2025 Conference Speakers

Aya Ahmad

Intern

Space Frontier Foundation

Aya Ahmad is a sophomore at Georgetown University majoring in Science, Technology and International Affairs and minoring in Physics. She serves as the Policy Lead at the Georgetown University Space Initiative, and is currently an intern at the Space Frontier Foundation. She is interested in ethics and sustainability in the space industry and hopes to work on advancing sustainable development of the international space economy.

Gary Barnhard

President & CEO

Xtraordinary Innovative Space Partnerships, Inc. (XISP-Inc)

Gary Pearce Barnhard is a self-described synergistic technological philanthropist, entrepreneur, and serial venture capitalist. He is the founder, President, and CEO of Xtraordinary Innovative Space Partnerships, Inc. (XISP-Inc), a virtual enterprise focused on Cislunar commercial Technology Development, Demonstration, and Deployment (TD3) missions. He is a robotics, space, computer, and utility systems engineer. He is an Associate Fellow of the AIAA, Vice President of the Moon Village Association, President of the Space Development Foundation Inc., a National Space Society (NSS) life member, prior CEO, prior Executive Director, Board of Directors member, and Director of Strategic Relationships.

Piero Benvenuti

Professor Emeritus

University of Padova

Piero Benvenuti is Professor Emeritus of Astrophysics at the University of Padua and was recently appointed Director of the International Astronomical Union Centre for the Protection of Dark and Quiet Skies (CPS). He carried out part of his activity for the European Space Agency (ESA) as manager of the astronomical satellite International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) and the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). He was President of the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF) and Commissioner of the Italian Space Agency (ASI). He was Secretary General of the International Astronomical Union for the three years 2015-18 and, ad interim, in 2024. He is interested in the relationship between science and theology and served as a consultant for the Pontifical Council for Culture for the decade (2013-2023).

Marc Berte

CEO

Overview Energy

Marc Berte is the Founder and CEO of Overview Energy, a company building space energy for Earth to deliver continuous energy from orbit to solar projects on the grid. Drawing on a career that spans space mission architectures, high-power directed energy platforms, and utility energy systems—shaped through roles at Raytheon, Aerospace Corporation, the Missile Defense Agency, IDA, X-energy, and Orison—Marc began evaluating a modern approach to space solar energy more than five years before founding Overview. Marc has served as CTO for multiple deep tech startups and advises several fusion and space companies, sharpening his acumen for designing system architectures that solve real-world constraints. He holds an M.S. in Nuclear Engineering and dual B.S. degrees in Nuclear and Aerospace Engineering from MIT.

Yuvam Bhateja

Engineer and Researcher

Politecnico di Milano

Yuvam Bhateja is a dynamic engineer and an early-stage researcher with an academic background in Engineering Physics and Electronics Engineering. His expertise spans the design and optimization of Space-Based Solar Power (SBSP) systems, the development of innovative rectenna technologies, and quantum material simulations. He has half a decade of experience in a spectrum of fields ranging from atomistic, mesoscopic to FEM systems.

Manassé Bokole

Chairman / Nomadly founder

3i3s-Africa

Françoise Bruneteaux

Regional Councillor - Chair of the Digital Economy Committee; Deputy Mayor for Environment

Région Sud - City of Cannes

Françoise Bruneteaux serves as Regional Councillor and Chair of the Digital Economy Committee for Région Sud, and as Deputy Mayor for Environment for the City of Cannes. She contributes alongside David Lisnard, Mayor of Cannes, to developing the city's climate adaptation strategy and implementing energy transition and decarbonization of public policies and local economy.

Neil Buchanan

Associate Professor

Queen's University Belfast

Neil Buchanan is an Associate Professor at the Centre for Wireless Innovation, Queens University Belfast. His research interests include Wireless power transfer, self-steered (retrodirective) antenna systems and tracking antennas for space applications. He has successfully completed the space solar wireless power transmission project "CASSIOPeiA Antenna with Steering Scaled Indoor Experiment (CASSIE)" funded by the UK Government Department of Energy and Net Zero, UK Space Agency and project managed by Satellite Applications Catapult. He has published over 100 papers and was awarded the GSMA "Mobile World Scholar Award" Gold prize at the 2018 Mobile World Congress for outstanding research into 5G self-steered antenna technologies. He is also a previous holder of the ESA Young Antenna Engineer Prize in Oct 2010.

