Schedule

Mike Kesti is the Senior Vice President of 3M’s Corporate Research Laboratory (CRL), overseeing global technology development since 2021. He holds BA degrees in Chemistry and Economics from Carleton College and a PhD in Chemistry from Stanford University. Mike joined 3M in 1993, contributing to Post-it® Note technology before leading R&D in the Commercial Solutions Division and later the Personal Safety Division through the pandemic.

He serves on several boards, including the DOD’s Starbase program and the University of St. Thomas’s School of Engineering, and is involved with various innovation and chemistry organizations. Mike has been married for 29 years, has two sons, and lives in White Bear Lake, MN.

Mr. Eric A. Follstad serves as the acting Science Advisor, Resources and Analysis Directorate J8, US Central Command (USCENTCOM), where he is directly responsible for providing the best military advice to the Commander and staff on scientific and technology efforts across industry, academic, and the military services. He leads a diverse staff charged with developing rapid prototyping, experimentation, and conceptual approaches against validated and emerging joint warfighting needs. Responsibilities include the formulation & publication of the annual USCENTCOM Science and Technology Integrated Priority List (STIPL), development of USCENTCOM-unique Limited Objective Experiments (LOEs), Joint Tests (JT), Quick Reaction Tests (QRT), as well as membership & participation within the Joint Concept Development & Experimentation (JCD&E) enterprise. He also supports numerous OUSD(R&E) activities within their broad portfolios of RDT&E efforts.  

Additionally, Mr. Follstad serves as a Subject Matter Expert (SME) on the USCENTCOM staff on matters concerning Integrated Air and Missile Defense, Counter-UAS, and Joint Aerospace integration to include deep technology work in Operationalizing the Stratosphere (OTS).

Previous to his current assignment, Mr. Follstad performed duties as the Executive Officer to the Director, Resources and Analysis J8, USCENTCOM and was additionally involved in Transformation and Integration activities led by the former US Joint Forces Command J86. During this period, Mr. Follstad served as the USCENTCOM principle investigator on the USCENTCOM operational assessment of the Solid State Laser Quick Reaction Capability AN/SEQ-3(XN-1) US Navy Laser Weapon System (LaWS) installed and operated on the LPD-15 USS PONCE. 

A career Marine Corps Officer, Mr. Follstad served twenty- years as an Air Command and Control Officer achieving qualifications as Senior Air Director, Weapons and Tactics Instructor, and a graduate of Naval Fighter Weapons School “Top Gun” Air Intercept Controller (AIC) course. Mr. Follstad served as the operational test director for the Marine Corps Operational Test and Evaluation Activity (MCOTEA) Y2K Operational Evaluation (OPEVAL) on Okinawa Japan prior to the year 2000 roll-over. During this Y2K OPEVAL, he served as the III MEF operational test director for all air command and control systems undergoing Y2K compliance testing. Prior to his assignment in Japan, Mr. Follstad also served as the Academic Department Head and Tactical Air Command Center (TACC) Division Head at Marine Aviation Weapons & Tactics Squadron-One (MAWTS-1) at MCAS Yuma Az. concurrently serving as the deputy test director for the I MEF Y2K OPEVAL for 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing (3rdMAW). Mr. Follstad successfully completed numerous command assignments within or supporting all four Marine Aircraft Wings to include participation within the JFACC staff during OPERATION Restore Hope, Somalia. More recently, Mr. Follstad deployed to HQ Resolute Support (RSM) Kabul Afghanistan for a one-year Civilian Expeditionary Workforce (CEW) assignment supporting NATO Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) implementation. 

Dr. Yoshihisa Kishiyama joined NTT DOCOMO, INC. in 2000. In July 2022, he was temporarily transferred to Space Compass Corporation which is a joint venture between NTT, Inc. and SKY Perfect JSAT Corporation. He is currently a Senior Manager of Space RAN Business Department for Space Compass. Dr. Kishiyama has been engaged in the research and development for the 4G and 5G mobile communications systems. He is also a technical concept maker for the new generation systems, and a writer of 5G/6G white papers in NTT DOCOMO. He has more than 400 granted patents in the area of mobile communications.

