Dr. Mung Chiang is a distinguished figure in the fields of electrical engineering, academia, entrepreneurship, and diplomacy. As the current President of Purdue University, he has built upon a remarkable career marked by transformative leadership and pioneering contributions. Prior to his presidency, Dr. Chiang served as the John A. Edwardson Dean of the College of Engineering at Purdue, where he led the institution to unprecedented heights. Under his guidance, the college achieved consecutive top 4 graduate rankings in the U.S. and became the largest top 10 undergraduate engineering college.

A renowned electrical engineer, Dr. Chiang received the National Science Foundation's Alan T. Waterman Award for his groundbreaking work in edge computing, network utility maximization, and wireless resource allocation. His research publications have garnered over 30,000 citations, attesting to the profound impact of his work.

Beyond academia, Dr. Chiang is a prolific inventor and entrepreneur, co-founding three successful startups in mobile networks, artificial intelligence, and the Internet of Things. His entrepreneurial ventures have contributed significantly to bridging the digital divide and connecting millions of users globally.

As a diplomat, Dr. Chiang served as the science and technology advisor to the U.S. secretary of state, initiating tech diplomacy programs. Returning to Purdue in 2020, he co-founded the Krach Institute of Tech Diplomacy and presently serves as the technology and innovation advisor to the state of Indiana.

Gen. Thomas A. Bussiere, Commander of Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC) and Air Forces Strategic - Air at U.S. Strategic Command, is based at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. Leading over 33,700 professionals, AFGSC provides strategic deterrence, global strike capabilities, and support to USSTRATCOM and other combatant commands. Gen. Bussiere, a 1985 distinguished graduate of Air Force ROTC from Norwich University, boasts an extensive career with diverse assignments, including Deputy Director for Nuclear, Homeland Defense, and Current Operations at the Joint Staff. He commanded various units, such as the 509th Bomb Wing and Alaskan Command.

A seasoned pilot with 3,400+ flight hours, Gen. Bussiere piloted aircraft like the T-38 Talon, F-15C Eagle, B-2A Spirit, B-1B Lancer, and F-22 Raptor. He led F-15C combat missions during operations Southern Watch and Vigilant Warrior and B-2 combat missions during operations Allied Force and Iraqi Freedom. Before his current position, he served as Deputy Commander at USSTRATCOM.

Chief Master Sergeant of the Space Force John F. Bentivegna serves at the highest enlisted level of leadership and provides direction for the enlisted force representing their interests to the American public and to those in all levels of government. He acts as the personal advisor to the Chief of Space Operations and the Secretary of the Air Force on all issues regarding the welfare, readiness, morale, proper utilization, and development of the U.S. Space Force.

Chief Bentivegna entered the United States Air Force in 1994 and has served in both Maintenance and Space Operations career fields. He has held positions at the squadron, division, group, wing, Numbered Air Force, Field Command and Headquarters Air and Space Force levels and served as the Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chief Operations Officer and is the Enlisted Space Systems Operations Career Field Manager, Headquarters Space Force, Washington, D.C.

Chief Bentivegna entered the United States Space Force on September 1, 2020.

Tim Cahill serves as the executive vice president of Missiles and Fire Control (MFC) at Lockheed Martin, overseeing an enterprise with a value exceeding $11 billion and employing around 20,000 individuals. MFC is a leader in developing, manufacturing, and supporting advanced sensors, missile, and air & missile defense systems, providing crucial technical servces and logistics support to various military entities, including the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, The Missile Defense Agency, Special Operations Forces and allied nations. Commercially, MFC contributes to renewable energy solutions and energy storage.

Cahill's extensive career at Lockheed Martin includes roles as senior vice president of Global Business Development & Strategy and senior vice president for Lockheed Martin International. His leadership in MFC covered significant programs such as THAAD, PAC-3, MEADS, and emerging Integrated Air and Missile Defense (IAMD) technologies.

Before MFC, Cahill held leadership positions at Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company, overseeing critical U.S. military efforts in strategic and missile defense systems. A former U.S. Air Force officer, Cahill joined Lockheed Martin in 1995 after a distinguished military career. He holds Bachelor and Master of Science degrees in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering from Purdue University, an MBA from Stanford University, and completed the Executive Program Manager’s Course at the Defense Systems Management College.

Maj. Gen. Christopher S. Povak is the Deputy Director, National Reconnaissance Office, Chantilly, Virginia. In this role, he assists the Director in managing the strategic and tactical priorities of the NRO including the design, acquisition, launch and operations of the nation’s satellite reconnaissance capabilities. As the Commander, Space Force Element, General Povak leads the military personnel assigned to NRO, manages the associated service resources, and serves as senior advisor to the Director on all military matters.

