2026 Frontiers in Science: Advancing Space Exploration

8:00 - 9:00am

Welcome

• Susan Lozier, Dean of the College of Sciences, Betsy Middleton and John Clark Sutherland Chair, Professor in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
• Tim Lieuwen, Executive Vice President for Research, David S. Lewis, Jr. Chair, and Regents’ Professor in the Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering

9:00 - 10:00am

Habitable Worlds

• Chris Reinhard, Associate Professor in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
• Gongjie Li, Associate Professor in the School of Physics
• Joyce Shi Sim, Assistant Professor in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
• James Wray, Professor in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
• Indujaa Ganesh, Assistant Professor in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences

10:00 - 10:15am

Break

10:15 - 11:00am

Earth as a Model for Space

• Christopher Carr, Assistant Professor in the Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering and School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
• Frances Rivera-Hernández, Assistant Professor in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
• Amanda Stockton, Associate Professor in the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry
• Christopher Wiese, Assistant Professor in the School of Psychology

11:00 - 12:30pm

Telescopes & Tacos: Interactive Public Astronomy Lunch

• Emory University Observatory | Alissa Bans
• Fernbank Science Center | Mark Lancaster
• Georgia Tech Astronomy Club | Sage Smith
• Georgia Tech Space Research Institute
• Hard Labor Creek Observatory at Georgia State University | Justin Robinson
• The Infinite | Joanne Tremblay and Gregory Santoro
• Presented by Georgia Tech Observatory Director Paul Sell and School of Physics Professor Emeritus James Sowell

12:30 - 12:45pm

Afternoon Opening Remarks

• Jud Ready, Space Research Institute Executive Director and Georgia Tech Research Institute Principal Research Engineer

12:45 - 1:15pm

Human Space Exploration: An Astronaut's Perspective

• R. Shane Kimbrough (MS OR 98), Retired NASA Astronaut. Kimbrough has spent a total of 388 days in space, performing nine spacewalks. He holds a Master of Science Degree in Operations Research from Georgia Tech.
• Jud Ready, Space Research Institute Executive Director and Georgia Tech Research Institute Principal Research Engineer

1:15 - 2:15pm

Space Innovation at Georgia Tech

• Brian Gunter, Associate Professor in the Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering
• Glenn Lightsey, John W. Young Endowed Chair Professor in the Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering
• Thom Orlando, Regents’ Professor in the School of Chemistry & Biochemistry and Adjunct Professor in the School of Physics
• Ava Thrasher, Research Engineer I in the Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering
• Moderated by Naia Butler-Craig (M.S. AE 2023, Ph.D. AE 2026), NASA Space Technology Graduate Research Fellow and GEM Fellow

2:15 - 2:45pm

Networking Coffee Break

Light refreshments will be served.

2:45 - 3:45pm

The Future of Space Policy

• Mariel Borowitz, Associate Professor in the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs, Director of the Center for Space Policy and International Relations, and head of the Nunn School Program on International Affairs, Science, and Technology 
• Margaret Kosal, Professor and Director of Graduate Studies in the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs
• Feryal Özel, Chair and Professor in the School of Physics
• Thomas González Roberts, Assistant Professor with a joint appointment in the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs and the Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering, and Director of the Engineering Space Policy Laboratory
• Moderated by Lisa Yaszek, Regents Professor of Science Fiction Studies in the School of Literature, Media, and Communication

3:45 - 4:30pm

The Next Generation: Careers & Commercialization

4:30 - 5:45pm

Networking Reception

Food and beverages will be served.