Steve Fox is the Chief Architect for the Global Surveillance Division. In
this role Steve leads the integration of common solutions across the
division; defines capability, technology roadmaps, and investment for
future growth; advises on modeling & simulation to define future
solutions; and collaborates with the Sector Chief Technology Officer,
other Division Chief Architects and Enterprise Mission & Technology
Campaigns to shape and evaluate emerging business opportunities to
optimize and repurpose NGAS solutions to benefit all the divisions across
the Sector.

Steve has been with NGC for more than 24 years. Previous assignments
include MQ-4C Triton Mission Systems IPT Director, MQ-4C Triton
Systems Engineering Director, RQ-4 Systems Engineering Director,
Strike Mission Systems Director, Adjunct Payloads Director for National
Space Systems, Department Manager for Systems Integration & Test,
and Systems Engineering Manager on multiple programs. Steve has
extensive experience in Systems Engineering throughout the full
program lifecycle leading activities from program capture through
delivery as a Payload Program Manager, Payload System Integration
Lead, System Test Lead, Program Verification & Selloff Lead and On-
Orbit Payload Specialist.

Fox holds a Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the
University of Southern California, a Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace
Engineering from Iowa State University, and a certificate in Engineering
Management from the California Institute of Technology.

With more than 20 years of experience developing, incubating and commercializing new technologies, Terri has raised more than $500 million in capital to launch new products and services within global markets.

Her experience as a C-level executive includes Great Plains Software, Wamnet and Dakota Technologies. Terri has led the Packet Digital team since 2013 and the Botlink team since 2015. She was appointed to a state economic development board by the Governor of North Dakota, and is serving as chair of The Research Institute for Autonomous Systems at the University of North Dakota.

Over the past 20 years Brandon Bartling has focused on the research, development and commercialization of batteries and energy storage systems.  Brandon’s career began at Energizer Battery focusing on the research and manufacturing of standard alkaline, zinc-air and zinc-silver batteries.  After receiving his doctorate in chemical engineering from Case Western Reserve University he joined General Electric at their Global Research Center in Niskayuna, NY where he led teams related to the commercialization of high temperature sodium-nickel batteries for stationary and communication applications.  Currently Brandon serves the role of Battery System Architect at 3M where he is leading the research efforts around understanding and developing solutions for automotive lithium-ion battery pack designs.

Bob Davidson is the Chief Executive Officer of Prismatic Ltd, a subsidiary of BAE Systems specialising in high-altitude, long endurance unmanned aerial systems. Under his leadership, Prismatic has advanced the development of the PHASA-35, a solar powered aircraft designed to operate in the stratosphere for extended periods. Davidson has emphasised the PHASA-35’s potential as a steerable satellite capable of persistent surveillance and communications.

Before becoming CEO, Davidson served as Prismatic’s Head of Programme, his prior experience includes Operations, General Management and Strategy roles at BAE Systems Air Sector line of Business across Typhoon, Hawk, Defence information and specialist material research, development and production. 

Davidsons tenure has seen significant milestones, including successful stratospheric test flights for the PHASA-35, demonstrating its capabilities for surveillance and communications applications.  

Russel Van Der Werff is currently serving as Vice President of Stratospheric Solutions for Aerostar.  Prior to that he was the Director of Engineering for the company.  Aerostar has been in the high-altitude flight business since the early 1950s, building systems for the Government and Military, NASA, and supporting commercial enterprises such as Project Loon.  Collectively Aerostar balloons have logged over a million hours in the stratosphere over the last five years.

Russ has over 15 years of technical and leadership experience, and has been excited to be a part of taking the Thunderhead balloon system from a handful of test flights to over 300 operational demonstrations.  Russ's specific subject matter expertise is in wind-steered navigation planning, systems engineering, and balloon system CONOPs.  He is also the de facto assignee for spreading the Gospel of Ballooning to the general public.

Russ holds Bachelor's degrees in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, and Mathematics, as well as a Master's in Business Administration.

