Speed Networking & Mentoring will be a highlight of AP-SGOW as prominent space professionals in different space-related fields and industries have been invited to speak and potentially mentor some delegates. 

Industry or Business

Mr Chris Blackerby

Chief Operating Officer & Director at Astroscale Japan

Chris Blackerby is Group Chief Operating Officer for Astroscale Holdings, the global leader in securing the safe and sustainable development of space for the benefit of future generations and the only company solely dedicated to on-orbit servicing across all orbits.  In the role of COO, Chris oversees the operations and expansion of the growing international company, including strategic planning and internal management.
Prior to joining Astroscale, Chris was the NASA Attaché in Asia and the senior space policy official at the U.S. Embassy Tokyo from 2012-2017. In that capacity he identified opportunities for cooperation, served as strategic space advisor to the U.S. Ambassador to Japan and negotiated agreements and resolved disputes with partners.

 
Chris began working for NASA as a Presidential Management Fellow in 2003.  While at NASA he was a leader in forging international cooperative partnerships around the world in the fields of Earth science, space science and human space exploration.  From 2005-2007 Chris was the Executive Director of the NASA Advisory Council, a group of senior officials that provides feedback to the NASA Administrator on future policies and plans.

 
Chris received a B.A. in History and Education from the University of Richmond (Va.) in 1995 and an M.A. in International Relations from the University of Rhode Island in 2002.  In 2009 Chris earned an MBA from the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University.

Mr Alexander Linossier

Project Manager & Launch Director at Southern Launch

Alex graduated with a Bachelor of Aerospace Engineering / Bachelor of Arts double-degree from Monash University in 2013. He then worked as a Drilling Engineer for ExxonMobil across Australia, gaining invaluable experience with project management, operations planning and execution, and systems engineering. After 2 years, Alex decided to pursue his passion for space, and moved to Germany where he completed a Master of Space Engineering at the Technische Universität Berlin. His thesis, conducted at the Asher Space Research Institute in Israel, analysed the performance of miniaturised electric propulsion systems.

He then moved closer to home, taking a position as Recovery Systems Lead Engineer at Rocket Lab in New Zealand. Here, he led the development of the Electron first stage recovery system, including conducting aerial tests of parachute capture systems, managing the block upgrade to the first stage of the launch vehicle, and acting as Recovery Systems operator in Mission Control.

Alex is currently the Launch Director and Project Manager at Southern Launch in Adelaide, Australia, managing a wide range of launch projects for Australian and international customers. As Launch Director, Alex employs lessons learned from both ExxonMobil and Rocket Lab to safely conduct Australia’s first space launches in more than 45 years, and spur on the growth of the Australian space industry.

Alex has a wide range of experiences throughout his career – from testing at Australia’s only nuclear reactor, to catching a rocket stage under parachute with a helicopter, to living offshore managing O&G drilling operations. However, all that pales in comparison to the rush of standing up on a surfboard for the first (and so far only) time.

Mr Kshitij Khandelwal

Co-Founder & Chief Technology Officer at Pixxel

Kshitij is a Co-Founder and the Chief Technology Officer at Pixxel. Pixxel is a satellite data company based out of Bengaluru, India building a constellation of high-resolution remote sensing satellites. Pixxel’s goal is to provide affordable, actionable insights in earth observation for applications in agriculture, environment conservation, and energy segments. Kshitij co-founded Pixxel during the final year of his Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering at BITS Pilani, India in 2019. Since then, the company has raised USD 5.7 million in venture capital funding and has a satellite ready for launch in Q1 2021. They are also building a better version of the same satellite for a launch scheduled in Q4 2021. As a space technology enthusiast and an engineer, Kshitij’s goal is to build & commercialise space technology and harness it for our collective benefit as a species. His interests include project & mission management as well as learning about deep space missions.

Ms Lynette Tan

Chief Executive Officer at Singapore Space & Technology Ltd 

Lynette is the Chief Executive of the Singapore Space and Technology Limited (SSTL), previously the Singapore Space & Technology Association (SSTA). Lynette identifies new opportunities and develops effective ways for government, companies, and individuals to partake in the emerging Asian space industry. SSTL collaborates with international organizations including Singapore Land Authority and the World Bank to identify use cases for satellite technologies for infrastructure planning and economic development. She runs a space tech accelerator in Singapore and is also the managing Partner of Project Cyclotron, an exclusive programme that assists early stage, deep tech, space start-ups. She is a Karman Fellow, an international award given to individuals whose achievements in space are outstanding. She is an advisor to German space startup MyelinS. Lynette received her Master of Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of Stanford.

