Blair Brettmann received her B.S. in chemical engineering at the University of Texas at Austin in 2007. She received her Master’s in chemical engineering practice from MIT in 2009 following internships at GlaxoSmithKline (Upper Merion, PA) and Mawana Sugar Works (Mawana, India). Blair received her Ph.D. in chemical engineering at MIT in 2012 working with the Novartis-MIT Center for Continuous Manufacturing under Professor Bernhardt Trout. Her research focused on solid-state characterization and application of pharmaceutical formulations prepared by electrospinning. Following her Ph.D., Brettmann worked as a research engineer for Saint-Gobain Ceramics and Plastics for two years. While at Saint-Gobain she worked on polymer-based wet coatings and dispersions for various applications, including window films, glass fiber mats and architectural fabrics. Later, Brettmann served as a postdoctoral researcher in the Institute for Molecular Engineering at the University of Chicago with Professor Matthew Tirrell. Currently, Brettmann is an assistant professor with joint appointments in chemical and biomolecular engineering and Materials Science and Engineering at Georgia Tech.

Sandra "Sandy" Magnus joins the Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering as a professor of the practice. She will have a joint appointment between the AE School, the School of Materials Science and Engineering, and the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs.

Her position will primarily focus on research advocacy, leadership and mentorship to students, as well as offering guidance to faculty related to issues in aerospace engineering.

Magnus is currently the Principal at AstroPlanetview, LLC.  Most recently she has served as the Deputy Director of Engineering in the Office of the Secretary of Defense for the Undersecretary of Research and Engineering.  In that role she served as the “Chief Engineer” for the DoD establishing engineering policy, propagating best practices and working to connect the engineering community across the department.  In addition, she is the former Executive Director of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), the world’s largest technical society dedicated to the global aerospace profession. Prior to leading AIAA, Magnus was a member of the NASA Astronaut Corps for 16 years.

Born and raised in Belleville, Ill., Magnus attended the Missouri University of Science and Technology, graduating in 1986 with a degree in physics and earning a master’s degree in electrical engineering in 1990. She received a Ph.D. from the School of Materials Science and Engineering at Georgia Tech in 1996.

Selected to the NASA Astronaut Corps in April, 1996, Magnus flew in space on the STS-112 shuttle mission in 2002, and on the final shuttle flight, STS-135, in 2011. In addition, she flew to the International Space Station on STS-126 in November 2008, served as flight engineer and science officer on Expedition 18, and returned home on STS-119 after four and a half months on board. Following her assignment on Station, she served at NASA Headquarters in the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate. Her last duty at NASA, after STS-135, was as the deputy chief of the Astronaut Office.

While at NASA, Magnus worked extensively with the international community, including the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), as well as with Brazil on facility-type payloads. She also spent time in Russia developing and integrating operational products and procedures for the International Space Station.

Before joining NASA, Magnus worked for McDonnell Douglas Aircraft Company from 1986 to 1991, as a stealth engineer. While at McDonnell Douglas, she worked on internal research and development and on the Navy’s A-12 Attack Aircraft program, studying the effectiveness of radar signature reduction techniques. 

Education

• B.S., Physics, 1996, Missouri University of Science and Technology;
• M.S., Electrical Engineering, 1990, Missouri University of Science and Technology
• Ph.D., Materials Science and Engineering, 1996, Georgia Institute of Technology

Distinctions & Awards

Sandra Magnus has received numerous awards and honors, including the NASA Space Flight Medal, the NASA Distinguished Service Medal, the NASA Exceptional Service Medal, and the 40 at 40 Award (given to former collegiate women athletes to recognize the impact of Title IX).

Yashwanth Nakka is the director of the Aerospace Robotics Laboratory at Georgia Tech. His research interests broadly include designing aerospace autonomous systems, spacecraft autonomy, planning (guidance) under uncertainty, and nonlinear dynamics and control. Earlier, he was a Robotics Technologist (2021-2024) at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where he led the research and development planning, controls, and estimation tasks on CADRE, EELS, and DARPA LINC. He received a B. Tech. in aerospace engineering from the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology, India, in 2011, an M. Sc. degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA, in 2016, and an M. Sc. degree and a Ph.D. in space engineering from California Institute of Technology, CA, USA, in 2017, and 2021, respectively. He was an engineer for the GSAT-15 and 16 missions at the Indian Space Research Organization from 2011 to 2014. He received the JPL CADRE Team Award for his work on multi-agent autonomy. He won the best student paper award at the 2021 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Guidance, Navigation, and Controls conference and the best paper award at the 11th International Workshop on Satellite Constellations and Formation Flying.
 

