She is an astronomer/astrobiologist who investigates how habitable worlds form, exploring the bigger picture of whether there is life elsewhere in the Universe. She was the co-Investigator on three NASA Discovery comet space missions: Deep Impact, EPOXI and Stardust-NExT, where she coordinated the Earth- and space-based international observing campaigns. She is leading the development of new deep space mission concepts to explore the origin of Earth’s water. More recently she led the team that characterized the first interstellar object, which was discovered in Hawaii. She obtained her BA in Space Physics from Rice University and her Ph.D. in planetary physics from MIT.

Program lead for the UH Space Science and Engineering Initiative. Astronomer and Planetary Scientist who has spent the bulk of his career at the intersection of detector development, aerospace, and space science. His past and present activities center on the creation of multi-use space-qualified systems and key technologies to enable the observation of energetic astrophysical phenomena and the characterization of nearby bodies.  He has extensive experience in the development, fabrication and operation of X-ray detector systems for spaceflight and high-altitude balloons. He was one of the original architects of the X-Ray imaging spectrometer mounted on NASA’s OSIRIS-Rex Asteroid sample return mission.  He received his PhD in physics from UC Irvine.

She specializes in heliophysics, cosmic rays, solar energetic particles, space weather, spacecraft mounted scientific instruments as well as indirect detection of dark matter. Her research group is part of the team that constructed and integrated the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) instrument in operation on the International Space station since 2011 – the largest experiment in space for the measurement of cosmic rays. She is also constructing neutron monitors at the summit of Haleakala. She got her PhD in Physics at the University of Bologna in Italy.

Dr. Ned Davis is the Senior Data Scientist at Maui High Performance Computing Center (MHPCC) working for the Applied Research Laboratory at the University of Hawaii.  He leads a team of data scientists performing image data fusion in the Pacific theater using patent-pending algorithms running on high-performance computing resources.  He has over 20 years of experience developing system level physics-informed models of DoD systems for satellites, airplanes, ships, submarines, and ship and submarine launched missiles. 

IT Manager, at the UH Mānoa’s Institute for Astronomy. His specialties include convolutional neural networks for real time inversion, high throughput long distance data transfers, and high-performance networking. He is actively involved in using Deep learning for astronomy, cybersecurity and finance and working with big data.  He is applying AI and machine learning to cybersecurity and systems engineering to reliably transfer tens to hundreds of TB of data over intercontinental distances.  He received an M.S. in Software Engineering from Cal State Fullerton.

Dr. Edwards is the Director of the Applied Research Laboratory at the University of Hawaii. Her recent scientific research focuses on the use of high resolution photographic and acoustic data to map military munitions that were sea disposed at the end of World War II. She has also worked on bathymetric and sidescan sonar mapping of the Arctic Basin and the East Pacific Rise. In 1999, Edwards served as Chief Scientist of the Science ICe EXercise (SCICEX) program aboard the USS Hawkbill. She has served as the Interim Director of the Hawaii Institute of Geophysics and Planetology, as the Director of the Hawaii Mapping Research Group and as the Center Director of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s National Center for island, Maritime and Extreme Environment Security (CIMES). She received her Ph.D. from Columbia University in Marine Geology and Geophysics.

After retiring from a distinguished 10-year NFL career, Riki Ellison channeled his leadership into national defense and youth development. In 2002, he founded the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance (MDAA), a nonprofit dedicated to advancing missile defense systems. Under his guidance, the MDAA has become a leading voice on missile defense, with Ellison attending over 293 missile defense tests and visiting 773 U.S. and allied missile defense sites. Demonstrating a commitment to the community, he established the Youth Impact Program in 2006, supporting at-risk youth in major U.S. cities. Ellison's contributions have been recognized with honors, such as the Honorable Order of Saint Barbara and the German Air Force Air Defense Missile Badge.

Milton Garces is the Director of Remote Sensing at the Applied Research Laboratory and a Research Scientist at the Hawai‘i Institute of Geophysics and Planetology at the University of Hawai‘i. He is the founder and director of the Infrasound Laboratory (ISLA), where his research focuses on infrasound, acoustics, atmospheric sensing, signal processing, and remote monitoring of natural and human-made hazards. An internationally recognized expert in low-frequency sound and vibration, he has pioneered the application of infrasound to the study of volcanoes, meteors, earthquakes, tsunamis, severe weather, and other energetic geophysical phenomena. He has led the development of innovative sensing technologies, including the RedVox mobile infrasound platform. His work integrates applied physics, fluid dynamics, digital signal processing, machine learning, and environmental monitoring to advance hazard detection and situational awareness. He received his B.S. in Physics from the Florida Institute of Technology and his Ph.D. in Oceanography from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

Director of the Hawai’i Data Science Institute and of the Laboratory for Advanced Visualization and Applications at UH Mānoa.  He initiated a new multi-disciplinary area of research called Human Augmentics – which refers to the study of technologies for expanding the capabilities and characteristics of humans. His research interests include big data processing, virtual reality and high-performance networking.  He is the co-inventor of the CAVE2 hybrid reality environment and SAGE:  Scalable Adaptive Graphics Environment software. Dr. Leigh uses his lab to visualize complex information and make the data easier to understand. He received his Ph.D. in computer science at the University of Illinois, Chicago.