 Dr Susan Ip-Jewell MD, DCEG

Space Medicine Physician-Scientist, Analog Astronaut, CEO & Co-Founder of MMAARS,Inc

 

Susan Ip-Jewell MD, DCEG is a Space Medicine Physician-Scientist, Analog Astronaut, exponential technologist, entrepreneur. Recently appointed as an official “SPACE COACH” for AFWERK empowered by USA SPACE FORCE and US Air Force and received a “knighthood” as Dame Commander in the Order of the Eagle of the Kingdom of Georgia from Royal House of Georgia. Research focuses on space medicine, health, wellness, human factors and exponential technologies. CEO/Co-Founder of MMAARS,Inc, (Mars-Moon Astronautics Academy & Research Science) training commercial analog astronauts and developing the first Mars-Moon Settlement training facility in Mojave Desert (close Mojave Spaceport) in California, USA (formerly Mars Academy USA). MMAARS is offering fully immersive experiences in analog missions monthly where selected crews live, work and conduct R&D in remote, Isolated and Confined Environments ( I.C.E) integrating experiential learning with exponential technologies. Dr Ip-Jewell is also Co-founder /CIO, of AvatarMEDIC.space, a company with a vision to create a new paradigm to disrupt and democratize healthcare access and medical services by converging XR/AR/AI. haptics, robotics, drones and blockchain. AvatarMEDIC is an official team in the $10 Million ANA Avatar XPRIZE). Dr Ip-Jewell recently graduated from Founder Institute (FI) Silicon Valley 2020 cohort and from Draper University Accelerator programs. A veteran analog astronaut, and Commander of crews deployed to austere, remote Isolated and Confined Environments. Susan pioneered first Mars “Station-to-Station” MARS MEDICS training missions with MAU-MDRS Crew 001, commanded missions from low-to high-fidelity locations under NEAMAE PROJECT (Nepal, Everest, Antarctica, Africa, Americas Mars Analog Astronaut Exploration Expeditions). Trained at National Institute of Health (NIH), National Cancer Institute (NCI) in clinical medicine, drug discovery / molecular therapeutics at UCLA Depart of Molecular & Therapeutic Pharmacology. Graduate of International Space University (ISU), recipient of Google Scholarship to attend Singularity University’s (GSP15). Graduated from Aston University, UK Ross University School of Medicine. Recipient of “Marie Marvinght Award in “Technologies and Innovations for Space” by Aerospace Medical Association (AsMA) recognizing visionaries in space exploration. Recipient of National Space Society (NSS) “Living in Space” Award for pioneering development of Lunar & Martian settlements. Founded The Clinic LLC, an Integrated Wellness & Telemedicine Center in LA.  

Academia or Technical

Dr Norilmi Ismail Amilia, PhD

Senior Lecturer at Universiti Sains Malaysia

Dr Amilia is a passionate and dedicated academic in the School of Aerospace Engineering at Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM). She graduated in Aerospace Engineering from Universiti Sains Malaysia in 2004. She was then awarded an MSc in Space Mission Design and Analysis in 2007 and a PhD in Mechanical Engineering in 2011 at the University of Glasgow, United Kingdom where she conducted research on the dynamics of the Motorized Momentum Exchange Tether. She started teaching at USM in early 2011, driven by a passion to develop the interest of undergraduate students and the general public in space. She is actively involved in an outreach program promoting space education in Malaysia, organised by the university and the local community. She has been recognised internationally for her movement to educate students and the public on the space industry through the events of the Space Generation Advisory Council, and for becoming the first President of Malaysia Space Initiative (MiSI), an NGO for space enthusiasts. She also led a research group developing a nanosatellite called MYSat in USM for earthquake prediction and co-founding a startup company named SpaceIn, focusing on space technology and education.

Prof Naohiko Kohtake, PhD

Professor & Laboratory Director at the Graduate School of System Design and Management of Keio University

Born in 1973. Professor at Keio University’s Graduate School of System Design and Management. After completing his studies at Keio University’s Graduate School of Science and Technology, Kohtake joined the National Space Development Agency of Japan (now JAXA) in 1998, where he was engaged in R&D and launch efforts for the H-IIA launch vehicle project, as well as international cooperation projects for satellite initiatives and the International Space Station. He became an associate professor at Keio University in 2009 and assumed his current position in 2018. Specializes in the design and management of social technology systems.