Education

• Ph.D. in Space Engineering - California Institute of Technology 2017 - 2021
• M.S. in Space Engineering - California Institute of Technology 2016-2017
• M.S. in Aerospace Engineering - University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign 2014-2016
• B.Tech in Aerospace Engineering - Indian Institute of Space Science Technology 2007 - 2011

Distinctions & Awards

• NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory CADRE Team Award, 2024
• Best Student Paper Award at AIAA Guidance, Navigation and Control Conference, 2021
• David and Catherine Thompson Graduate Fellowship Fund for Space, 2020
• Best Paper Award at 11th International Workshop on Satellite Constellations and Formation Flying, 2019
• Keck Institute of Space Studies Affiliate, 2019
• Excellent Reviewer Nomination, Journal of Guidance Control and Dynamics, 2018
• Darryl G. Greenmayer Fellowship Recipient, 2016
• Outstanding Performance Award, Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), 2012 and 2013
• Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Scholarship Recipient, 2007 - 2011

Professor John Christian is the associate chair for graduate programs in the Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology.  In addition to this role, he develops algorithms for extracting information from space sensor data. Prof. Christian is most well-known for his contributions in the use of visible/infrared space imagery, especially for celestial optical navigation (OPNAV), planetary terrain relative navigation (TRN), and star/asterism identification. His algorithms have been incorporated into numerous space exploration missions. 

Prior to joining Georgia Tech, Christian held academic positions at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (Associate Professor, 2020-2021; Assistant Professor, 2017-2019) and West Virginia University (Assistant Professor, 2013-2017). He was also a Summer Faculty Fellow with the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) during the summer of 2021. Prior to his academic career, Christian was an engineer in the GNC Autonomous Flight Systems Branch at NASA Johnson Space Center (2010-2012).

Christian is active in numerous professional societies. He is an AIAA Associate Fellow and an associate editor of the AIAA Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets. He is also a member of the AAS Space Flight Mechanics Committee and an associate editor of the AAS Journal of the Astronautical Sciences.

He holds a Ph.D. in aerospace engineering from The University of Texas at Austin. He also holds a B.S. and M.S. in aerospace engineering from Georgia Tech.

Education

• B.S., Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology;
• M.S., Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology;
• Ph.D., Aerospace Engineering, University of Texas at Austin

Distinctions & Awards

• American Astronautical Society (AAS) Fellow, 2021
• NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) Fellow, 2020
• AIAA Associate Fellow, 2019
• New Researcher of the Year, WVU Statler College of Engineering & Mineral Resources, 2015
• Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) Young Investigator Program (YIP) Award, 2015
• AIAA Willy Z. Sadeh Graduate Award in Space Engineering and Space Sciences, 2007

Dr. Miranda is a Sr. Research Scientist at the Center for Cyber Operations Enquiry and Unconventional Sensing (COEUS) and an adjunct Professor for the ECE department. Both his research and teaching are focused on cybersecurity and technology risk management.

Dalton Lin is a political scientist specializing in theories of international relations and foreign policy. His research interests focus on theorizing the bargaining between major and lesser countries in international politics, with an area focus on China and East Asia. He is a research associate with the China Research Center and founder of the Taiwan Security Issues. Before joining Georgia Tech, he was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow with the Princeton-Harvard China and the World Program at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University. He received his Ph.D. in political science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Education:

• Ph.D. University of Wisconsin-Madison

Awards and Distinctions:

• Faculty Excellence in Research Award for Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2024-2025
• Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation for International Scholarly Exchange, Scholar Grants, 2024-2025
• Student Recognition of Excellence in Teaching: Class of 1934 CIOS Honor Roll, Georgia Institute of Technology, Fall 2021
• Student Recognition of Excellence in Teaching: Class of 1934 CIOS Honor Roll, Georgia Institute of Technology, Spring 2021
• Student Recognition of Excellence in Teaching: Class of 1934 CIOS Honor Roll, Georgia Institute of Technology, Fall 2020
• Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation for International Scholarly Exchange, Dissertation Fellowships, 2011-2012
• Government Scholarship for Study Abroad, Ministry of Education, Taiwan, 2011
• Fulbright Fellow, U.S. Department of State, 2005-2007

Lawrence Rubin is co-director of the Georgia Tech DC Program and an associate professor in the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs as well as an associate fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. His research interests include Middle East politics and international security with a specific focus on intra-regional relations, religion and politics, nuclear proliferation, and emerging technologies. He has conducted research in Morocco, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, the UAE, and Yemen. Rubin in a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

During the 2017-2018 AY, Rubin served as a senior advisor in the Office of the Secretary of Defense for Policy through a Council on Foreign Relations International Affairs Fellowship in nuclear security, sponsored by the Stanton Foundation. He worked in the Middle East and Countering WMD offices.

