Saturday
Opening Keynote
9:00 – 9:45 AM CST
Max Palevsky Theater
Poppy Northcutt
Frances “Poppy” Northcutt is a Texas attorney who began her career as a “computer” and then an engineer for the technical staff on NASA’s Apollo Program during the space race. During the Apollo 8 mission, she became the first female engineer to work in NASA’s Mission Control.
Later in her career, Northcutt became an attorney specializing in women’s rights. In the early 1970s, she served on the national board of directors of the National Organization for Women. Now, she works and volunteers for several organizations in Houston advocating for abortion rights.
Bio obtained from Wikipedia
Living There: Habitats and Society
10:00 – 10:45 AM CST
Max Palevsky Theater
This panel will discuss the everyday aspects of society for a multiplanetary species. For humans to live outside of Earth, we need to adapt to extreme environments including habitats with low magnetosphere protection, large temperature ranges, and low gravity. How do the people in charge answer these constraints to best protect humans, and how can humans develop a working society outside of Earth.
Ian Burrell
Human Systems Integrator
NASA JSC
Catalina Garza
Systems Engineer
Blue Origin
Jordan Bimm
Postdoctoral Researcher
UChicago
Jim Plaxco
President
Chicago Society of Space Studies
Astrophotography from the City
10:00 – 10:45 AM CST
East Lounge
Nick Lake
Nick Lake is a Chicago-based astronomy and astrophotography enthusiast and the creator of the YouTube channel Windy City Astrophotography. Focusing on astrophotography from light-polluted skies, the channel showcases the imaging process and results as well as walkthroughs on equipment and image processing. Nick also works at the Adler Planetarium in the Theaters department, training and managing show presenters, scripting fulldome shows (Planet Nine, Imagine the Moon), and hosting the video series Skywatch Wednesday on Adler’s YouTube channel. Nick has been using telescopes for visual observing and astrophotography for over 20 years.
Space for Everyone: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
11:00 – 11:45 AM CST
Max Palevsky Theater
Anthony Razo
DEI Leader
Hot Nozzle Society
Catalina Garza
Aerospace Systems Engineer
Blue Origin
Will Pomerantz
Vice President, Special Projects
Virgin Orbit
Sara Sabry
Astronaut & Found
Deep Space Initiative
Artificial Intelligence in Astrophysics
11:00 – 11:45 AM CST
West Lounge
Dr. Aleksandra Ćiprijanović
Dr. Ćiprijanović is a Wilson Fellow Associate Scientist at the Scientific Computing Division of Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. She has also worked as an Assistant Research Professor at the Faculty of Mathematics, University of Belgrade and the Mathematical Institute of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts in Belgrade. Her BSc, MSc, and PhD degrees in astrophysics were obtained at the University of Belgrade.
Her main research interests are artificial intelligence and machine learning in astrophysics and HEP, working with big data from simulations and astronomical surveys, studies of galaxies, galaxy clusters and gravitational lensing.
Bio obtained from aleksandraciprijanovic.wordpress.com
Innovative Space Software
1:00 – 1:45 PM CST
Max Palevsky Theater
This panel will discuss the developments and current-day state as well as the future of software in the space industry. How do companies that want to send objects into space actually get them there? Hear about how solutions related to operations of spacecraft are being developed.
Brad Cheetham
CEO & President
Advanced Space
Michelle Chen
Software Systems Engineer
John Hopkins University
John Conafay
Co-Founder and CEO
Integrate Space Corp.
Space Fellowships
1:00 – 1:45 PM CST
Library
Charlie Nitschelm
Starlink Engineer II
SpaceX
Anna Shaposhnik
Brand Manager
OrbitFab
Hailu Daniel
University of Maryland
Vanessa Van Decker
President
SEDS Canada
Next Generation Rockets
2:00 – 2:45 PM CST
Max Palevsky Theater
Kyle Fisher
Propulsion Test Engineer
Relativity Space
Anesti Verikios
Fluid Systems Engineer
Blue Origin
William Pomerantz
VP of Special Projects
Virgin Orbit
Reilly Webb
Propulsion Engineer
SpaceX
Going to Grad School
2:00 – 2:45 PM CST
Library
Andrew Dombard
Professor
University of Illinois, Chicago
Sadiya Ahmad
PhD Student
Iowa State University
An Li
PhD Student
University of Washinton
Alya Al-Kibbi
PhD Student
University of Chicago
Robotic Exploration of the Universe
3:00 – 3:45 PM CST
Max Palevsky Theater
Vanessa Van Decker
President
SEDS Canada
An Li
PhD Student
University of Washington
Andrew Dombard
Professor
University of Illinois, Chicago
Andrea Bryant
PhD Student
University of Chicago
Sci-Fi and Fantasy Worldbuilding
3:00 – 3:45 PM CST
Library
Suzanne Walker
Suzanne Walker is a Chicago-based writer and editor. She is co-creator of the Hugo-nominated graphic novel Mooncakes (2019, Lion Forge/Oni Press). Her short fiction has been published in Clarkesworld and Uncanny Magazine, and she has published nonfiction articles with Uncanny Magazine, StarTrek.com, Women Write About Comics, and the anthology Barriers and Belonging: Personal Narratives of Disability. She has spoken at numerous conventions on a variety of topics ranging from disability representation in sci-fi/fantasy to comics collaboration.
Bio obtained from suzannewakeenwalker.com
Closing Keynote
4:00 – 4:45 PM CST
Max Palevsky Theater
Lori Garver
Lori Garver is a leading figure in the US space program and frequent contributor to the public dialogue on national civil space policy. As the principal advisor on aerospace issues to three presidential candidates, NASA transition team lead for President-elect Obama and Deputy Administrator of NASA from 2009 – 2013, Garver’s first-hand account offers new insight into the intersection of politics and human spaceflight.
She is a Co-Founder of the Brooke Owens Fellowship, an educational organization providing internships and mentorship to collegiate women and gender minorities pursuing degrees in aerospace fields. She served on the Board of Directors of Maxar Technologies (NYSE: MAXR) and is a former President of Women in Aerospace and the American Astronautical Society.
Bio obtained from LinkedIn.
Off the Record
No recording allowed
4:45 – 5:30 PM CST
Max Palevsky Theater
Lori Garver
Jeff Feige
Poppy Northcutt
Will Pomerantz
Closing Banquet
7:00 – 9:00 PM CST
Cloister Club