People Category: AIAA Propulsion and Energy Forum 2020

Mary F. Wadel

Mary F. Wadel serves as the deputy director of Aeronautics at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s John H. Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. In this capacity, she assists in overseeing the center’s investments in research and development projects under the agency’s Advanced Air Vehicles, Integrated Aviation Systems, Airspace Operations and Safety, and Transformative Aeronautics Concepts Programs.

Immediately prior to her appointment, Wadel was the Formulation Co-lead for NASA’s proposed Electrified Powertrain Flight Demonstration Project, which will advance electrified aircraft propulsion technologies for commercial use. She will continue in this role concurrently until project formulation is complete.

Wadel began her NASA career in 1988 performing experimental research in rocket propulsion. She transitioned to working in aeronautics in 1999 as the project manager for aircraft icing. Since then, she has gone on to hold several project management positions, including stints with the Advanced Air Transport Technology Project, Cryogenic Fluid Management Project and Technology Investments in the Aeronautics Test Program. Wadel also spent eight years as the chief of NASA Glenn’s Aircraft Icing Branch.

The Ewa Beach, Hawaii native is the recipient of several individual and group awards, including the NASA Exceptional Service Medal and The Robert J. Collier Trophy as part of the Commercial Aviation Safety Team. She holds a bachelor’s in aerospace engineering from the University of Cincinnati and master’s in aerospace and mechanical engineering from Case Western Reserve University. Wadel and her family reside in Medina, Ohio.

Jason Crusan

As Vice President Technology, Jason Crusan is responsible for identifying, developing and maturing technologies that increase production, reduce costs, and enable Woodside’s people to work even more safely and efficiently.

Jason holds Bachelor degrees in Electrical Engineering and Physics, and a Masters degree in Computing Information Systems. Jason has more than 20 years’ experience in leveraging industry, academia and government partnerships to accelerate technology advancements across multiple industries.

Before joining Woodside in 2019, Jason worked for the United States’ National Aeronautics and Space Administration, primarily in human spaceflight. Jason most recently served as the Director of the agency’s Advanced Exploration Systems. In this role, Jason led many partnerships with commercial industry, including the first flights to the International Space Station of human-rated expandable habitats, additive manufacturing printers, and integrated 3D printers and recyclers.

Jason has also served as the Chief Technologist for space operations, and successfully directed various technical and strategic initiatives as program or project manager.

Jason was the founding Director of the Center of Excellence for Collaborative Innovation, formed to advance the utilisation of open innovation methodologies across the U.S. Government.

Skyler Shuford

Skyler Shuford is the founder and Chief Operating Officer of Hermeus Corporation with primary effort devoted to hypersonic aircraft R&D, system analysis and test, company growth and strategy, internal process development, corporate communications and brand, and certification planning. Prior to Hermeus, Skyler was the Director of Avionics and Software at Generation Orbit, where he was responsible for design, analysis, manufacture, and test of the in-house developed flight and facility electronic systems and software and was the technical lead for the GN&C analysis, algorithms, and hardware for the X-60A, an Air Force X-Plane for hypersonic flight research. Skyler worked across the aerospace sector with time spent at SpaceX, Aerospace Corporation, Northrop Grumman, and Aerojet. Skyler holds a Master of Science degree with a minor in Computational Science from Penn State and a Bachelor of Science degree from Cal Poly, both in Aerospace Engineering.

Jason Bowers

Jason Bowers has 24+ years of experience in the technology sector including the telecommunications, general aviation and aerospace industries. He has designed and supported solutions related to aircraft engine controls, telecommunications switches, night vision systems, UUVs and life support systems. As a Staff Engineer with Collins Aerospace – ISRS, he has been a contributor to numerous space and sea programs. Most recently, he was the Design Lead for the power plant electrical system of an unmanned undersea naval vehicle as well as the Intelligent Systems Technical Lead for a deep space Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) demonstration. He is currently on a team tasked with building a fully functional lab based Air Revitalization System (ARS) for NASA and serves as the Technical Lead for a network distributed model of an advanced ECLSS.

Vernon McDonald

Dr. Vernon McDonald is currently Senior Vice President at KBR, leading their Strategic Solutions Group, a future-focused business unit helping execute long-term strategy and create breakthrough solutions. Strategic Solutions works across technical domains, engaging and connecting subject matter experts, cultivating and integrating technology-enabled capabilities, and executing R&D programs.