Professor Snyder is an Assistant Chair / Director of UAS Program for the John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences and Lead for Autonomous Platforms at the University of North Dakota (UND). He continues to be active in aviation education with experience as an FAA Designated Pilot and Instructor Examiner, an OEM certified Insitu ScanEagle UAS pilot, Chief Flight Instructor, Associate Professor, and Safety Consultant for various aviation organizations. As a DOT-certified SMS trainer, Professor Snyder is a member of UND SMS Committee and Events Review Team (ERT), analyzing flight data and conducting safety risk assessments to reduce risk within the organization. He has worked with the FAA to assist UND Aerospace in being recognized as meeting active conformance for UND’s Part 141 Pilot School and Part 145 Maintenance Repair Station under the FAA SMS Voluntary Program. Professor Snyder also actively teaches safety management systems, aviation safety, unmanned aircraft systems, and various advanced flight courses for the UND.

A sample of Professor Snyder's recent research activities include: Identifying Models for Advanced Air Mobility (AAM)/Urban Air Mobility (UAM) Safe Automation, developing UAS Right-of-Way Rules for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Operations and Safety, identifying Safety Risk and Mitigations for UAS Operations On and Around Airports, conducting counter-UAS Drone Mitigation Demonstration and Test and Evaluation, and UAS Parameters, Exceedance, and Recording Rates for ASIAS.

Published author of Practical Safety Management Systems Edition 2, Aviation High School Facilitator Guide, and Aviation High School Student Notebook; Professor Snyder holds a degree in Aeronautical Studies and Master of Science in Educational Leadership.

Dr. Askelson is the Associate Vice President for Research—National Security at the University of North Dakota (UND).  He recently served as Executive Director of the Research Institute for Autonomous Systems (RIAS), Associate Dean of Research for the John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences, and Professor in the Department of Atmospheric Sciences at UND.  He has over 15 years of experience working with autonomous systems and over 25 years of research and applications experience with radar, including advanced applications involving radar polarimetry and phased array technologies.   His areas of expertise include national security, autonomous systems, testing and validation, and radar.  His research foci include regional innovation (NSF Engines), fielding of autonomous systems (DOT SMART program), Detect And Avoid (DAA) systems, and counter-UAS/autonomy.  Dr. Askelson has led multiple large-scale efforts, including an NSF regional innovation engine planning grant and multimillion-dollar efforts focused on using both ground-based phased-array radars and cooperative data for DAA.  He helps lead the National Security and Autonomous Grand Challenges at UND.

Dr. Nuri Oncel is an experimental condensed matter physicist specializing in materials for nanotechnology and device physics. As Director of UND’s Nanofoundry, he oversees the facility and fosters collaborations with researchers and industry partners on projects related to materials science and device physics. His research expertise spans scanning probe microscopy, various spectroscopy techniques, and device physics, contributing to a deeper understanding of advanced materials and their applications.

Dr. Robert J. Kraus is the Dean of the John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences, a world-renowned center for aerospace learning, nationally acclaimed for our achievements in collegiate aviation education, atmospheric sciences, space studies, and Earth system science and policy.

With 850 faculty and staff members serving 2,100 students from around the world, the Odegard School has earned an international reputation as one of the premiere Aviation and Aerospace colleges in the world. In addition to providing the highest quality education possible at a reasonable cost, the Odegard school has been very successful in garnering $18 million in externally funded contracts and research projects each year. With more than 130 airplanes, helicopters, and unmanned aerial systems, and a myriad of projects studying the Earth up to and through the sky, into space, to Mars and beyond, the School is leading the charge into the future of aerospace.

Jayshree Seth is a Corporate Scientist at 3M and currently holds 80 patents for a variety of innovations. She joined 3M in 1993 after an MS and PhD in Chemical Engineering from Clarkson University, New York. Jayshree was appointed 3M’s first ever Chief Science Advocate in 2018 and is using her scientific knowledge, technical expertise and professional experience to advance science and the importance of STEM-based innovation. She is also a member of Carlton Society – the 3M Science and Innovation “Hall of Fame.” In 2020, she was awarded Society of Women Engineers (SWE) highest Achievement Award. She won the inaugural Gold Stevie® Award in the Female Thought Leaders category for Women in Business in 2021. In 2025, she was named to the prestigious Thinkers50 Radar list. 