Rubin is the author and editor of three books, including The End of Strategic Stability? Nuclear Weapons and the Challenge of Regional Rivalries (Georgetown University Press, 2018) co-edited with Adam Stulberg, Islam in the Balance: Ideational Threats in Arab Politics (Stanford University Press, 2014) and Terrorist Rehabilitation and Counter-Radicalisation: New Approaches to Counter-terrorism (Routledge 2011) with Rohan Gunaratna and Jolene Jerard. He recently edited a special issue for Orbis titled, “Emerging Technology and National Security,” 64:4 (2020). His other work has been published in International Studies Review, Politics, Religion & Ideology, Democracy and Security, International Area Studies Review, Middle East Policy, Terrorism and Political Violence, Orbis, Contemporary Security Policy, Democracy and Security, Non-Proliferation Review, British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, Lawfare, the Brookings Institute, The National Interest, The Washington Quarterly, and The Washington Post. He served as the guest editor for a special volume in Orbis 64:4 (Fall 2020), “Emerging Technology and National Security.”

Rubin is a former editor of the journal of Terrorism and Political Violence. He was senior advisor for United States Institute of Peace’s Task Force on Extremism in Fragile States (2017-18) and he was a senior advisor for the Reagan Institute’s The Contest for Innovation: Strengthening America’s National Security Innovation Base in an Era of Strategic Competition (2019).

Prior to coming to Georgia Tech, Rubin was a Research Fellow at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs with the Dubai Initiative in Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government (2009-2010) and was lecturer on the Robert and Myra Kraft chair in Arab politics at the Crown Center for Middle East Studies, Brandeis University (2008-2009). Outside of Academia, he has held positions at the National Defense University’s Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies and the RAND Corporation.

Rubin received his PhD in Political Science from UCLA (2009) and earned degrees from University of Oxford, London School of Economics, and UC Berkeley.  His research has been supported by the Hollings Center for International Dialogue, the Institute of Global Cooperation and Conflict, the U.S. Department of Education, Horowitz Foundation for Social Policy, Project on Middle East Political Science, and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency.

Thomas González Roberts is an Assistant Professor with a joint appointment in the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs and the Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He is the Director of Georgia Tech’s Engineering Space Policy Laboratory. Using tools from observational astronomy and computational astrodynamics, Roberts studies the behavior of Earth-orbiting satellites to understand how space actors—from superpowers to start-ups—engage with outer space governance. His research interests include international coordination, sustainability, and security in space. Roberts’ work has been supported by the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation, the National Science Foundation, and the Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research, and Innovation, and earned recognition with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT) Prize for Open Data, the Geneva Centre for Security Policy’s Prize for Innovation in Global Security, and a placement on Forbes Magazine’s 30 Under 30 in Science list. He holds a PhD and SM in aeronautics and astronautics from MIT, an SM in technology and policy from MIT, and a BA in astrophysical sciences from Princeton University.

Amirali Aghazadeh is an Assistant Professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering and also program faculty of Machine Learning, Bioinformatics, and Bioengineering Ph.D. programs. He has affiliations with the Institute for Data Engineering and Science (IDEAS) and Institute for Bioengineering and Biosciences. Before joining Georgia Tech, Aghazaeh was a postdoc at Stanford and UC Berkeley and completed his Ph.D. at Rice University. His research focuses on developing machine learning and deep learning solutions for protein and small molecular design and engineering.
 

Lisa Yaszek is Regents’ Professor of Science Fiction Studies at Georgia Tech, where she explores science fiction as a global language crossing centuries, continents, and cultures. Recent examples of her award-winning books include Sisters of Tomorrow: The First Women of Science Fiction (2016); Literary Afrofuturism in the Twenty-First Century (2021); and The Future is Female! Classic Science Fiction Stories by Women series (2018-present). Yaszek’s ideas about how we represent space and space exploration in popular culture have been featured in venues including Time Magazine, The Washington Post, and Space.com, and she has been an expert commentator for CBS Sunday Morning, the BBC4, Turner Classic Movies, and the AMC miniseries James Cameron’s Story of Science Fiction. Additionally, Yaszek is a past president of the Science Fiction Research Association (SFRA) and a founding member of the Eugie Award for Short Speculative Fiction. In 2024, she received the SFRA Lifetime Achievement Award for her contributions to the study of science, technology, and science fiction across media.