NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy, Bhavya Lal, associate administrator for Technology, Policy, and Strategy, as well as other agency speakers, will participate in the 2023 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) SciTech Forum from Monday, Jan. 23, to Friday, Jan. 27, in National Harbor, Maryland.
Throughout the week, NASA participants will cover topics including technology, aeronautics, climate research, and more. On Tuesday, Nelson, Melroy, and leadership from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) will discuss a new collaboration between the agencies to advance space propulsion technologies.
The full program for the forum is available online. Many events will be available online to registered attendees.
Among the events NASA is participating in are:
Tuesday, Jan. 24
10 a.m. – Fireside Chat on a New Collaboration to Advance Propulsion Technologies. Participants include:
- NASA Administrator Bill Nelson
- NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy
- Stefanie Tompkins, director, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)
This session will be broadcast on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website. Media who wish to ask questions must participate through the AIAA virtual event platform. To register, media should request press credentials from AIAA.
Wednesday, Jan. 25
10 a.m. – Monitoring Planet Earth. Participants include:
- Julie Robinson, deputy director, Earth Science, NASA
- Marcus Johnson, project manager, Advanced Capabilities for Emergency Response Operations Project, NASA Ames Research Center
- John Choi, director, Special Purpose UAS Quick Reaction Capability, Special Programs, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems
- Cathy Olkin, principal scientist, Muon Space
- Rob Stevens, director, Model Based Systems Engineering Office, The Aerospace Corporation
- Barry Tilton, technology evangelist, Maxar Technologies
- Moderator: Al Tadros, chief technology officer, Redwire Space
2:30 p.m. – Past, Present, and Future Mars Exploration. Participants include:
- Moderator: Bhavya Lal, associate administrator for Technology, Policy, and Strategy, NASA
- Michael Meyer, lead scientist, Mars Exploration Program, NASA
- Clare Luckey, Artemis mission integrator/Mars crew transit operations co-lead, NASA’s Johnson Space Center
- Joe Parrish, Mars Exploration Program manager, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory
- Hitoshi Kuninaka, director general, Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)
Friday, Jan. 27
10 a.m. – Creating Revolutionary Capability: Connecting Science Fiction and Science Vision. Participants include:
- A.C. Charania, chief technologist, NASA
- William Gerstenmaier, vice president, Build and Flight Reliability, SpaceX
- Zacharay Jackowski, chief engineer, Spot, Boston Dynamics
- Ben Marchionna, director of technology & innovation, Electra.aero
- Bartlett Russell, deputy director, Defense Sciences Office, DARPA
- Moderator: Graham Warwick, executive editor, technology, Aviation Week
For more information about NASA programs and missions, visit:
