Conference Program

Download a PDF version of the conference program.

Monday 17 November

5:00 – 7:00 pm Aerospace Leaders Networking Reception (sponsored by Lockheed Martin)

Tuesday 18 November

7:00 Sponsors’ Breakfast with JPL Deputy Director

7:30 General Registration / Networking / Continental Breakfast

8:30 Welcome and Introduction

• Frank Slazer, AAS President

8:45 Opening Remarks and Introduction of Keynote Speaker

• Eugene L. Tattini, Deputy Director, Jet Propulsion Laboratory

9:00 Keynote Address / Sagan Memorial Lecture

• Lennard A. Fisk, Thomas M. Donohue Distinguished University Professor of Space Science, University of Michigan; Former Chair, Space Studies Board, The National Academies

10:00 Break

10:15 Session 1: Space Policy – Expectations and Reality

• Moderator: Kevin Kelly, Vice President, Van Scoyoc Associates, Inc. (VSA); COO, Van Scoyoc Kelly PLLC
• Panelists:
  • Robie Samanta Roy, Assistant Director for Space and Aeronautics, Office of Science and Technology Policy
  • Courtney Stadd, President, Capitol Solutions
  • Richard Malow, Senior Advisor, Association of Universities for Research and Astronomy

12:00 Awards Luncheon

• Guest Speaker:  A. Thomas Young, former President and COO, Martin Marietta Corporation; recipient of 2008 AAS Space Flight Award

2:00 Session 2: Space Science – the Next Decade

• Moderator: Daniel McCleese, Chief Scientist, JPL
• Panelists:
  • Jon Morse, Astrophysics Division, Science Mission Directorate, NASA HQ
  • Andy Cheng, Space Department Chief Scientist, Applied Physics Laboratory
  • TBD

3:30 Session 3: Role of Education in American Competitiveness

• Moderator: Angela Phillips Diaz, NASA Ames; Special Assistant to the Chancellor, University of California, Riverside
• Panelists:
  • Chauncey Veatch, National Teacher of the Year 2002-2003
  • Brandon Hensley, Caltech/ARCS Foundation Scholar
  • Julie Van Kleeck, Vice President, Space Programs, Aerojet
  • Victoria Conner, Principal and Founder, Strategic Vitality, LLC
  • Susan Hackwood, Executive Director, California Council for Science and Technology

5:00 Reception – Celebrating JPL (sponsored by Ball Aerospace and Technologies Corp.)

Wednesday 19 November

8:00 Registration / Networking / Continental Breakfast

8:30 Session 4: Mars – The Best is Yet to Come

• Moderator: Steven Squyres, Goldwin Smith Professor of Astronomy, Cornell University; Principal Investigator, Mars Exploration Rover Project
• Panelists:
  • David Beaty, Chief Scientist, Mars Exploration Directorate, JPL
  • Fuk Li, Director, Mars Program, JPL
  • John Grotzinger, Fletcher Jones Professor of Geology, Geology and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology
  • Robert Lin, Director, Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California Berkeley

10:00 Session 5: Space Entrepreneurs

• Moderator: Paul Eckert, International & Commercial Strategist, Boeing IDS – Space Exploration, The Boeing Company
• Panelists:
  • Thomas C. Taylor, Vice President, Lunar Transportation Systems, Inc.
  • Robert D. Richards, CEO, Odyssey Moon Limited
  • John Kohut, CEO, Astrobotic Technology Inc.
  • Kris Zacny, Director, Drilling and Excavation Systems, Honeybee Robotics Spacecraft Mechanisms Corporation

12:00 Luncheon

• Keynote: The Honorable Andrea Seastrand, Executive Director, California Space Authority

1:30 Session 6: Exploration – One Year On

• Moderator: Clay Mowry, President, Arianespace, Inc. and AAS Vice President - International
• Panelists:
  • Bernhard Hufenbach, Directorate of Human Spaceflight, Microgravity and Exploration Programmes, Strategy and Architecture Office, ESA-ESTEC
  • Kohtaro Matsumoto, Research and Development Office, Lunar and Planetary Exploration Program Group, JAXA
  • John Olson, Exploration Transition Manager, Exploration Systems Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters

3:00 Session 7: Earth Science – the Next Decade

• Moderator: Laurie Leshin, Deputy Director for Science and Technology, NASA GSFC
• Panelists:
  • Mike Frielich, Director, Earth Science Division, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters
  • Gary Davis, Director for Systems Development, NOAA Satellite and Information Service
  • Timothy S. Stryker, International Affairs Advisor, Land Remote Sensing Program, U.S. Geological Survey, Department of the Interior
  • Graham Gibbs, Counselor, Canadian Space Agency

4:30 Session 8: A Celebration of the Spitzer Space Telescope - 5 Years and Counting

5:15 Adjourn / Special Reception