John Bucknell

CEO & Co-founder

Virtus Solis

John Bucknell is the CEO and Founder of Virtus Solis Technologies, a startup focused on deploying the first commercial space solar power platform. John graduated from Cleveland State University in 1995 with a bachelor's in mechanical engineering and from the University of Michigan in 1999 with a master's in systems engineering and is a licensed professional engineer. He has led advanced engineering teams at Chrysler and General Motors for three award-winning engine families across eight production programs, was Principal Engineer for the Raptor full-flow staged combustion methalox rocket at Space Exploration Technologies and the Director of Propulsion Engineering for Divergent Technologies developing mass-manufacturing additively manufactured technologies. Published technical work includes high efficiency/low operational cost internal combustion engines, economic carbon-neutral synthetic fuel processes and high performance air-breathing nuclear rockets as well as 55 US patents.

Onur Celik

Assistant Professor of Fundamental Astrodynamics

Delft University of Technology

Onur is an Assistant Professor of Fundamental Astrodynamics at Delft University of Technology (TU Delft), in the Netherlands. His current research focuses on space mission analysis and devising new concepts for orbiting solar reflectors for space-based solar energy and climate change. He obtained a Ph.D. in Space and Astronautical Science at the Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI) in collaboration with JAXA, Japan, in 2020. He then worked as a Research Associate at the University of Glasgow, UK, until spring 2024, leading orbital dynamics and mission analysis tasks within the European Research Council funded SOLSPACE project.

Peter Garretson

Senior Fellow in Defence Studies

American Foreign Policy Council

Damien Gonfo

U3P - Union pour la Promotion de la Propulsion Photonique

David Homfray

Chief Technology Officer

Space Solar

David has contributed to cutting edge neuroscience at the University of Oxford, fusion research at the UKAEA, space research at the Satellite Applications Catapult and is now focused on the development and commercialisation of Space-Based Solar Power as Chief Technology Officer at Space Solar. During his time in fusion, he was Head of Engineering Realisation, an Engineer in Charge of JET (the world's largest fusion experiment) and led the initial plans, strategies and work packages for the £220M fusion commercialisation programme STEP (Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production). As Chief Technology Officer at Space Solar, David's primary responsibility is designing and delivering the Space Solar technical programme, enabling SBSP products to be delivered at scale to meet Net Zero. He is a Chartered Physicist, Chartered Engineer and a Fellow of the Institute of Physics.

Kobina Hughes

Founder

Egality Law

Kobina is a UK Solicitor, admitted to the Ghana Bar, Partner at Egality Law (Accra and London), a Senior Lawyer (Interconnectors) at National Grid Ventures, Technical Advisor to Space Solar (grid integration proposals and the Africa Pilot Programme which he spearheads), and founder of the African Rectenna Company, established to coordinate an Africa-centred basis for engagement in the global space-based solar power programme.

Paul Jaffe

Electrical engineer, program manager, lecturer, and author

Dr. Paul Jaffe is an electrical engineer, program manager, lecturer, and author who has worked on developing novel spacecraft, ground-breaking space experiments, and power beaming technology. Over the course of more than 30 years, he has worked for world-leading research and technology development organizations and in academia. He is a coauthor of the acclaimed book Power Beaming: History, Theory, and Practice and has numerous award-winning journal, conference, patent, and report publications. During the course of his career, he has managed hundreds of millions of dollars of project funding and overseen large multidisciplinary teams to successfully execute path-finding missions.