Dr Shashank Khurana, PhD

Assistant Professor at Birla Institute of Technology & Science – Dubai

Dr Khurana is currently an Assistant Professor at Birla Institute of Technology and Science (B.I.T.S.) – Pilani in Dubai (UAE) in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, with Postdoc experience, PhD and Masters’ Degrees in Aerospace Engineering with research focused on Aerothermodynamics of High-speed Vehicles. He worked as a Ground Staff Support for Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s (JAXA) Micro-gravity Student Experiment in 2010. He has been a member of SGAC since 2009, and organized AP-SGW, the side event of APRSAF for students and young professionals, as Program Committee Member in 2015, and as Event Manager in the years 2016 and 2017 respectively. He has been working towards spreading awareness about Space Education and promoting Space Activities during his respective stays in different countries of Asia including Japan, China, India and U.A.E. thereby encouraging the students and young professionals to take up challenging careers in the exhilarating world of Aerospace.

Dr Nguyễn Hạnh Quyên, PhD

Geospatial Service Manager at the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center

Dr. Quyen’s background is geography, focused on the application of remote sensing and GIS technology in natural resource management and sustainable development. She completed her Ph.D. in environmental management under a joint program between Hanoi University of Natural Science and Free University of Brussels, Belgium.

Currently, she is the Geospatial Service Manager of SERVIR – Mekong project at Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC), she manages services related to the application of decision-making tool to monitor land cover, forest, and ecosystem and its support for environmental protection and sustainable landscape management in the Lower Mekong region.

Prior to joining ADPC, she worked at the Environmental Operation Centre of ADB in the GMS – Core Environment Program, applied GIS in mainstreaming environmental into planning, and data management for the GMS – Online Environment Portal. 

Dr. Nguyen has 20 years of experience working for the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology and she also worked as a GIS and remote sensing expert for many international projects funded by WB, ADB, USAID in the GMS region.

Ms Imogen Rea

Assistant Manager at the Department of Industry, Science, Energy, and Resources – Australia

Imogen is currently an Assistant Manager within the Cyber Security Reform and Critical Technologies Team at the Department of Industry, Science, Energy, and Resources.

Previously, she worked on the landmark Satellite Based Augmentation System as an Engineer at Geoscience Australia, and as a project coordinator on a test-bed of the system at FrontierSI.

Imogen has a Bachelor of Aerospace Engineering, is currently undertaking a Master of Systems Engineering (Space Systems), and was President of the Australian Youth Aerospace Association (AYAA) in 2016-17. Alongside her work she is a passionate advocate for women in STEM, having been awarded for contributions at Geoscience Australia and Monash University. She is also a member of the Local Organising Committee for COSPAR2020 an Expert Working Group member for the Decadal Plan for Australian Space Science.

Government or Policymaking

Ms Neevy van Laningham

Office of Space Affairs at the United States Department of State

Neevy van Laningham covers a broad space portfolio of diplomatic efforts focused on bilateral and multilateral civil space policy cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region. In this role, she headed the Bureau’s efforts to develop new bilateral space dialogues with the Republic of Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka, as well as expanded cooperation in multilateral bodies such as the Asia Pacific Regional Space Agency Forum.

In addition to spearheading new bilateral cooperation on the use of earth observation satellite data to address environmental and other issues in Southeast Asia, Neevy initiated and coordinated with Vietnamese counterparts on space-based maritime domain awareness programs to counter illegal fishing, the drugs trade, and other smuggling operations in the seas surrounding Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone. This latter effort has resulted in collaboration between the U.S. Pacific Command and Vietnamese counterparts which became one of the key outcomes of Secretary Kerry’s Safe Ocean Network initiative in 2016.

Neevy’s previous State Department postings included Beijing, China, Bangkok, Thailand, and Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Prior to that time, she was the Peace Corps Overseas Training Officer and also served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Togo, West African in the 1980’s. She completed two years of post-graduate work in Cultural Anthropology and holds a B.A. degree in Political Science/International Relations from Whittier College.

Ms Sandy Ryan

Program Director & Conference Services Director at the Maui Economic Development Board, Inc

Sandy Ryan is a 31-year Maui resident, who serves as program director with Maui Economic Development Board. Sandy is a seasoned member of MEDB’s conference and events management team, which have provided the forums for the organization’s most significant public outreach; among them, the Focus Maui Nui community visioning process, and the annual Hawaii Energy Conference and AMOS Conference. 

