People Category: HUB SciTech 2023

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.

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, 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 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.

Bio coming soon.

Bio coming soon.

Bio coming soon.

Andi Meyer is the Engineering Manager for Research and Technology at Spirit AeroSystems in Wichita, KS, focused on the development and industrialization of thermoplastic composites and ceramic matrix composites for aerospace structures. Leveraging a background in composites engineering and product development, Andi leads, manages and guides a team of engineering experts to bring these technologies to the next generation of aircraft. Andi graduated with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Wichita State University in 2009 while also working for Spirit AeroSystems on the first Boeing 787 line units, and has worked in the field of research and technology ever since. Her career began as a composite product development engineer for the National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR), partnering with a local Orthopaedic Research Institute to create a startup focused on bringing aerospace composite technology to biomedical and orthopaedic markets. After NIAR, Andi managed research programs at the Applied Aviation Research Center (AARC) at Kansas State University where her team worked with the FAA to develop new airworthiness standards for unmanned aircraft. Andi returned to Spirit and her thermoplastic composite manufacturing roots in 2018 to help advance thermoplastic and ceramic matrix composites to the next level for Advanced Air Mobility (AAM), Commercial and Space applications.

Nancy Mendonca, is currently the NASA Deputy in ARMD’s Mission Integration Office (AMIO). The AMIO integrates ARMD’s AAM efforts across the four ARMD Programs and with the AAM ecosystem.  She served 24 years in the Navy flying H-46 helicopters. Between the Navy and NASA, she worked at the Missile Defense Agency, on the Marine Corps MRAP Program and at NTIA working on the Federal Strategic Spectrum Plan. She graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy with a B.S. in Aeronautical Engineering and subsequently eared M.S. degrees in Aeronautical Engineering and National Security and Strategic Studies. She is also a Certified Public Accountant and has currently prioritized rescuing Great Danes and riding horses over flying helicopters.

Robin Houston, an instructional leader in the Prince George’s County Public School System (PGCPS), has been involved in the education industry for thirty plus years. Currently serving as the Instructional Specialist for the PGCPS Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHOH) Program, Robin provides coordination and oversight for services to DHOH students birth to twenty-one years of age. Robin is credited with founding, assisting, and supporting extracurricular STEM clubs for over twelve years. She began her focus on developing quality STEM opportunities for students in PGCPS elementary schools as the result of looking for challenging extra-curricular activities for her daughter. In addition to using curriculums from First Lego League and Society of Automotive Engineers, Robin has developed and implemented original curriculums for real-world Project Based Learning units. In 2015, she created a real-world project-based competition (concept, rules, rubric, and parameters) for a local NSBE Jr. chapter, MD Space Business Round Table, INSPIRE Project, and NASA collaboration, which resulted in the top-placing team winning a trip to Space Camp in Huntsville. She has also organized events to promote exposure to industry professionals from NASA, CIA, NSA, Lockheed Martin, National Securities Technologies, and Aurora Flight Sciences, a Boeing Company. Robin has recruited, managed, and coached various groups of students during competition season for local and national activities such as Rocket Day at Goddard, Team America Rocket Challenge, First Lego League, Solar System Competition, NSBE Kids Zone Science Olympiad and Math Counts. Robin is currently part of the coaching team for the FIRE Aero Innovation Team, which exposes middle and high school students rocket design and principles of flight.