Dr. McDonald received his PhD from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and his MBA from The University of Texas at Austin. His career has focused on integrating science, technology and operations at all phases of the project lifecycle to deliver robust solutions in support of space exploration, defense modernization and human health and performance.

Makenzie Lystrup

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Dr. Makenzie Lystrup is vice president and general manager of the Civil Space strategic business unit. She is responsible for Ball’s portfolio of business in astrophysics, planetary science, heliophysics and space weather, Earth science and environmental monitoring, operational weather, and land imaging as well as advanced technology development for those markets.

Dr. Lystrup joined Ball in January 2013 in the company’s Strategic Operations organization where she led Ball’s space sciences activities in Washington, DC. She previously served as senior director, Civil Space Advanced Systems and Business Development, where she managed new business activities for NASA, NOAA and other civilian U.S. government agencies as well as for academia and nongovernmental organizations.

Previously, Dr. Lystrup worked in the U.S. House of Representatives as a Congressional Science & Technology Policy Fellow. During her time on the Hill, she managed an issue portfolio ranging from technology and privacy to national defense to nuclear energy and nonproliferation.

Dr. Lystrup holds a B.S. in Physics from Portland State University and a Ph.D. in Astrophysics from University College London. She was a National Science Foundation Astronomy & Astrophysics Postdoctoral Research Fellow spending time at the Laboratory for Atmospheric & Space Physics in Boulder, Colorado, and University of Liege in Belgium. As a planetary scientist and astronomer, Dr. Lystrup’ s scientific work has been in using ground- and space-based astronomical observatories to understand the interactions and dynamics of planetary atmospheres and magnetospheres – the relationships between planets and their surrounding space environments. Prior to graduate school, she was a full-time AmeriCorps volunteer focusing on STEM education.

Dr. Lystrup is actively engaged in the broader science and aerospace communities. She currently serves on boards and committees for Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA), International Society for Optics and Photonics (SPIE), American Astronomical Society (AAS), CO-LABS, and the Boulder Chamber of Commerce.

In 2019, Dr. Lystrup was elected to the rank of Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science for her distinguished record in the fields of planetary science and infrared astronomy, science policy and advocacy, and aerospace leadership.

Matt Moran

Matt Moran has been developing power and propulsion systems and technologies since 1982. He led engineering teams and completed projects for NASA, DARPA, Air Force, Navy, Missile Defense, energy, non-profit and commercial organizations. Moran Innovation is the seventh technology-based startup company he has co-founded. Matt acquired $8.5MM in early stage funding and completed 19 successful contract awards in his previous businesses.

He also worked at NASA for 31 years, most recently as Sector Manager for Energy and Materials where he established strategic partnerships, captured new business, and negotiated license agreements. In his prior position at NASA, he managed a portfolio of power and propulsion systems technology development projects and led a team of 40 scientists and engineers.

Matt has developed space and defense systems and technologies for the space shuttle, international space station, launch vehicles, spacecraft, satellites, and underwater vehicles. He has subject matter expertise in cryogenics (e.g. hydrogen, oxygen, methane and xenon), thermal management, MEMS/microsystems, and thermodynamic cycles. He has also provided technology transfer and commercialization consulting to hundreds of organizations over his career.

Matt has an MBA, along with a Bachelor’s degree and graduate work in engineering. He has three US patents and has authored 47 publications. More about Matt can be found on his LinkedIn profile at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-moran-3a54568/

Daniel Lockney

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Daniel Lockney is the Technology Transfer Program Executive at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC, responsible for Agency-level management of NASA intellectual property and the transfer of NASA technology to promote the commercialization and public availability of Federally-owned inventions to benefit the national economy and the U.S. public. Lockney oversees policy, strategy, resources, and direction for the Agency’s technology commercialization efforts.

NASA has had a long history of finding new, innovative uses for its space and aeronautics technologies, and Lockney is the Agency’s leading authority on these technologies and their practical, terrestrial applications.

Lockney studied American Literature at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and creative writing at Johns Hopkins University. He started his NASA career as a contractor in 2004, converting to civil service in 2010. He lives in University Park, Maryland, with his wife and two space pups, Astro and Cosmo

Sandra Cauffman

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Mrs. Cauffman currently serves as the Acting Division Director of the Earth Science Division, in the Science Mission Directorate at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Headquarters. She provides executive leadership, strategic direction, and overall management for the entire agency’s Earth Science portfolio, from technology development, applied science, research, mission implementation and operation.