Jayshree is a TEDx speaker and the author of The Heart of Science – Engineering Footprints, Fingerprints, & Imprints,  Engineering Fine Print and Engineering Blueprint published by the Society of Women Engineers (SWE), with sales proceeds of the book trilogy going to a SWE scholarship for women in STEM. She is a sought-after speaker, globally, on a multitude of topics such as innovation, leadership, culture and careers, and has featured in local, national and international media. Jayshree serves on the Board of the Science Museum of Minnesota, Engineering Advisory Council for Clarkson University, American Association for Advancement of Science (AAAS) Industry Advisory Council, Advisory Board for Innovation - The Conference Board as Innovation Fellow, and Advisory Group of Aspen Institute ‘Our Future is Science’ program.  

Dr. Scott D. Snyder currently serves as the Vice President for Research & Economic Development at the University of North Dakota (UND). Scott spent the preceding 15 years supporting research and student success at two universities and the National Science Foundation (NSF). Most recently, he served for five years as the Dean of the College of Science and Engineering at Idaho State University (ISU). During his tenure, he worked closely with regional industry and the Idaho National Laboratory to provide research opportunities for faculty and students while assisting these partners in meeting critical workforce needs through curricular innovation and development.

Snyder collaborated closely with faculty and numerous external partners as the college increased research expenditures by over 90%. He also implemented the STEM IS U scholarship program to serve students from underrepresented groups. Additionally, he served for 18 months as ISU’s interim Vice President for Research, during which he developed a seed funding program primarily aimed at supporting research and creative activities in the arts, humanities, and social sciences.

In Idaho, Dr. Snyder served on several advisory boards, including Idaho’s Leadership in Nuclear Energy Commission, The Steering Committee for the Center for Advanced Energy Studies, The Governor’s Cybersecurity Task Force, and The Idaho Regional Optical Network Board.

Previous Roles at the University of Nebraska Omaha (UNO)

Prior to his time at ISU, Dr. Snyder served as Chief Research Officer at the University of Nebraska Omaha (UNO) for nearly eight years. For five of those years, he also held the position of interim Executive Director of the Peter Kiewit Institute, an engineering and information technology research and teaching institute of the University of Nebraska System.

While in Omaha, Scott initiated a successful grants program to support faculty-mentored student research, partnered with regional and national organizations to develop and fund research programs in areas such as biomechanics and counterterrorism, led federal relations efforts for the UNO campus, served as an advisor to the Strategic Advisory Group of the United States Strategic Command, was a board member of the National Strategic Research Institute, and served ex officio on the board of the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s technology transfer organization, UNeMed.

Academic Background & Early Career

Dr. Snyder first joined UNO in 2001 as a faculty member in the Department of Biology, where he became a full professor while mentoring students and developing an international research program. During his time at UNO, he also served for two years as a Program Director with the National Science Foundation, where he worked across multiple federal agencies to help initiate the Dimensions of Biodiversity grants program.

Previously, Snyder held a faculty position at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh and was an NSF/Alfred P. Sloan Postdoctoral Fellow in Molecular Evolution at the University of New Mexico.

Education

Ph.D. in Parasitology – University of Nebraska-Lincoln

M.S. in Parasitology – Wake Forest University

B.S. in Biology – University of Nebraska-Lincoln

With more than 20 years of experience developing, incubating and commercializing new technologies, Terri has raised more than $500 million in capital to launch new products and services within global markets.

Her experience as a C-level executive includes Great Plains Software, Wamnet and Dakota Technologies. Terri has led the Packet Digital team since 2013 and the Botlink team since 2015. She was appointed to a state economic development board by the Governor of North Dakota, and is serving as chair of The Research Institute for Autonomous Systems at the University of North Dakota.