Phil Larochelle

Partner

Breakthrough Energy Ventures

Phil Larochelle is a Partner at Breakthrough Energy Ventures and serves on the boards of companies in several tough, ambitious tech sectors including space launch (Stoke Space) and fusion (CFS, Type One Energy, XCimer Energy, Zap Energy). Prior to joining BEV, Phil was a Senior Technical Program Manager at Google X working on several early-stage energy technology projects, and before that was an Associate on the Google Energy and Renewable Energy Investment Teams. He was a Fellow working at the U.S. Department of Energy Advanced Research Projects Agency for Energy (ARPA-E), the Senior Energy Analyst at The Alliance for Climate Protection, and an Alternative Power and Energy Storage Analyst at Lux Research. Phil holds a Ph.D. in Physics from Harvard University, and an MBA and B.Sc. in Physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Adam Law

Postdoctoral Researcher

CREST, Loughborough University

Dr Adam Law is a postdoctoral researcher at CREST, Loughborough University (UK). His work focusses on coatings for solar modules, spanning optical modelling, design, deposition and testing of coatings for anti-reflection, anti-soiling, and thermal management of solar cells. Outside of research, his main passion is running, regularly competing in marathon and ultra-marathon distances.

Pippa Malmgren

CEO

Geopolitica Institute

Dr. Pippa Malmgren is the founder and CEO of Geopolitica Institute and a Strategic Advisor to C10 Labs, the MIT Media Lab-based AI Venture Builder Studio. She is on the Young Presidents Organization Faculty and a Senior Associate Fellow of RUSI, the world's leading defense think tank. She is also a Founder member of LUNARC, a lunar university project. She launched an award-winning drone startup and continues to advise several start-ups and start-up incubators in cutting-edge technologies. She was formerly economic advisor to President George W Bush in the White House and a member of the National Economic Council. She is an award-winning bestseller author: The Leadership Lab won Business Book of the Year in 2019. She has a BA from Mount Vernon College and an M.Sc. and PhD from LSE in International Political Economy.

Anna Mauro

Founder & CTO

ORiS

Anna Mauro is currently pursuing her Ph.D. at Politecnico di Torino, focusing on high-power fiber lasers. Her academic journey began at the same institution, where she studied aerospace engineering. Her experiences have fueled her passion for leveraging lasers in the space domain. Combining research and entrepreneurship, Anna founded the startup ORiS with the mission to harness the potential of fiber optic lasers in space, from bringing power to assets both in LEO and the lunar environment. Anna's Ph.D. research centers on optimizing the design of high-power fiber lasers and exploring their diverse applications in various space environments. She is particularly intrigued by the potential of lasers for power generation and distribution, and space debris remediation.

Colin McInnes

Professor of Engineering Science

University of Glasgow

Colin McInnes is James Watt Chair, Professor of Engineering Science at the University of Glasgow where he holds a Royal Academy of Engineering Chair in Emerging Technologies. His research interests span orbital dynamics, solar sailing, emerging space technologies and space resources. He is Principal Investigator of the SOLSPACE project, supported by the European Research Council.

Iain Moore

University of Glasgow

Iain obtained his PhD in aerospace engineering from the University of Glasgow, in the design and optimisation of solar sail trajectories around asteroids. Following this, he worked as an ADCS engineer for Alba Orbital before returning to academia as a research associate at the University of Glasgow working on attitude control for the SOLSPACE project under Prof. Colin McInnes.

Antonio Pedivellano

Space Engineer and Technical Leader

Dcubed

Dr. Antonio Pedivellano is a space engineer and technical leader in deployable, lightweight space systems. In his role as Director of Deployables at Dcubed, he leads cross-functional engineering teams and drives innovation in deployable solutions for small satellites—including solar arrays, antennas, and radiators—as well as the company's in-space manufacturing initiatives. Leveraging advanced materials, origami-inspired architectures, and in-space manufacturing technologies, his mission is to enable the next generation of large space infrastructure. He holds a Ph.D. from Caltech, where his research focused on the structural dynamics and stability of large deployable spacecraft for space-based solar power applications.

Paolo Pino

Co-founder & Chief Technology Officer

Volta Space Technologies

Dr. Paolo Pino is the co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of Volta Space Technologies. He holds a MSc. in Space Exploration Systems and a PhD in Chemical Engineering, and his professional background revolves around the design and development of lunar exploration systems and missions. At Volta, Paolo leads the technical development of the first commercial lunar energy grid.

