People Category: Speaker

Andi Meyer

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

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

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.

Ralph Lorenz

RALPH D. LORENZ is a planetary scientist at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab. His research focuses on understanding how systems and instruments work in planetary environments, and on exploring surfaces, atmospheres, and their interactions, on Titan, Venus, Earth and Mars. He is the Mission Architect of Dragonfly, NASA’s New Frontiers mission to Titan, and is involved in many NASA and international planetary missions including Cassini/Huygens, Akatsuki, Insight, Perseverance and DAVINCI. He is the recipient of the 2020 International Planetary Probe Workshop (IPPW) Al Seiff memorial award. He is the author or co-author of numerous publications, including Saturn’s Moon Titan: Owners’ Workshop Manual (2020), Spinning Flight (2006), Space Systems Failures (2005), and Planetary Landers and Entry Probes (2007). He holds a B.Eng. in Aerospace Systems Engineering from Southampton University and a Ph.D. in Space Sciences from University of Kent.

Stefanie Tompkins

Dr. Stefanie Tompkins is the director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). Prior to this assignment, she was the vice president for research and technology transfer at Colorado School of Mines.

Tompkins has spent much of her professional life leading scientists and engineers in developing new technology capabilities. She began her industry career as a senior scientist and later assistant vice-president and line manager at Science Applications International Corporation, where she spent 10 years conducting and managing research projects in planetary mapping, geology, and imaging spectroscopy. As a program manager in DARPA’s Strategic Technology Office, she created and managed programs in ubiquitous GPS-free navigation as well as in optical component manufacturing. Tompkins has also served as the deputy director of DARPA’s Strategic Technology Office, director of DARPA’s Defense Sciences Office – the agency’s most exploratory office in identifying and accelerating breakthrough technologies for national security – as well as the acting DARPA deputy director.

Tompkins received a Bachelor of Arts degree in geology and geophysics from Princeton University and Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in geology from Brown University. She has also served as a military intelligence officer in the U.S. Army.

Jocelyn Brown-Saracino

Jocelyn Brown-Saracino is the US Department of Energy’s Offshore Wind Lead and has been with the Department for 13 years. Brown-Saracino contributed to the establishment of the joint agency 30 GW by 2030 goal and is leading DOE’s subsequent implementation efforts. This includes, leading the Department’s offshore wind strategic planning efforts, leading the establishment of new Floating Offshore Wind Shot, overseeing the initiation of DOE’s Atlantic transmission analysis and convening efforts, and contributing to the establishment of the White House-led Federal State Offshore Wind Partnership focused on supply chain coordination.

Prior to assuming her current role, Brown-Saracino served as program manager for DOE’s Wind Energy Environmental, Siting, Workforce Development and Grid portfolio, and managed the Department’s Wind, Ocean Energy, and Hydropower environmental research portfolios. She came to the US Department of Energy through the NOAA Sea Grant John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship program. She holds a master’s degree in marine science from the University of New England and a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences from Smith College.