Speakers to Date:

Please visit periodically for updated information regarding speakers, confirmations, and the specific names of those who are booked.

Biographies for our confirmed speakers are in the section below this schedule:
 

Friday General Assembly:

Janice Voss, Ph.D.; Payload Lead, Mission Specialist; NASA Astronaut

Paula Lewis, Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regions and Center Operations

NASA SmartSkies TM Team from NASA Ames including Greg Condon, Program Manager
 

Saturday General Assembly:

Dr. Bonnie J. Dunbar, former NASA Mission Specialist astronaut & veteran of 5 space flights.
     President & CEO, Museum of Flight

Barrington Irving, Experience Aviation/Presidents Award/Youngest around the world flight

Ken Blackburn, Guinness Book of World Records, Greatest Airplane Book
 

Hangar Talk:

Janice Voss, Ph.D.; Payload Lead, Mission Specialist; NASA Astronaut

George Whiteside

Frank Sietzen, Noted Aerospace Author

 ...  and others to be confirmed.
 

The First Speaker Biographies to Date in Alphabetic Order:

Ken Blackburn

Ken holds the Guinness World Record for time aloft for a nonpowered paper airplane -27.6 seconds!

He is the author of 4 paper airplane books, including “The World Record Paper Airplane Book,” ”Kids’ Paper Airplane Book,” and “Pocket Flyers,” and “Aviation Legends Paper Airplane Book.”

He is an aeronautical engineer for Jacobs Engineering, working for the Air Force conducting unmanned air vehicle research at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, where he lives with his wife. Prior to Jacobs, Ken served at Boeing for 19 years as an aeronautical engineer working on military aircraft such as the F/A-18 and T-45, and on advanced weapons concepts. In addition to paper airplanes, he spends his free time flying radio controlled airplanes and flying his Piper Warrior.

Gregory W. Condon

Gregory Condon is the Manager of the NASA Smart Skies TM Education Project. The objective of Smart Skies is to interest and educate students in grades 5 -9 in math and in careers in aviation using classroom and informal education activities. Smart Skies integrates formal mathematics with hands-on activities in air traffic control. For the past 5 years he has led the conception, development, outreach and professional development for this project.

Previously Greg served as a NASA Senior Executive at the Ames Research Center. For 15 years he directed a division that conducted research and development in the areas of air traffic control automation, guidance and navigation, control and display systems, and human factors. The activities spanned from theory, simulation, and flight research.

Greg was a Sloan Fellow at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business where he earned a Masters degree. He holds an MS degree in engineering from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a BS degree in engineering from Northeastern University. He was awarded the NASA Exceptional Service Medal, the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal, and, recently, the NASA Exceptional Public Service Medal for his leadership of the Smart Skies education project.

Bonnie J. Dunbar, PhD

Dr. Bonnie J. Dunbar is currently President and CEO of The Museum of Flight in Seattle Washington. The “MOF” is the largest private air and space museum in the world, with an education program that provides for nearly 140,000 students per year, has the largest aviation archives and library on the west coast and includes 2 hangers for aircraft restoration. Dr. Dunbar retired from the NASA Johnson Space Center in 2005 where she was Associate Director, Technology Integration and Risk Management for the Space Life Sciences Directorate (SLSD) of the NASA Johnson Space Center. SLSD is responsible for Astronaut Crew Health, Human Health Research for Space Exploration, Human Factor Design of Spacecraft, and Life Support Requirements. 

A NASA Mission Specialist astronaut and veteran of 5 space flights, Dr. Dunbar has logged more than 50 days in space.  She has served as the Payload Commander on two flights, and flew twice to the Russian Space Station MIR, including the first docking mission in 1995. 

Dr. Dunbar holds BS and MS degrees in Ceramic Engineering from the University of Washington, and a PhD in Mechanical/Biomedical Engineering from the University of Houston.  Prior to working for NASA, she was a senior research engineer with Rockwell International Space Division, where she helped to develop the equipment and processes for manufacturing the thermal protection system for the Space Shuttle.  Dr. Dunbar is a member of the American Ceramic Society (Fellow), the National Institute of Ceramic Engineers, the Society of Women Engineers and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (Fellow). She has been awarded the NASA Space Flight Medal, the NASA Exceptional Leadership Medal and the NASA Distinguished Service Medal.  Dr. Dunbar is a member of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and in 2002 was elected to the National Academy of Engineers.
 

Barrington A. Irving, Jr.

On June 27, 2007, 23-year-old Captain Barrington Irving secured his place in history as the first black pilot and youngest person ever to fly solo around the globe. He flew 30,000 miles in a single-engine aircraft on his 97-day journey, encountering thunderstorms, snow storms, icing, sand storms and monsoons along the way. His purpose was to show other youth that if he could achieve his dream, they could too.

Born in Kingston, Jamaica and brought up in inner-city Miami, Barrington saw a football scholarship as his only route to college. But at 15, he met a Jamaican airline pilot, Captain Gary Robinson, whose mentoring helped motivate him to pursue a career in aviation.