Danny Pudjianto

Advanced Research Fellow, Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Imperial College London

Dr Danny Pudjianto is an Advanced Research Fellow with expertise in energy system modelling and optimisation for planning and operation, energy system economics, regulation, system security, and evaluations of the benefits of emerging technologies such as smart grids, active network management, demand response, distributed generation, energy storage, and energy networks. The current focus of his research work is on the area of integrated multi-energy systems and the evaluation of innovative technologies such as Space Based Solar Power. He leads the development of the whole-energy system optimisation concepts, highlighting the importance of complex interactions across energy vectors (electricity, heat, hydrogen) and coordination for decarbonising energy systems. He is a senior member of IEEE, a member of the IET, and serves on the editorial board of the Renewable Energy journal. He has published more than 100 technical papers and 70 industrial/research reports.

Pascal Saint-Georges

Directeur des technologies spatiales

Thales Alenia Space

Pascal Saint-Georges holds a degree from Polytechnique Bruxelles (1992) and a PhD in Applied Sciences (1996). He worked in Operations & Procurement for satellite operator SES in Luxembourg and the Netherlands (1997-2003), before joining Thales Alenia Space in 2004, where he has held roles as Avionics Manager, technical lead on projects and bids (including Iridium), Bids Manager (FLEX, CHIME), and now heads the R&D technology portfolio.

Ely Sandler

Fellow

Harvard Kennedy School

Jackson Schnabel

Research Intern

Space Frontier Foundation

Jackson Schnabel is a junior at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, studying Science, Technology, & International Affairs and minoring in physics. He is a research intern with the Space Frontier Foundation and formerly was the Science Lead for the Georgetown University Space Initiative. Jackson is particularly interested in researching how space can be sustainably developed and be used to address inequities down here on Earth.

Ally Stone

Chief Strategy Officer

Reflect Orbital

Chief Strategy Officer at Reflect Orbital.

Paul Watkinson

High-level Multilateral Facilitator and Negotiator | Climate Change | Sustainable Development

Paul Watkinson has several decades of high-level experience in tackling climate change and promoting sustainable development. He led the French delegation to the UNFCCC for many years and helped plan and run COP21 in 2015 and draft the Paris Agreement. He chaired the UNFCCC's Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice in 2018 and 2019 and was a senior advisor to the UAE COP28 presidency that delivered the first global stocktake in 2023. He is now working as an independent advisor on strengthening climate action.

Jeff White

President

Reach

Jeff White is president of Reach, which delivers wireless power beaming for persistent drones and unattended sensors today—and is paving the way to a broader energy web, including future space-based solar power applications. Jeff has over 30 years of experience building and investing in technology companies. Before joining Reach, Jeff led Strategy, Business Development, and Product Marketing for Nokia's Cable Unit. Jeff came to Nokia as part of their acquisition of Gainspeed, which Jeff co-founded. Prior to Gainspeed, Jeff held executive leadership roles at Hatteras, Cognio, Aruba, Packet Engines, and FORE. Jeff also spent five years as a Partner at Columbia Capital.

Taylor Winkleman

Georgetown University

Dr. Taylor Winkleman is a veterinarian, space policy expert, and global health and biorisk consultant who has worked with the United States Senate, World Health Organisation, United Nations, World Food Programme, and the US federal government. She currently teaches science policy and international policy at Georgetown University in the Biomedical Graduate Education Program and is the Executive Director of the Pathfinder Initiative at the Space Frontier Foundation, where she is the Chief Science Officer.

Bryan Zetlen

Space Operation Manager

Virtus Solis Technologies

Bryan Zetlen serves as Space Operation Manager at Virtus Solis Technologies. He is an experienced Senior Systems Engineer and Program Manager with over 30 years of leadership in spacecraft systems, space-based solar power, launch operations, and energy generation programs for both defense and commercial sectors. He has successfully delivered multi-million-dollar initiatives for NASA, Blue Origin, the U.S. Navy, NRL, USAF, Boeing, General Dynamics, and Northrop Grumman. His technical expertise spans Systems Engineering & Integration (SE&I), Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE), safety-of-flight, verification and validation, probabilistic risk assessment, and nuclear and renewable energy systems. He also serves as Founder and Managing Partner of SUNDOGS Group, leading development of the International Solar Power Policy Institute (ISPI).