General Povak received his commission from Clarkson University in 1992. Throughout his career, he gained extensive hands-on satellite operations, engineering and acquisitions experience working with Air Force Space Command and in several positions with the NRO. General Povak has commanded space operations units at the squadron, group, and wing levels. He has also served on the Headquarters Air Force Staff gaining broad insight into defense policy and the Department of Defense’s requirements, programming and budgeting processes. General Povak was also selected for a congressional fellowship and served as a military legislative advisor to United States Senator Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut.

Prior to his current assignment, General Povak was the Deputy Director, Space Warfighting Analysis Center, Washington D.C. 

Brigadier General Kristin L. Panzenhagen holds a quadruple role as Program Executive Officer (PEO) for Assured Access to Space, Commander of Space Launch Delta 45 (SLD 45), Director of the Eastern Range, and Director of Launch and Range Operations at the Space Systems Command (SSC/S3). She also serves as the Space Force University Partnership Program Co-Champion for Purdue University.

In her capacity as PEO, General Panzenhagen oversees the organization, training, and equipping of 22,000 personnel at SLD 45 and Launch Enterprise Directorate across various bases. She leads the acquisition and management of the $13.5B National Security Space Launch Program, Rocket System Launch Program, and Launch and Test Range System Program. As SLD 45 Commander, she manages base infrastructure and oversees payload processing and launches from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

General Panzenhagen, a Distinguished Graduate of Purdue University's ROTC, entered the Air Force in 2000. Her diverse career includes aircraft maintenance, developmental engineering, and command roles at the squadron level. She has contributed to national-level space policy at the National Reconnaissance Office and deployed to various locations, including Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

Col. Nicole “Gucci” Petrucci is currently assigned as the Commander, Space Delta 3, Space Operations Command, Peterson Space Force Base, Colorado. She commands the Electromagnetic Warfare Delta with personnel deployed worldwide. Space Delta 3 is responsible for preparing and presenting assigned and attached forces for the purpose of executing electromagnetic warfare. The units falling under her command within Space Delta 3 are the 4th, 5th and 16th Electromagnetic Warfare Squadrons and the 3d Combat Training Squadron.

Col. Petrucci received her commission from Fresno State University in 2001. She has served as Combat Crew commander, Instructor, and Evaluator on the Minuteman III Intercontinental Ballistic Missile, the PARCS missile warning and space tracking radar, and various classified satellite systems. She has developed and authored numerous space and cyber tactics in use around the world today. Col. Petrucci is a master space operator and a graduate of the USAF Weapons School, the School of Advanced Air and Space Studies, and a distinguished graduate of the Eisenhower School of National Security and Resource Strategy. Prior to her current assignment, she served as an Operation Research Analyst in Cost Assessment and Program Assessment, Office of the Secretary of Defense, Washington DC.

Colonel Kelly Burt is currently the Director of Space and Cyberspace Operations for United States Space Command's Combined Force Space Component Command, where he leads a team of 98 to support the Commander in tactical control of over 70 combat units and four joint centers executing the satellite communications, positioning, navigation and timing, missile warning, space domain awareness and space electronic warfare missions.

Col Burt entered the Air Force in July 1996 and transitioned to the Space Force in December 2020. He has been a career space and missile operator with various duties at squadron, wing, functional air and space component, sub-unified/combatant command and Headquarters Air Force levels. His assignments include installations in Wyoming, California, Arizona, the District of Columbia, Alabama, Maryland, and Virginia. Prior to his current assignment, Col Burt was the Commander of the Space Operations Group at Aerospace Data Facility-Southwest, White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico.

Colonel Marqus D. Randall formerly served as the Chief, Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance Resources and Requirements Division, Headquarters United States Space Force, Pentagon, Washington DC. Col Randall directed planning, programming, and budgeting of more than $3 billion in US Space Force ISR resources. He oversaw space ISR capabilities and requirements integration into Service and Intelligence Community programs. Col Randall advised HQ Space Force Senior Staff on ISR resources and requirements matters in response to DoD and Congressional directives, tasks, and inquiries. He also served as HQ Staff manager for Military and National Intelligence Programs for the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence respectively.

A Mississippi native, Colonel Randall is a 1997 graduate of the United States Air Force Academy and a career intelligence officer. His assignments included having served as Director of Operations, 18th Intelligence Squadron; Director of Operations, 595th Operations Support Squadron; Senior Intelligence Officer, 595th Space Group, Space Innovation and Development Center; and Intelligence Production/Target Materials Flight Commander, 20th Intelligence Squadron. Col Randall also served as Commander, 17th Training Support Squadron. His previous staff tours include US Space Command, US Strategic Command, US Cyber Command, Office of the Secretary of Defense ISR Task Force, and Headquarters Air Force. He has multiple deployments in support of Operations SOUTHERN WATCH, ENDURING FREEDOM, and RESOLUTE SUPPORT and Joint Task Force Katrina. 