Dr. Noren Pan has served as President of MicroLink Devices since its founding in May 2000. After founding MicroLink Devices, Dr. Pan established Mitsubishi Electric,Agilent Technologies, and GCS as key customers. Dr. Pan led the company to profitability in 2005 and continues to build significant value around MicroLink’s corecompetence in epitaxial wafer manufacturing for HBTs and epitaxial lift off solar cells. He is responsible for the development of novel processes anddevice structures for improvements in microwave and solar cell device performance.   His current work centers on the advancement of high efficiency solar cells for low altitude and stratospheric flight.  He led efforts at MicroLink to establish a production infrastructure of ELO high efficiency solar cells, which led to multiple long endurance Zephyr flights including the most recent 64-day flight during the Summer of 2022. Dr. Pan served as chief scientist at Kopin Corporationfrom 1995-2000. He led the marketing and engineering efforts to develop AlGaAs and InGaP HBT materials for cellular phone applications. Dr. Pan hasbuilt more than 10 successful HBT programs worldwide for companies such as Skyworks (formerly Rockwell), TriQuint, Anadigics, Mitsubishi Electric, Toshiba,GCS, RFMD, Raytheon, Northrop Grumman, Agilent Technologies, and Nortel Networks. The yearly revenue from these programs peaked at $80M in 2000, the year in which Dr. Pan left Kopin to start MicroLink Devices.  Dr. Pan was previously a senior scientist at Raytheon Research (1988-1995) where hedemonstrated novel high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) and bipolar transistors by the metal organic chemical vapor deposition epitaxial growthtechnique.  Dr. Pan is a senior member of IEEE and was inducted to the Chicago Entrepreneurial Hall of Fame in 2007.  He earned his Ph.D. in 1988 from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and has published more than 70 papers. 

Dr. Robert J. Kraus is the Dean of the John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences, a world-renowned center for aerospace learning, nationally acclaimed for our achievements in collegiate aviation education, atmospheric sciences, space studies, and Earth system science and policy.

With 850 faculty and staff members serving 2,100 students from around the world, the Odegard School has earned an international reputation as one of the premiere Aviation and Aerospace colleges in the world. In addition to providing the highest quality education possible at a reasonable cost, the Odegard school has been very successful in garnering $18 million in externally funded contracts and research projects each year. With more than 130 airplanes, helicopters, and unmanned aerial systems, and a myriad of projects studying the Earth up to and through the sky, into space, to Mars and beyond, the School is leading the charge into the future of aerospace.

Dr. Scott D. Snyder currently serves as the Vice President for Research & Economic Development at the University of North Dakota (UND). Scott spent the preceding 15 years supporting research and student success at two universities and the National Science Foundation (NSF). Most recently, he served for five years as the Dean of the College of Science and Engineering at Idaho State University (ISU). During his tenure, he worked closely with regional industry and the Idaho National Laboratory to provide research opportunities for faculty and students while assisting these partners in meeting critical workforce needs through curricular innovation and development.

Snyder collaborated closely with faculty and numerous external partners as the college increased research expenditures by over 90%. He also implemented the STEM IS U scholarship program to serve students from underrepresented groups. Additionally, he served for 18 months as ISU’s interim Vice President for Research, during which he developed a seed funding program primarily aimed at supporting research and creative activities in the arts, humanities, and social sciences.

In Idaho, Dr. Snyder served on several advisory boards, including Idaho’s Leadership in Nuclear Energy Commission, The Steering Committee for the Center for Advanced Energy Studies, The Governor’s Cybersecurity Task Force, and The Idaho Regional Optical Network Board.

Previous Roles at the University of Nebraska Omaha (UNO)

Prior to his time at ISU, Dr. Snyder served as Chief Research Officer at the University of Nebraska Omaha (UNO) for nearly eight years. For five of those years, he also held the position of interim Executive Director of the Peter Kiewit Institute, an engineering and information technology research and teaching institute of the University of Nebraska System.