Prior to joining NASA HQ, Mrs. Cauffman worked at the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) for 25 years serving on a variety of roles. She served as the Deputy Systems Program Director for the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES)-R Series, a multi-billion dollar operational geostationary weather satellite program developed in partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Before returning to the GOES program for the third time in her career, Mrs. Cauffman was the Deputy Project Manager for the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) Mission, a NASA mission to the red planet, which launched on November 18, 2013 and arrived at Mars on September 21, 2014. MAVEN is providing a comprehensive picture of the present state of the upper atmosphere and ionosphere of Mars and the processes controlling them to determine how loss of volatiles to outer space in the present epoch varies with changing solar conditions.

She served as the Project Manager (PM) for the Gravity and Extreme Magnetism Small Explorer (SMEX) (GEMS). In June 2009, GEMS was one of two missions selected for implementation competing on the 2008 SMEX Announcement of Opportunity (AO). GEMS was an Astrophysics mission using X-Ray polarimetry to probe the structure and effects of the formidable magnetic field around black holes, magnetars, dead stars. Previously, Mrs. Cauffman was the Assistant Director for Flight Projects Directorate since August 2004. As assistant Director, Mrs. Cauffman helped maintain technical and administrative oversight for the Directorate.

Mrs. Cauffman served as the Deputy Project Manager for the GOES-R Series Program. Before becoming the GOES-R Deputy Project Manager, Mrs. Cauffman served as the Instrument Systems Manager for GOES-R, overseeing the research, development and implementation of multi-million dollar instruments directed toward exploration of the earth’s environment, weather prediction, charged particle detection, advanced data collection and search and rescue techniques.

Before joining GOES (again), Mrs. Cauffman served as the Project Formulation Office (PFO) Office Chief, where she was responsible for planning, implementing, and coordinating all activities related to the development of feasible mission concepts, requirements generation and formulation of new projects to be implemented such us Global Precipitation Mission (GPM), Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM), Solar Dynamic Observatory (SDO), Constellation X, and Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA).

Mrs. Cauffman worked on GOES as an Instrument Manager supporting the design, development, fabrication, test and launch and on-orbit checkout of the GOES-I/M and N/P SXI and SEM instruments. Mrs. Cauffman joined NASA in 1991, when she started as the Ground Systems Manager for the Satellite Servicing Project, where she supported missions such as Hubble Space Telescope (HST) First Servicing Mission, Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS), and Explorers Platform (EP)/Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer (EUVE). Before her NASA life, Mrs. Cauffman worked for Engineering and Economics Research (EER).

Mrs. Cauffman has been awarded the NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal and the NASA Exceptional Leadership Medal. She is also a four times recipient of the NASA Acquisition Improvement Award. She is a Senior Fellow on the Council for Excellence in Government. She received a B.S. in Physics, a B.S in Electrical Engineering and a M.S. in Electrical Engineering, all from George Mason University. Mrs. Cauffman was born in Costa Rica and is fluent in Spanish.

Michael Nicolls

Michael Nicolls is LeoLabs’ Chief Technical Officer and cofounder. He leads the development of LeoLabs’ next-generation radar systems, tracking technologies, and data analytics platform. Mike is passionate about developing solutions to enable commercial activities in space in a responsible and sustainable fashion, and co-founded LeoLabs to realize that vision. Mike has been involved in the space industry for over 15 years.

Prior to LeoLabs, he worked at SRI International’s Center for Geospace Studies as a Research Scientist and Program Manager leading the development of remote sensing technologies for studies of the Earth’s upper atmosphere and ionosphere. He directed research programs using advanced radars for understanding the space environment, and contributed to innovative scientific missions such as the Radio Aurora Explorer (RAX), one of the first successful scientific cubesats; sounding rockets for space weather research; and satellite technologies for mapping the Earth’s magnetic field using compact linear accelerators.

Mike’s interest in space was forged through the study of the space environment. He has performed research at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, the world’s premier single-dish radio telescope, studied the Aurora Borealis, and participated in research campaigns at observatories around the world. He has co-authored over 100 publications relating to Space Weather and remote sensing. Mike received his Ph.D., M.S., and B.S. degrees in Electrical Engineering from Cornell University.