In 2003, Barrington founded the Miami-based nonprofit organization Experience Aviation, Inc. to introduce other young people to career opportunities in the field. In 2006, he opened the EA Learning Center that provides career inspiration tours and after-school programs to middle and high school students.

In February 2007 on Capitol Hill, Barrington was presented with a Congressional Resolution honoring his achievement and acknowledging his pioneering work in the field of aviation education.

Paula Lewis

Paula Lewis was appointed Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regions and Center Operations in July 2006.  In this capacity she provides leadership and guidance for operations at the nine FAA regional headquarters and Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center.  In Washington headquarters, Ms. Lewis provides management oversight direction for Information Technology, Resource Management, Planning and FOIA Management, Aviation Logistics, and the Washington Flight Program (Hanger 6.)

Prior to this assignment, Ms. Lewis served as Director of Operations Planning and Performance Analysis.  She was instrumental in establishing measurable goals and targets in areas such as on-time, delays, system capacity and efficiency as well as system availability. Other positions included Director and Deputy Director, Office of System Capacity, Manager, Information Technology Planning Division, Management Standards and Statistics Division and Organizational Analysis Branch.  Prior to coming to the FAA, she served as senior program analyst for the Chief of Naval Operations and Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command at the Department of Navy.

She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from Winthrop College and a Master’s Degree in Industrial Organizational Science from George Mason University.

Janice Voss

PERSONAL DATA: Born October 8, 1956, in South Bend, Indiana, but considers Rockford, Illinois, to be her hometown. She enjoys reading science fiction, dancing, volleyball, flying. Her parents, Dr. & Mrs. James R. Voss, reside in Dupont, Indiana.

EDUCATION: Graduated from Minnechaug Regional High School, Wilbraham, Massachusetts, in 1972; received a bachelor of science degree in engineering science from Purdue University in 1975, a master of science degree in electrical engineering and a doctorate in aeronautics/astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1977 and 1987, respectively. From 1973 to 1975 she took correspondence courses at the University of Oklahoma. She also did some graduate work in space physics at Rice University in 1977 and 1978.

ORGANIZATIONS: American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA).

SPECIAL HONORS: NASA Space Flight Medals (1993, 1995, 1997, 2000); Zonta Amelia Earhart Fellowship (1982); Howard Hughes Fellowship (1981); National Science Foundation Fellowship (1976).

EXPERIENCE: Dr. Voss was a co-op at the NASA Johnson Space Center from 1973 to 1975. During that time she did computer simulations in the Engineering and Development Directorate. In 1977 she returned to the Johnson Space Center and, for a year, worked as a crew trainer, teaching entry guidance and navigation. She completed her doctorate in 1987 and accepted a job with Orbital Sciences Corporation. Her responsibilities there included mission integration and flight operations support for an upper stage called the Transfer Orbit Stage (TOS). TOS launched the Advanced Communications Technology Satellite (ACTS) from the Space Shuttle in September 1993, and the Mars Observer from a Titan in the Fall of 1992.

Selected by NASA in January 1990, Dr. Voss became an astronaut in July 1991. She is qualified for flight assignment as a mission specialist. Her technical assignments have included working Spacelab/Spacehab issues for the Astronaut Office Mission Development Branch, and robotics issues for the Robotics Branch. From October 2004 to November 2007 she was assigned to the NASA Ames Research Center, where she served as the Science Director for the Kepler spacecraft. Kepler is scheduled to launch on a Delta II into a heliocentric, earth-trailing orbit, and will be looking for Earth-size planets around distant stars. More information can be found at http://www.kepler.nasa.gov. Dr. Voss currently serves as Payloads Lead of the Astronaut Office Station Branch.

A veteran of five space flights, Dr. Voss has logged over 49 days in space, traveling 18.8 million miles in 779 Earth orbits. She served aboard STS-57 in 1993, STS-63 in 1995, STS-83 & STS-94 in 1997, and STS-99 in 2000.

SPACE FLIGHT EXPERIENCE: Dr. Voss first flew on STS-57 (June 21 to July 1, 1993). Mission highlights included retrieval of the European Retrievable Carrier (EURECA) with the Shuttle’s robotic arm, a spacewalk, and the first flight of the Spacehab module. She next flew on STS-63 (February 3-11, 1995). Mission highlights included the rendezvous with the Russian Space Station, Mir, the deployment and retrieval of Spartan 204, and the third flight of Spacehab. She also flew as payload commander on STS-83 (Apr 4-8, 1997). The STS-83 Microgravity Science Laboratory ( MSL-1) Spacelab mission was cut short because of problems with one of the Shuttle’s three fuel cell power generation units. The entire crew and payload reflew on STS-94 (July 1-17, 1997). The STS-94 MSL-1 Spacelab mission focused on materials and combustion science research in microgravity. Most recently she served on STS-99 (February 11-22, 2000). This was an 11-day flight during which the international crew aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour worked dual shifts to support radar mapping operations. The Shuttle Radar Topography Mission mapped more than 47 million square miles of the Earth’s land surface.