While in Omaha, Scott initiated a successful grants program to support faculty-mentored student research, partnered with regional and national organizations to develop and fund research programs in areas such as biomechanics and counterterrorism, led federal relations efforts for the UNO campus, served as an advisor to the Strategic Advisory Group of the United States Strategic Command, was a board member of the National Strategic Research Institute, and served ex officio on the board of the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s technology transfer organization, UNeMed.

Academic Background & Early Career

Dr. Snyder first joined UNO in 2001 as a faculty member in the Department of Biology, where he became a full professor while mentoring students and developing an international research program. During his time at UNO, he also served for two years as a Program Director with the National Science Foundation, where he worked across multiple federal agencies to help initiate the Dimensions of Biodiversity grants program.

Previously, Snyder held a faculty position at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh and was an NSF/Alfred P. Sloan Postdoctoral Fellow in Molecular Evolution at the University of New Mexico.

Education

Ph.D. in Parasitology – University of Nebraska-Lincoln

M.S. in Parasitology – Wake Forest University

B.S. in Biology – University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Russel Van Der Werff is currently serving as Vice President of Stratospheric Solutions for Aerostar.  Prior to that he was the Director of Engineering for the company.  Aerostar has been in the high-altitude flight business since the early 1950s, building systems for the Government and Military, NASA, and supporting commercial enterprises such as Project Loon.  Collectively Aerostar balloons have logged over a million hours in the stratosphere over the last five years.

Russ has over 15 years of technical and leadership experience, and has been excited to be a part of taking the Thunderhead balloon system from a handful of test flights to over 300 operational demonstrations.  Russ's specific subject matter expertise is in wind-steered navigation planning, systems engineering, and balloon system CONOPs.  He is also the de facto assignee for spreading the Gospel of Ballooning to the general public.

Russ holds Bachelor's degrees in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, and Mathematics, as well as a Master's in Business Administration.

Paul Stevens - CEO of Voltitude Ltd, a company Unlocking the Stratosphere. 

Paul Stevens is the CEO of Voltitude Ltd and the former Head of Design for the Airbus AALTO Zephyr High-Altitude Pseudo Satellite (HAPS) program. He established Voltitude Ltd, a new company dedicated to “Unlocking the Stratosphere®”, and leads the development of High-Altitude Platforms, technology, applications, and payloads, and has spent over 20years developing and demonstrating HAPS systems and technology. Paul is a Physicist by academic training and a Chartered Engineer specializing in System Engineering for HAPS.

L. Venkatakrishnan (Venkat) is currently Chief Scientist and Head of the Experimental Aerodynamics Division, National Aerospace Laboratories Bangalore India and Program Director for its High-Altitude Aircraft Program.

He has a Masters in Aeronautical Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology Bombay and a PhD in Aerospace Engineering from the Indian Institute of Science and spent several years at Florida State University, prior to joining NAL. His main interests are in flow diagnostics, fluid mechanics and aeroacoustics and has developed new measurement methodologies as well as techniques for launch vehicle noise suppression, in addition to an acoustic-based Electronic Target System for marksmanship, which is now a commercial product. He has about 80 publications in international refereed journals and conferences in addition to numerous invited lectures in international conferences.

He is a Fellow of the Indian National Academy of Engineering, Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society, UK, Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

Ionel Stefan is Amprius’ Chief Technology Officer. He joined Amprius in its very early days in 2009 as a Senior Scientist, initially to lead electrochemistry for silicon nanowire anode-based lithium-ion batteries. Dr. Stefan now leads Amprius' development of silicon nanowire electrochemistry, cell technology -- including material design, cell design and engineering -- and product development. At Amprius, he has served as Principal Investigator on multiple projects, including NASA, Army, DOE and USABC-funded research and development efforts. Ionel Stefan received his Ph.D in Chemistry from Case Western Reserve University (2002) with research activities focused on the development of new materials and devices for energy production and storage. He was a Postdoctoral Fellow at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, developing high temperature solid oxide fuel cells. Later, at Nanosys, he became familiar with silicon nanowire materials and developed methanol fuel cells with catalysts supported on nanowire electrodes. At Nanosys, Ionel began developing silicon anodes for lithium-ion batteries. At Amprius since 2009, he leads development of materials and electrochemistry for silicon anode-based cells and products. 

