People Category: AIAA SciTech Forum 2021

Proud Welshman of Italian decent, Tino Belli has been the Director of Aerodynamic Development at INDYCAR for the last 7 years, where he works very closely with Italian race car manufacturer Dallara, to design effective, attractive race cars that produce entertaining races.

Previously, Tino was the Technical Director at Andretti Autosport (14 years), was the Chief Designer at Larousse Formula 1 (5 years) and the Chief Aerodynamicist at March Engineering (7 years).

During his racing career Tino has 6 Indianapolis 500 victories, 6 IndyCar Championships and 105 IndyCar victories to his credit, as well as a Sebring 12 Hour victory.

He also co-developed the very efficient microtube heat exchanger with Mezzo Technologies for auto racing applications and this heat exchanger is now widely used in Formula 1, IndyCar, Le Mans and Formula E.

Belli earned his 1 st Class (Hons) B.Sc. (Eng.) in Aeronautical Engineering from Imperial College of Science and Technology, London. After graduating and prior to entering racing professionally, Tino was a finite element stress analysis engineer
in the nuclear industry, and in his spare time competed in the British Road Rallying championship. As well as driving and co driving, Tino personally built and prepared his own race cars.

Honors include being the only four-time recipient of the Louis Schwitzer Award for Engineering Excellence in the Field of Race Car Design (2010, 2016, 2018 and 2020).

He is privileged to be the husband of Marina, who is the stylist of his designs, has 2 grown sons, Thomas and Teo and a rescue dog called Hamlet.

Dr. Melissa Flagg is a Senior Fellow at the Center for Security and Emerging Technology (CSET) at Georgetown University and a non-resident Fellow at The Atlantic Council GeoTech Center. Previously she served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research, responsible for policy and oversight Defense Department science and technology programs including basic research through advanced technology development and the DoD laboratory enterprise. She has worked at the State Department, the Office of Naval Research, the Office of the Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and the Army Research Laboratory.

Melissa also ran her own consulting business and was the Chief Technology Officer of a small consumer start-up. She has served on numerous boards including the National Academy of Sciences Air Force Studies Board and the Department of Commerce Emerging Technology Research Advisory Committee and holds a Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Chemistry and a B.S. in Pharmacy.

Prior to forming Jet It, Glenn provided transportation solutions as the Regional Sales Manager for the Eastern United States for Honda Aircraft Company. In this role, Glenn developed and executed a sales, communication, marketing business plan, and strategy to sell Honda’s first venture into aviation, the $5M+ HondaJet.

Preceding his efforts with Honda Aircraft Company, Glenn performed a sales support role as an International Demonstration Captain for Gulfstream Aerospace Company. Glenn began his career in the USAF as a T-38A Instructor Pilot and his military career culminated as an F-15C Flight Commander and 4-Ship Flight Lead. Glenn also participated as an active member of the US Embassy Kyrgyz Republic Country Team while deployed during OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM.

Mr. Gonzales has MBA from the Darla Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina, and a

Masters in Aeronautical Sciences from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. He completed his undergraduate studies at the United States Air Force Academy earning a B.S. degree in Behavioral Sciences with a concentration in Human Factors Engineering.

In the community, Gonzales has served as a spokesman for Make a Wish, founded a military community outreach organization, The 71st Fighter Squadron Iron Foundation, and served as Program Coordinator for Special Olympics Area 22 regional competition. He has spoken at countless universities, corporations, primary schools and community organizations sharing his career experiences, and the business of private aviation.

Mr. Gonzales is a Lieutenant Colonel in the USAF Reserves, and is married to his wife of 15 years, the former Tanika Archer. Their two daughters, Kearston and Kendall are classically trained musicians who have performed as a violin and cello duo for numerous private, philanthropic, community, political, and government events throughout the United States, Europe, and Australia.

S. Keith Hargrove currently serves as Dean of the College of Engineering at Tennessee State University. He formerly served as a Department Chair at Morgan State University, and Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Tuskegee University. He has worked at General Electric, Boeing, GM, and three national research laboratories (Oak Ridge, Battelle, and NIST). He is actively engaged in K12 education, has research interests in advanced manufacturing, and a member of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers, Tennessee Society of Professional Engineers, and ASEE. He is also a strong advocate in minority engineering education…especially the promotion and production of minority engineers and their careers.

He is the author of two books entitled “Navigating Academia: A Guide for Women and Minority STEM Faculty”, and “In Search of Academic Leadership: A Primer for Faculty Development”.