Ms. Ryan oversees planning and execution of the annual AMOS Conference attended by 900+ space professionals working in the area of space surveillance, and cultivates and negotiates partnerships generating an economic impact of more than $4M in conference registration fees, sponsorship and exhibit revenue. Responsible for growing the conference by over 400% since its 1999 inception and increasing international participation to over 25 countries. Developed concept for, and executed, the AMOS SSA Policy Forum held in connection with AMOS Conference and the EMER-GEN® young professional program, now in its fourth year.

Ms. Ryan managed a $1.4M Federal contract that involved developing public awareness programs and cultural protocols, including planning and management of scientific workshops, technical meetings, and special events for the Air Force on Maui. Ms. Ryan produced a multi-media awareness program, Haleakalā: A Sense of Place, to orient Air Force personnel and visiting scientists to the cultural significance of Haleakalā to the Native Hawaiian community, which culminated in an hour-long documentary film and companion resource booklet. Produced Maui in Space film as an introduction to the unique astronomy and space observation activity on Maui.

Ms. Ryan’s advocacy of Hawaii’s space sector includes serving as the Governor’s appointee for Maui on the Hawaii State Aerospace Advisory Committee. In her role at MEDB, Ms. Ryan develops and implements strategies that enhance public awareness activities, including coordination of representation and exhibits at national space conferences, maintenance of database tracking systems, website development and maintenance, and publication of technical newsletters and printed materials. She interacts with the community and industry stakeholders, providing detailed knowledge of public and private sector organizations in Maui’s technology industry to a range of distinguished visitors. 

Ms. Ryan joined MEDB in 1989. Ms. Ryan serves on the Maui Economic Opportunity board of directors, as a director of Maui Hui Mālama, a youth development organization, and on the Boards of two Hawaiian Immersion Education supporting organizations Nā Leo Pūlama and Nā Leo Kāko‘o.

Mr Yusuke Muraki

Associate Senior Administrator at the Human Resources Department of Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)

Yusuke Muraki is Associate Senior Administrator, Human Resources Department of Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). After working for the International Space Station (ISS) program in JAXA for six years, he was seconded to Asian Development Bank (ADB) from 2011 to 2015. He played a leading role in introducing satellite applications in various countries in AP region. From 2015, in the Mission Planning Department of JAXA, he developed various new concepts of satellite missions such as Asian Small Precipitation Radar Constellation (ASPRC). He also designed JAXA’s new program, “JAXA Space Innovation Through PARtnership and Co-creation (J-SPARC)”, which is JAXA’s joint R&D project to develop innovative technologies and new space related businesses with private companies. Now, he is dispatched from JAXA to Space Development and Utilization Division of Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology(MEXT) of Japan and in charge of planning and coordination of satellite programs and industrial promotion of space sector. He was also an active member of SGAC as the Regional Coordinator of Asia Pacific Region (2013-2015) and kicked off AP-SGW in 2014. He won the Young Space Leaders Recognition Programme of IAF in 2014.

Mr Hamza Hameed

Legal Consultant at the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law (UNIDROIT)

Hamza Hameed is a Pakistani lawyer currently working as a Legal Consultant at the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law (UNIDROIT) in Rome, Italy. His primary focus is on secured transactions law and fintech, whereby he works on the Cape Town Convention and its Protocols, with a particular focus on spacecraft financing. He is closely involved in the activities of the Cape Town Convention Academic Project and is the Manager for Fundraising and Administration at the UNIDROIT Foundation. He holds an LLB from the University of London International Programme and an Advanced LLM degree in Air and Space Law from the International Institute for Air and Space Law at Leiden University. He is also the Co-Lead of the Legal Team at the Space Generation Advisory Council. He was also the National Point of Contact for Pakistan and won the Asia-Pacific Space Generation Leadership Award in 2018.

Mr Isaac Holliss

Senior Policy Advisor & Team Leader of Policy at the New Zealand Space Agency (NZSA)

Isaac Holliss works on a wide range of space policy issues at the New Zealand Space Agency, the lead government agency for space policy, regulation and sector development. New Zealand is a ‘new space’ launching state, which means the space policy issues Isaac works on are designed to enable the growth of an innovative space sector while supporting the long-term sustainability of outer space. Isaac also coordinates New Zealand’s international space policy engagement, including New Zealand’s participation in policy and regulatory discussions at UNCOPUOS.

 

Isaac has been in the New Zealand Space Agency since March 2018, after holding roles in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet with a focus on cyber security. Isaac holds a Masters in International Relations from the London School of Economics.