Dr. Lin is an Astronomer at the Institute for Astronomy at the University of Hawaii. His research focuses on the study of the sun and its activities, and innovative new instrumentation to address the most challenging problems. Dr. Lin specializes in the design and construction of scanning and snapshot hyperspectral sensors using state-of-the-art optical fabrication technologies for astronomical research and for remote sensing of the earth or space objects. He received his Ph.D. in Physics at the Michigan State University.

Major General Joachin Malavet, USMC (Ret) – is a Senior Fellow at the Center for Naval Analysis (CNA), a Strategic Consultant for the Institute for Defense Analysis (IDA), a Board Advisor to MDAA, and the Founder and President of Joaquin F. Malavet and Associates LLC (DBA Strong Eagles Eye). He is an independent Strategic Advisor to businesses and corporate enterprises, and an International Public Speaker. He previously served as the Director for Strategic Planning and Policy (J5 Directorate), U.S. Indo-Pacific Command.

Deputy Director of the Hawai’i Space Flight Laboratory. His work focuses on the design, development, launch and operations of small satellite missions. He is an expert in spacecraft subsystems, attitude determination and control, onboard flight software, thermal control, power and radio comms. He is the systems engineer for the Neutron-1 and the HyTI missions. He has particular experience with attitude determination and Control, on board computers, flight software, thermal control and power distribution and radio communications.  Some of his research will enable autonomous and intelligent space systems to collaboratively work together. He received his B.S in Aerospace Engineering from the Technical Univ. in Portugal and his M.S. and PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the Univ. Hawaii.

He worked on the Pioneer Venus mission at NASA Ames and was then a Space Shuttle guidance and control engineer, an assistant flight director, and software engineering manager supporting shuttle missions. He was the Lunar Mission Manager for the DoD/NASA Clementine lunar mission. He was also the program manager for the Space R&D contract at the Naval Research Lab. His company, Interstel Technology, is developing a program for comprehensive mission operations called COSMOS and is PI of a NASA contract to develop iCOSMOS-Swarm, a tool to enable efficient data fusion, in particular for remote sensing applications. He received his BS, MS, and Doctor of Aerospace Engineering from the Univ. of Kansas.

Dr. Stopa is an Associate Professor in the Department of Ocean and Resources Engineering at the University of Hawaiʻi and Mānoa. He received his Ph.D and M.S. from the same department within the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology. His research focuses on ocean and atmospheric physics centered around ocean surface gravity waves. His research interests include marine forecasting, data analysis, statistical modeling including machine learning, and microwave remote sensing with an emphasis on synthetic aperture radar for ocean/atmosphere applications.

Roderick Tabalba is a SAGE3 Developer in the Laboratory for Advanced Visualization and Applications (LAVA) at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. His work focuses on the development of collaborative software systems, artificial intelligence applications, and advanced data visualization tools. His research encompasses front-end software development, virtual and augmented reality, human-computer interaction, natural language processing, and collaborative AI. He is a developer for the SAGE3 project, where he helps create technologies that enable teams to work together effectively in shared digital environments. He has particular expertise in user interface design, data visualization, AI-assisted collaboration, and natural language processing. His research aims to develop intelligent digital assistants that can facilitate communication, coordination, and decision-making within collaborative work environments.

Ryan Theriot is a Research Software Engineer at the Laboratory for Advanced Visualization and Applications (LAVA) at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. His work focuses on the development of advanced collaborative software, data visualization systems, and virtual reality applications for scientific research and remote teamwork. He is a lead developer for the SAGE3 project, an open-source collaboration platform that enables distributed teams to work together on high-resolution data, visual analytics, and complex workflows. He has particular expertise in software engineering, cloud computing, collaborative visualization environments, virtual reality, and scientific data analysis. During his graduate studies, he co-founded the RendezView collaboration platform, which won first place in the University of Hawaiʻi Business Plan Competition. He also developed SatWatch, an innovative virtual reality application for visualizing satellites orbiting Earth. He received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Computer Science from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.

He conducts research into how satellites in Earth orbit can be used to measure volcanic activity from space. He has been developing hyperspectral imaging sensors to be used on cube satellites for Earth remove sensing. The Hyperspectral Thermal Imager (HyTI) a 6U cube satellite was launched from the International Space Station in 2022, and a successor is in development. Wright’s research benefits from an approach that involves Cubesat constellations with the latest imagers. Wright obtained his PhD at the Open University in the UK, and his M.Sc. at the University of London.