SG[UK] 2024 Organizer Teams
The personnel that forged this event with passion and dedication.
Leadership & Management Team
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Elia D’Ambrosi
Manager
Elia is a systems engineer working on space exploration and science missions. He joined SGAC to find a community of enthusiastic individuals to share his space journey with. Elia has a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering and a master’s degree in Space Exploration Systems, and has been working for Airbus Defence & Space for three years. Leading SG[UK] means working with extremely talented young professionals and students, sharing the goal of connecting, growing an empowering the UK young space community.
Michael Skreta
Deputy Manager
Michael is a Systems Engineer working at BAE Systems Space in the UK, helping to enable the company to become the UK’s next major Space prime. He also has strong experience in participating in and organising events for SGAC, and is driven by being able to create equal opportunities for all those hoping to enter the Space industry. Michael really looks forward to being part of the team pioneering the UK’s first ever local SGAC event.
Matt Thomson
National Point of Contact (United Kingdom)
Matt has been headhunting for the global Space industry for the past 5 years, building management and engineering teams for NewSpace start-ups around the world.
Within the SGAC, he has been the National Point of Contact for the UK for the past 2.5 years and has been instrumental in building the local community from scratch and organising SG[UK] 2024.
Programme Team
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Josh Finn
Programme Team Lead
Josh is a Systems Engineer with Thales. Since joining, he has improved numerous processes in industry, supported the introduction of policy, and designed and performed test campaigns for prototype components. Outside of Thales, Josh works with numerous groups to support educational projects, raising over £150,000 in equivalent funds for student opportunities and training. He is passionate about creating opportunities for students and young professionals to develop skills and networks and looks forward to doing so at SG[UK]
Nikita Shetti
Programme Team Member
Nikita is a Space Engineer at Airbus and is the winner of Top 50 Women in Engineering 2023. She is passionate about sustainability, creative writing and STEM Outreach via volunteering with the SGAC PADAWANS Diversity and Inclusion Group for leading interactive space workshops in primary schools and speaking at universities on Allies and Leadership in the space industry. Nikita also speaks at webinars on upcoming space technologies, and is looking forward to co-organise SG[UK] 2024.
Prabhpreet Singh Data
Programme Team Member
Prabh, a seasoned space engineer, started as a Project Engineer at a space start-up in 2017. Currently a Design Engineer at Oxford Space Systems, UK, he specializes in cutting-edge spacecraft systems. Recognized as a finalist in the LSA-SGAC pitch competition and selected by the Innovation & Collaboration Center, South Australia, Prabh aspires to be a space entrepreneur. With a Master’s in Space Systems Engineering from the Technical University Berlin, he contributes through patents, publications, and awards, balancing professional achievements with hobbies like visual arts and volleyball.
Simisola Iyiola
Programme Team Member
Simisola recently completed her master’s degree in Space Law. She is passionate about space sustainability and how regulations can effectively shape the future of space for generations. She discovered SGAC during her master’s program and has since then been a part of the SGAC Space Safety and Sustainability PG and Space Law and Policy PG. She looks forward to contributing to the growing space sector with the SG(UK) and inspiring the next generation of space lawyers.
Zaina Rahman
Programme Team Member
Zaina Rahman is a Senior Systems Engineer at Leonardo, working on the next generation of radar systems for the Eurofighter aircraft. Zaina has previously worked at the European Space Agency in the Space for 5G/6G team, testing satellite-terrestrial communications with bespoke innovative technology. Zaina is also a STEM mentor to young students with New Voices in Space.
Public Relations &
Communication Team
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Chanud Sithipreednant
PR&C Team Lead
(Art, Creative, and Design Director)
Chanud (CNSN) is a young professional and an undergraduate aerospace engineering student who specializes in both science and art as well as having a solid multidisciplinary background. He utilizes these skills to develop unique solutions and deliver STEAM-based projects across a wide range of mediums from award-winning short films to NASA research competition programs. He also runs a personal creative agency and research entity under the name of “nmagine creative laboratory (N-LAB)” to work on even more specialized, usually bigger projects.
