees from Purdue University in Aeronautical and Astronautically Engineering. He served as the Chief Technologist of the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center and the NASA Agency capability lead for In-Space Transportation. He is a champion of innovation and fosters a culture of continuous improvement. He works with Space Technology entrepreneurs and promotes cross-industry collaboration. He is a recognized subject matter expert in advanced propulsion technology, system testing, and mission design. He helps prioritize investments in technologies to support future needs of the US Space Sector.
John Dankanich
NASA Marshall Chief Technologist
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Vince Elliott
DPM for VAVINCI+, NASA Goddard
Speaker Bio
Mr. Elliott has extensive experience and qualifications in mission management at NASA. He has served in numerous roles within the Agency, but most specifically, managing the business scope on NASA space flight missions as the DPM-R. Mr.
Elliott’s most relevant experiences has been overseeing the resources on both the Lucy and OSIRIS-REx missions. As with DAVINCI+, Lucy is a Discovery-class mission scheduled to launch in October 2021. At that time, Project Management will transition to GSFC’s Space Science Mission Operations Project. OSIRIS-REx, a New Frontiers-class mission, launched in September 2016 and is expected to collect a sample of the surface of asteroid Bennu in 2020. At the time of launch and Mr. Elliott’s transition off the mission, OSIRIS-REx had completed development on-schedule and under budget. DPM-R responsibilities include management of
finance, workforce, acquisitions, property, space, configuration management, cost risks, and really anything not named ‘engineering’ or ‘science’. The Lucy and OSIRIS-REx experiences are explicitly well-suited for DAVINCI+ in that many of the business partners are the same; LM, APL, KinetX and GSFC. Procedures, processes and relationships have already been forged making transition to DAVINCI+ seamless. Mr. Elliott’s experience is diverse among science missions in flight project business management with roles on planetary and astrophysics missions. Further diversity is among missions in formulation, implementation and operations.
Mr. Elliott began his career at NASA in 2003 where he helped bring NASA/GSFC into the fundamentally new realm of full cost accounting and budgeting as well as the new SAP financial system. Further experience includes numerous smaller technical efforts and teams improving business practices and tools such as BOE generation, Cost Reserve Management, Parts/Supplies management, Funds Control, Full Cost Builder and others.
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Michael Amato
Systems Engineer, NASA Goddard
Speaker Bio
Michael is a systems engineer at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. He is the manager and lead engineer for Goddard’s Planetary and Lunar line of business. As such he helps lead the development of Goddard’s solar system pursuit strategy, technology investments, new instrument and mission development, partnerships, studies and proposals. He has a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering and a graduate degree in systems engineering. Michael has over 28 years of experience developing and building a variety of flight instruments and missions at NASA, working in both the science and engineering directorates at Goddard and has been lucky enough to help develop dozens of solar system missions, instruments and subsystems during that time.
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Sunny Panjwani
NASA Flight Controller, JSC
Speaker Bio
Shoyeb “Sunny” Panjwani is an Environmental and Thermal Operating Systems (ETHOS) Flight Controller for the International Space Station (ISS) at Johnson Space Center (JSC). In 2018, Sunny began working at JSC as an intern for the ISS Program Science Office, where he co-authored sections on the commercialization and economic valuation of the low earth orbit marketplace for the ISS Benefits for Humanity 3 rd Ed publication. In 2019, he was hired to the ETHOS group to train for real time operations in life support, thermal, and emergency systems. In his 4 years with ETHOS, Sunny has completed three flight controller certifications, and has supported mission critical operations including extravehicular activities (EVA), vehicle docking/undocking, major component repairs, and was on console during an ISS spacecraft emergency. Sunny is currently the lead subject matter expert for the Thermal Amine CO2 scrubber, and the lead ETHOS for the maiden flight of the Japanese Cargo Vehicle, HTV-X1.