Prof. Frueh is the Harold DeGroff Associate Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics at Purdue. She is the director of the Purdue Optical Ground Station, and the chair of the International Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) Panel on Potentially Environmentally Detrimental Activities in Space (PEDAS). Dr. Frueh’s research and expertise is in Space Domain Awareness in the near-Earth and Cislunar space, including the detection of new and tracking of known objects, orbit determination, sensor tasking, GNC, and the characterization of space objects beyond their center of mass in the near and far field. She is working with NASA, industry partners, and the DoD in her research.

Doctor Douglass M. Drake is the Deputy Director, Forces Development and Training Directorate (J7), United States Space Command (USSPACECOM).  The J7 educates Joint Warfighters on space operations and capabilities, trains them to integrate space and counterspace capabilities for maximum effects, and builds innovative force design and space warfighting concepts to achieve Command and Joint Force mission objectives.

Dr. Drake was commissioned into the Air Force through Officer Training School in 1991.  He has served as a Minuteman missile combat crew commander, instructor, and evaluator; as a Space Operations flight commander, Chief of Training, and Operations Support Flight Commander; as the senior coder in a Minuteman missile wing; and on the Headquarters Air Force Space Command staff.  He also served as the Chief of Workforce Resources, Education, & Development in a major Department of Defense agency in the National Capital Region.  He deployed to Afghanistan to serve as the principal advisor to the Afghan Air Force Director of Plans and Programs in support of Operations Enduring Freedom and Resolute Support.  Dr. Drake served in various faculty and staff positions at the Air Force’s Air War College, culminating as the Director of the West Space Seminar during which time he transitioned to the US Space Force.  He then served as the Chief of the Training and Education Division at USPACECOM until he retired from the Space Force as a Colonel in 2023.

Dr. Mark J. Lewis is a distinguished figure with a rich background in academia, government service, and the aerospace industry. Currently serving as the Chief Executive Officer of the Purdue Applied Research Institute (PARI), he brings an impressive wealth of experience in national security, scientific research, and academia. Purdue established PARI in 2021 to focus on national security, economic security, and food security, with a strategic emphasis on areas crucial to national defense, such as hypersonics, energetics, cybersecurity, and secure microelectronics.

Dr. Lewis is recognized as one of the world's foremost experts on hypersonics, and his influential career spans various domains. As the former Acting Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, he oversaw research, development, and prototyping activities across the Department of Defense (DoD) enterprise. He played a crucial role in managing key defense agencies, including the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Missile Defense Agency (MDA), and Space Development Agency (SDA).

Before his roles at the DoD, Dr. Lewis served as the Director of the IDA Science and Technology Policy Institute, providing analysis on science and technology issues for federal science agencies and the White House. He has also held leadership positions in academia, including serving as the Willis Young, Jr. Professor and Chair of the Department of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Maryland.

Dr. Lewis's academic journey began at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he earned multiple Bachelor of Science degrees and a Doctor of Science degree in aeronautics and astronautics.

Dr. Rod Miller is the Chief Mission Architect for Lockheed Martin's Space Communication Mission Strategy and Advanced Capabilities, doubling as the Technical Liaison to Purdue University. In his role as the "chief disruption officer," he identifies and nurtures disruptive technologies and relationships for satellite communications. As the Technical Liaison to Purdue, he fosters the strategic partnership between the University and Lockheed Martin. With a background in nuclear deterrence, space operations, and science & technology initiatives, Dr. Miller, a retired U.S. Air Force Colonel, served in key roles, including Senior Leader Chief Scientist for Air Force Global Strike Command.

Formerly, he held leadership positions in space and nuclear acquisition, contributing to programs like Milstar and Space Based Infrared System. Dr. Miller commanded the Space Development Squadron and served as the Military Assistant to the Air Force Chief Scientist. Post his Air Force service, he was Purdue University’s Special Advisor for National Security Initiatives and later the Chief Technologist for Hypersonics at the Indiana Innovation Institute. Dr. Miller holds a bachelor's degree in Nuclear Engineering from Purdue University, along with a Master's and PhD in Nuclear Engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology. In addition, he has a Masters of Military Operational Art and Science from the Air University Air Command and Staff College and is a graduate of the Defense Acquisition University’s Program Manager and Executive Program Manager Courses 

Dr. Stacy Manni is the Director of the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Regional Network – Midwest. Dr. Manni brings a strong background in coordinating technological, scientific, and research-related activities; assessing and capitalizing on technological opportunities; steering program functions and programmatics; and managing high profile budgets and contracts. 

Prior to joining the Midwest Network, Dr. Manni was a Senior Physical Scientist and International Program Officer for the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR), Southern Office of Aerospace Research and Development (SOARD) in Santiago, Chile. In recognition of her work in this role, she received an Air Force Exemplary Civilian Service Award, her second in over her 12 years with the Air Force. Dr. Manni is an Army combat veteran and has a PhD in Physical Chemistry from Kent State University.