Dr. Noren Pan has served as President of MicroLink Devices since its founding in May 2000. After founding MicroLink Devices, Dr. Pan established Mitsubishi Electric,Agilent Technologies, and GCS as key customers. Dr. Pan led the company to profitability in 2005 and continues to build significant value around MicroLink’s corecompetence in epitaxial wafer manufacturing for HBTs and epitaxial lift off solar cells. He is responsible for the development of novel processes anddevice structures for improvements in microwave and solar cell device performance.   His current work centers on the advancement of high efficiency solar cells for low altitude and stratospheric flight.  He led efforts at MicroLink to establish a production infrastructure of ELO high efficiency solar cells, which led to multiple long endurance Zephyr flights including the most recent 64-day flight during the Summer of 2022. Dr. Pan served as chief scientist at Kopin Corporationfrom 1995-2000. He led the marketing and engineering efforts to develop AlGaAs and InGaP HBT materials for cellular phone applications. Dr. Pan hasbuilt more than 10 successful HBT programs worldwide for companies such as Skyworks (formerly Rockwell), TriQuint, Anadigics, Mitsubishi Electric, Toshiba,GCS, RFMD, Raytheon, Northrop Grumman, Agilent Technologies, and Nortel Networks. The yearly revenue from these programs peaked at $80M in 2000, the year in which Dr. Pan left Kopin to start MicroLink Devices.  Dr. Pan was previously a senior scientist at Raytheon Research (1988-1995) where hedemonstrated novel high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) and bipolar transistors by the metal organic chemical vapor deposition epitaxial growthtechnique.  Dr. Pan is a senior member of IEEE and was inducted to the Chicago Entrepreneurial Hall of Fame in 2007.  He earned his Ph.D. in 1988 from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and has published more than 70 papers. 

Mohamed-Slim Alouini, was born in Tunis, Tunisia. He earned his Ph.D. from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in 1998 before serving as a faculty member at the University of Minnesota and later at Texas A&M University at Qatar. In 2009, he became a founding faculty member at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), where he currently is the Al-Khawarizmi Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and the holder of the UNESCO Chair on Education to Connect the Unconnected. Dr. Alouini is a Fellow of the IEEE and OPTICA and his research interests encompass a wide array of research topics in wireless and satellite communications. He is currently particularly focusing on addressing the technical challenges associated with information and communication technologies (ICT) in underserved regions and is committed to bridging the digital divide by tackling issues related to the uneven distribution, access to, and utilization of ICT in rural, low-income, disaster-prone, and hard-to-reach areas.

Dr. Halim Yanikomeroglu (FIEEE, FEIC, FCAE, FAAIA) is a Chancellor's Professor at Carleton University, where he leads the Non-Terrestrial Networks Lab. He received his B.Sc. from the Middle East Technical University (1990), and M.A.Sc. and Ph.D. from the University of Toronto (1992, 1998). His research spans wireless communication systems and networks, with over 700 peer-reviewed papers and 28,500+ citations (h-index: 71). Dr. Yanikomeroglu has supervised 29 PhD and 33 MASc students, many of whom received prestigious awards. He has co-authored 41 patents through industry collaborations.

He is a Fellow of the IEEE, EIC, CAE, and AAIA. A Distinguished Speaker for IEEE, he serves on several IEEE committees and has contributed significantly to IEEE conferences, including as Chair of the WCNC Steering Committee. He has been recognized with multiple awards, including the IEEE Communications Society Harold Sobol Award (2024) and the IEEE Satellite Communications Technical Recognition Award (2023). He is also a registered Professional Engineer in Ontario.

Dr. Yanikomeroglu's work has earned him numerous accolades, including best paper awards and university honors.

Tom Nugent is the Chief Technology Officer and co-founder of PowerLight Technologies (formerly LaserMotive), with over 15 years of expertise in laser power beaming. He specializes in lasers, optics, receiver tracking, power management, and active laser safety systems. Tom holds a B.S. in Physics from the University of Illinois and an M.S. in Materials Science and Engineering from MIT.

