People Category: AIAA SciTech Forum 2023

Chase Schulze

Chase Schulze joined Systems Technology, Inc. (STI) in 2008 and is currently the Director of Engineer Services, Operations. He has extensive experience in the areas of vehicle flight test, handling qualities, piloted simulations, data collection and reduction, general research in flight dynamics and, flight control, and aeroelastics. Mr. Schulze is currently or has recently led programs in urban air mobility flight test tool development, unmanned aerial system handling qualities evaluation, flight test and system identification of large UAS, and vibration control for a large rotorcraft. He is a proud husband to Carolyn and father to his newly minted 2-year-old Elijah.

Bill Nelson

Sen. Bill Nelson was sworn in as the 14th NASA administrator on May 3, 2021, tasked with carrying out the Biden-Harris administration’s vision for the agency.

Nelson chaired the Space and Science Subcommittee in the U.S. House of Representatives for six years and the U.S. Senate for 12 years. He then served as the Ranking Member of the full Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee. Nelson was recognized as the leading space program advocate in Congress.

In 2010, Nelson and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson (R-Texas) passed the landmark NASA legislation that mapped out a new future for NASA and set the agency on its present dual course of both government and commercial missions. In 2017, Nelson and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) authored the NASA Transition Authorization Act of 2017, which expanded NASA’s commercial activities in space.

During his time in Congress, Nelson was a strong advocate for NASA’s Earth science programs and authored numerous pieces of legislation to combat and mitigate the effects of climate change. Nelson was also a vocal proponent for STEM career training and education programs to create and fill the jobs of the future.

In 1986 he flew on the 24th flight of the Space Shuttle. The mission on Columbia orbited the earth 98 times over six days. Nelson conducted 12 medical experiments including the first American stress test in space and a cancer research experiment sponsored by university researchers.

Nelson has served in public office over four decades, first in the state legislature and U.S. Congress, then as State Treasurer. He was elected three times to the United States Senate, representing Florida for 18 years. His committees included the breadth of government policy from defense, intelligence and foreign policy to finance, commerce, and health care.

From president of 4-H to international president of the Key Club in high school, Nelson has always known the importance of investing in your neighbors and community to create a better future.  Nelson continued to serve his community and country while in college at the University of Florida, Yale, and University of Virginia Law School through various service organizations, school leadership positions. He served on active duty as a Captain in the U.S. Army.

In 1971, Nelson met Grace Cavert of Jacksonville, Florida, while speaking at a statewide young leader convention. Grace has been an active partner in Bill’s public service career. From his first race for a seat in the Florida Legislature, Grace has been by his side knocking on doors and talking to folks about issues that mattered to them and their families. They have two grown children, Bill Jr. and Nan Ellen.

Dennis Paul

Mr. Dennis J. Paul has 42 years’ experience in management, business development, program management, and technology consulting associated with advancing and operating aerospace systems. His experience includes developing programs, advanced capabilities for emerging needs, national and international plans for human spaceflight systems to advance national exploration goals. He held senior leadership roles for aerospace programs in support of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), McDonnell Douglas Astronautics, and Booz Allen Hamilton.

Mr. Paul joined The Aerospace Corporation in 2018 as Senior Project Leader of the Development Directorate in the Civil Systems Group. His focus is on development associated with emerging drivers and national priorities for space and related complex systems through strategic planning and relationships with partners, customers, and collaborators across the space enterprise with emphasis on academic institutions.

Prior to joining Aerospace, Mr. Paul, with McDonnell Douglas Astronautics, served as Staff Engineer in support of the Space Shuttle Astronaut at Johnson Space Center focused on end-to-end payload integration for 10 launches. Subsequently, Mr. Paul, with Booz Allen Hamilton, served as the Space Operations Director on the Space Station Engineering and Integration Contract in support of the NASA Space Station Program Office..

Mr. Paul began his technical career in 1980 at the McDonnell Aircraft Company, where he served as a flight test engineer on the Navy’s F/A-18 A/B “Hornet” with responsibility for the performance and flying qualities test aircraft.

Michael Mackowski

Michael J. Mackowski retired from his position as an electrical systems engineer at Orbital ATK (now Northrop Grumman) in October 2018, after over forty years in the spacecraft design and development field. He worked on programs such as Landsat 8, the Fermi and Swift gamma ray observatories, the Iridium communications satellite constellation, several NASA science satellites, and the Space Shuttle. He was with McDonnell Douglas Astronautics Company in St. Louis from 1977 until 1992. Outside the workplace, he is very involved in space advocacy and has been deeply involved with K-12 and STEM outreach. See his personal website at www.space-city-mike.net for additional background.

Chris McDaniels

Chris McDaniels, CEO of CT Cubed, is an Air Force veteran with over 15 years of cyber operations experience defending enterprise networks from advanced cyber threats and training cyber operations professionals. He served as instructor at the US Air Force’s most prestigious cyber training program, the Weapons School’s Cyber Warfare Operations Weapons Instructor Course, directed the Intrusion Prevention and Response Flight, and certified as an Exceptionally Qualified Crew Commander for the for the Air Force Computer Emergency Response Team. Chris has been Involved in the planning and execution of cyber operations in numerous DoD and Air Force exercises.

Kristen Kucko

Kristen Kucko is an educator at the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, the number one ranked public high school in the United States. She is the Director of the Robotics and Automation Lab and the TJ Space Program where her students designed and built a 2U satellite without the help of a satellite kit or a major university or corporate assistance. The satellite is expected to launch in November 2022.