Chanud has been a part of SGAC since 2020 and served multiple positions from within Space Exploration Project Group (SEPG) to the main Public Relations & Communications Team. This time he is returning to launch the first edition of SG[UK] in 2024 by spearheading the creative and design aspect of the event (also as an in-house artist.)
Finn Ryan
PR&C Team Member
(Content Director)
Finn is a second year history student at the University of Southampton who is currently undertaking a year in industry as a Communications Advisor at Airbus Defence and Space. He forms part of the PR & Communications team for SG[UK] 2024 which will be taking place in his home town, Stevenage.
Delegates Team
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Raphael Mena-Morales
Delegates Team Lead
A seasoned event organiser (SG[France], past SGC, and SG[UK]), Raphael has been working for the past 4 years as a Systems Engineer for the development of OBCs in the UK, within multinational teams (British, French, German). Raphael is always looking for new opportunities to learn and meet with passionate professionals from the industry, and happily finds both at SGAC. He is honored to support this year as team lead of the delegates team of ever so exciting SG[UK].
Clément Loneux
Delegates Team Member
Clement is a Thermal Systems Engineer at Airbus, contributing to the design and testing of Earth Observation payloads. This smiling guy usually thrives in collaborative environments, whether navigating complex space missions or scaling mountain peaks, and has thus been engaged with SGAC for a few years. But always on the lookout for out-of-the-ordinary projects, he is very happy to have joined forces with friends to make SG[UK] a reality!
Logistics Team
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Susana Domene Marín
Logistics Team Lead
Susana is a Spacecraft Systems Engineering Graduate at Airbus Defence and Space. While she currently works on an ESA space-weather mission, her past work has also been on eVTOL technology with Joby Aviation as a 2022 Brooke Owens Fellow in California. Having previously been an Executive Trustee of UKSEDS, she is most passionate about outreach and the accessibility of the space industry for students and young professionals, especially when it’s through the intersection of science and the arts.
Jonathan Parkinson-Swift
Logistics Team Member
Jonathan, a Quality and Environmental engineer at the Hinkley Point C Nuclear Construction project, holds a Bachelor’s degree in Astrophysics and a Master’s degree in Physics from Nottingham Trent University. Passionate about climate action and space, he actively engages in sustainability initiatives while continuing to stay connected to the space industry through event organisation and conference paper writing for space missions. Being a part of the logistics team has been a welcomed challenge for Jonathan, and he eagerly anticipates expanding his involvement in larger projects within the SGAC community, leveraging his expertise to drive meaningful impact.
Sponsors Team
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Eric Knappenberger
Sponsors Team Lead
Eric is an experienced electronics engineer, having worked in new product development and validation across a wide range of consumer electronic and aerospace products. After relocating to the UK from the US, he found his first space related role with Airbus DS, working on telecoms satellite payloads.
Although relatively new to the space sector, Eric has always been passionate about space, having forced friends and colleagues to watch rocket launches at odd hours. He is excited to be involved both technically and socially in the space ecosystem, and sees great opportunity to bring rapid product development practices to the traditionally slow space environment.
Sam Ravi
Sponsors Team Member
Sam is a final year Aerospace Engineering student at the University of Leicester, and works part-time at Seraphim Space in the Accelerator team. Previously at Airbus Defence and Space, she completed a 13-month industry placement in the Innovations department. Sam enjoys being linked in across the space ecosystem and being at the frontier of new ideas and concepts. She is especially keen on the UN SDG’s and was a part of the New York Academy of Sciences for 4 years tackling global issues. Having grown up in 7 countries, she thrives on bringing diverse perspectives and bold thinkers together to drive innovation and solve complex challenges for a brighter tomorrow and also why she was inspired to be a part of the SG[UK] organizing team.