Previously, he worked on advanced space propulsion and R&D projects at Intellectual Ventures Labs, including the Photonic Fence for malaria control. Tom is an inventor on over 70 U.S. patents and has been a speaker at major industry conferences. His background includes roles as a researcher, engineer, and project manager.

Dr. Matthew Wiebold is the General Manager of the Atmospheric Sensing business at Honeywell Aerospace, where he leads strategy, product development and P&L for ground- and aircraft-based remote sensing systems. With over a decade of experience, he has led the commercialization of advanced sensing technologies, collaborating with government and commercial organizations to deliver impactful sensing systems. His expertise includes atmospheric profiling systems including UV LIDAR, utilizing aircraft as distributed sensor networks for climate monitoring, and standards development. Dr. Wiebold holds a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from University of Wisconsin-Madison focusing on low temperature plasma diagnostics.

Matt Fladeland is a Research Scientist and manages a Program Office for the NASA HQ SMD Airborne Science Program. Aircraft are a critical element to satellite mission development from instrument development, onorbit calibration & validation activities, and associated Research & Analysis projects. Matt’s office leads Advanced Planning, New Technology assessments and development, and provides engineering expertise to NASA Airborne flight projects. Matt also serves as Program Subject Matter Expert (SME) for uncrewed systems for the Program, having been involved in the application of UAS to NASA science for 15+ years.

Mr. Fladeland started his career with NASA as a Presidential Management Fellow in 2001 at NASA Headquartes in the Earth Science Enterrpise where he worked as a program analyst and assisted with budget and program formulation. He was detailed to NASA Ames in 2002 to work on carbon cycle modeling with Chris Potter (link) resulting in the CQUEST tool. (https://www.climatehubs.usda.gov/hubs/northern-plains/tools/nasa-casa-global-cquest-carbon-query-and-evaluation-support-tools). Matt was given a permanent appointment in the  Ames Earth Science Division and supported formulation and early implementation of the Wildfire Research and Applications Partnership that flew a NASA Altair and Ikhana over the western US in support of wildfire reconnaissance. Following a NASA-sponsored study on the future use of UAS, Mr. Fladeland worked with Randy Berthold, Jim Brass, Rick Kolyer and Center leadership in partnership with the Naval Research Laboratory, to bring the NASA SIERRA UAS to Ames in 2006 where the SIERRA-B variant continues to operate. Matt was a NASA lead for the Vanilla UAS SBIR development now operated by Platform. In partnership with JPL, NASA Goddard and the University of Costa Rica, Matt and team have pioneered the use of UAS for volcano measurements, leading to the acquisition of the NASA Dragon Eyes, and the SBIR development and acquisition of the BlackSwift S2 now operating at NASA Ames and NASA LARC. Matt is currently supporting several efforts to demonstrate new observations from the stratosphere through partnerships and as Small Business Innovative Research SubTopic Lead for High Altitude Long Endurance systems. He is NASA monitor for the Swift Engineering Long Endurance UAS and the Electra Stratospheric Atmospheric Carbon Observing System (SACOS).

Matt currently serves as Chair of the Interagency Coordinating Committee on Airborne Geophyiscal Research and Applications (ICCAGRA) consisting of agencies across the federal government that operate and or use aircraft for earth science research.

Dr. Robert J. Kraus is the Dean of the John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences, a world-renowned center for aerospace learning, nationally acclaimed for our achievements in collegiate aviation education, atmospheric sciences, space studies, and Earth system science and policy.

With 850 faculty and staff members serving 2,100 students from around the world, the Odegard School has earned an international reputation as one of the premiere Aviation and Aerospace colleges in the world. In addition to providing the highest quality education possible at a reasonable cost, the Odegard school has been very successful in garnering $18 million in externally funded contracts and research projects each year. With more than 130 airplanes, helicopters, and unmanned aerial systems, and a myriad of projects studying the Earth up to and through the sky, into space, to Mars and beyond, the School is leading the charge into the future of aerospace.