He is a proud member of Alpha Phi Alpha, Inc Fraternity.

LaRachelle S. Smith holds the position of Managing Director with the Table SALT Group, a Student Leadership Development Institute. Prior to founding and managing her own boutique consulting firm, her previous position was Director of Marketing, Communications and Information Technology for Land-Grant Programs at Prairie View A&M University where she was responsible for measuring the impact and communicating the value of agricultural-related, research-based outreach programming for nearly 8 million limited-resource Texans. She managed the University’s student-focused leadership development program to address the gap in retention rates and drives career advancement opportunities for graduates focused on the state’s thriving agriculture industry.

LaRachelle has held a number of key positions, including administrative posts as: Interim Department Chair, Computer Drafting and Design, ITT Technical Institute; Task Force Chair of the College of Agriculture and Human Sciences’ Five Year Strategic Plan, Vice- Chair of the University Staff Advisory Counsel; and the Chair, Leadership and Management Committee — Association for Communication Excellence. She was elected in 2019 as Vice President of the organization for a four-year term. Boeing Aircraft appointed LaRachelle as Senior Design Engineer on the front end of NASA’s International Space Station program.

Smith has focused her research and teaching interests in the areas of leadership development and the effects of learning disabilities on career success; non-cognitive skills necessary for successful leadership, the impact of institutional culture on mentoring, and diversity in the workplace. She was also the host of an award-winning nationally syndicated radio program and editor-in-chief of a regional news magazine.

Among the honors Smith has received: Presidential Scholarship recipient at Prairie View A&M University, the Cooperative Extension Program recognized her as a Distinguished Service Early Career Award recipient for promoting excellence in community outreach; in 2014, she was recognized as a LEAD21 Scholar and chosen to deliver the farewell statement at the graduation ceremony among top land-grant university administrators.

LaRachelle received her B.S. in mechanical engineering from Prairie View A&M University and an MBA from the University of Phoenix. A native Texan, LaRachelle the mother of two, married to an active duty Senior Officer in the U.S. Army.

The Honorable Christine Fox is Assistant Director for Policy and Analysis at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, a position she has held since 2014. Previously, she served as Acting Deputy Secretary of Defense from 2013 to 2014 and as Director of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation (CAPE) from 2009-2013. As Director, CAPE, Ms. Fox served as chief analyst to the Secretary of Defense. She officially retired from the Pentagon in May 2014. Prior to her DoD positions, she served as president of the Center for Naval Analyses from 2005 to 2009, after working there as a research analyst and manager since 1981. Ms. Fox holds a bachelor and master of science degree from George Mason University.

Janis Terpenny is the Dean and Wayne T. Davis Dean’s Chair for the Tickle College of Engineering at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Her research focus is centered on engineering design process and decision making, smart  and integrated manufacturing systems, and engineering education. Collaborations across disciplines and with industry and community partners have been integral to her work.

Prior to coming to UT, Terpenny served as the Peter and Angela Dal Pezzo Chair and Head of the Harold and Inge Marcus Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering at Pennsylvania State University. She has also served as department chair of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering at Iowa State University, as professor at Virginia Tech in Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Education and at the University of Massachusetts in Mechanical and Industrial Engineering.

Terpenny co-founded the Center for e-Design in 2003. During her 10+ years as its director, this National Science Foundation Industry University Cooperative Research Center grew to include 7 universities and 30+ members. Terpenny also served as technical lead of the Advanced Manufacturing Enterprise (AME) area for the Digital Manufacturing and Design Innovation Institute (DMDII), one of the nation’s first, ManufacturingUSA Institutes.

In addition to her academic roles, Terpenny  served as program director for the Division of Undergraduate Education at the National Science Foundation, and as a systems analyst for the General Electric Company.

Terpenny earned her bachelor’s in mathematical sciences (applied math) from Virginia Commonwealth University in 1979 and her master’s and doctorate in industrial and systems engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) in 1981 and 1996, respectively.

Terpenny’s awards include distinguished alumni honors from Virginia Tech, being named a fellow of both the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE), and several honors for best paper, presentation, educator, researcher and outreach.

She is dedicated to diversity and inclusion, having served as an NSF Advance Professor and leadership team at Virginia Tech, chair of the Broadening Participation Committee for the Division of Design for ASME, on the Diversity Committee of the

ASEE Engineering Deans Council, and multiple diversity initiatives at the University of Tennessee.