Space Tech Symposium @ Berkeley 2022 is a gathering of space tech pioneers in industry and research. Top startups executives, scientists, and engineers will present their visions of the future of space tech and much more. Attendees will be able to interact with presenters as well as with fellow industry professionals attending the event. We’ll be holding 3 main speaker panels on space entrepreneurship, how space technologies helps life on Earth, and space infrastructure and services, as well as keynote presentations.
DATE & TIME May 4, 2022 - 12pm to 6pm PT
LOCATION Sibley Auditorium, Berkeley, CA
SPEAKERS 10+ Professional Speakers
Additional speakers will be announced very shortly. Stay tuned!
We are very excited about the talks we have planned for you.
Only at Space Tech Symposium 2022 this spring in Berkeley, California.
Learn about Space Technologies at Cal (STAC), Space Technologies and Rocketry (STAR), and Space Enterprises at Berkeley (SEB), who we are, and what we do.
Speaker : To Be AnnouncedLearn more about the innovations in space tech.
Speaker : Dr. Eugene Tu - NASA AMESHear from a panel of researchers and industry professionals to learn more about space entrepreneurship.
Panelist : Mike Cassidy - Apollo Fusion, Chris Boshuizen - Planet and DCVC, Jivika Rajani - Space Ventures, Matt Gialich - AstroforgeCheck out ongoing and past projects from student-run space technology groups on campus!
Hear from a panel of researchers and industry professionals to learn more about how space technologies help life on Earth.
Panelists : Ryan McLinkno - Astranis,Hear from a panel of researchers and industry professionals to learn more about sspace infra and services.
Panelist : Grant Kendall-Bell - Orbit Fab, Al Tadros - Redwire Space, Yanni Barghouty - Cosmic Shielding CorporationTake the opportunity to network with industry professionals and students from UC Berkeley!
Organzations : Space Technologies at Cal (STAC), Space Technology and Rocketry (STAR), Space Enterprises at Berkeley (SEB), NewSpace @ BerkeleyReserve your ticket right now for the talk of the year
Join us to hear from some of space technology's brightest minds.
Our venue, Sibley Auditorium is a 20 minute walk from the Downtown Berkeley BART station. You can alternatively walk to the number 52, University at Shattuck, bus stop and ride this to Hearst Ave. and Le Roy Ave. which is 100 ft. from the auditorium.
We have parking spaces reserved at the Lower Hearst parking structure which is a 5 minute walk from the auditorium. The route from parking space to auditorium is wheelchair accessible.
The University of California, Berkeley is partnered with the Residence Inn in downtown Berkeley. Please book using this link to receive the University of California discount on your stay. You'll be located one block away from the Downtown Berkeley BART station.
Sibley Auditorium
Bechtel Engineering Center
Berkeley, CA 94709 USA
Contact : execs@stac.berkeley.edu
Please make your lodging accomodations at
Residence Inn to receive a discount on your stay.
Interested in sponsoring? Feel free to get in touch with us at execs@stac.berkeley.edu
Some frequently asked questions for you.
Space Tech Symposium at Berkeley (STS@Berkeley) is a gathering of space tech pioneers in industry and research. Top venture capitalists, startups, scientists, and engineers will present their visions for the future of space tech and much more. STS attendees will also be able to interact with presenters and fellow industry professionals.
We are a group of passionate scientists who want to push the frontier of space research and the space industry. We are not a typical engineering club; we focus on making strides in innovating space technologies. We, like the rest of industry, want to accelerate our progression towards the exploration and habitation of space. Berkeley, the crossroads of a world class research university and a burgeoning space startup scene, is the the perfect spot for a conversation about the collaboration of the public and private sectors necessary for the progress in the space industry to take place. We hope that by hosting STS, we can provide attendees a broader perspective of the future of space technology that brings us all a little bit closer to understanding the great unknown.
The Space Tech Symposium will be held in Sibley Auditorium of the Bechtel Engineering Center at UC Berkeley in Berkeley, CA on Monday May 4, 2022 from 4:00pm to 8:30pm.
Space Technologies at Cal (STAC) is a student engineering organization of 60 students at Berkeley focused on developing innovative space technologies and research. We are creating a collaborative space program by incorporating multiple universities, research labs and industry partners to enable space research projects such as High Altitude Balloons, Microgravity Experiments, CubeSats, and more. You can learn more about us at our website.
We are working on many exciting projects. We most recently just launched a QubeSat into space with Astra! We have a High Altitude Balloon project, where we launch unmanned helium balloon into near space with scientific payloads. We are launching several Interstellar Microgravity Experiments (TIMEs) to outer-space with Blue Origin rockets, where we further aerospace research by testing how a low-gravity environment - like space - will affect lifeforms, optics, and physical mechanics. Our CubeSat Deployer project aims to deploy smaller swarm of Wafer Scale Spacecrafts (WaferSats) into space to pioneer the work in laser communication. Lastly but not the least, our Autonomous Rover project is working on developing a resource rover, in collaboration with NASA Ames, that is fully controllable and autonomous in order to extract and utilize resources on moon.
Space Technologies And Rocketry (STAR) is UC Berkeley’s premier competition high-power rocketry team. The club has build a total of six complete vehicles engineered over their half decade lifetime.
Space Enterprise at Berkeley's (SEB) mission has been to be the first collegiate space technology organization to send a liquid-fueled rocket past the Karman Line.
NewSpace at Berkeley focuses on bringing awareness and education on the NewSpace Industry primarily through an undergraduate course on NewSpace Entrepreneurship.
Yes! Your support ensures that we can continue innovating and breaking through new barriers in space. You can learn more about our sponsorship on our website. If you are interested in shaping the coming age of space exploration along our side with a sponsorship or donation, please contact us at execs@stac.berkeley.edu.
Yes: comfortable. Keep in mind the amazing people you’ll be meeting at this conference, and dress to impress and connect with them. However you style yourself, make sure it’s respectful of the beautiful venue and other guests attending the event.
Definitely! Anyone passionate about space is welcome and encouraged to attend our Symposium! Don't forget to grab your tickets in advance!
Yes! Student tickets cost only $12.
The people who make it happen.
Dr. Eugene L. Tu is the center director at NASA's Ames Research Center in California's Silicon Valley, where he leads a staff of civil servants and contractors in providing critical research and development support that makes the aeronautics and space missions of NASA and the nation possible.
Tu was most recently director of Exploration Technology at Ames, a position he held from November 2005 until his selection as Ames center director in May 2015. There he led four technology research and development divisions, including two of NASA's critical infrastructure assets: the consolidated arc jet testing complex and the agency's primary supercomputing facility.
Tu earned his bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1988, and both his master's degree and doctorate in aeronautics and astronautics from Stanford University in 1990 and 1996, respectively. He is an associate fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
Before becoming CTO at Redwire, Al Tadros oversaw the company's long-term growth strategy and business
development activities. He is responsible for advancing development, increasing adoption, and
building momentum for Redwire's mission-enabling capabilities within civil, defense and commercial
space sectors.
With nearly three decades of experience as an aerospace executive, Tadros is a thought leader in
on-orbit servicing, assembly and manufacturing with a proven track record in maturing satellite and
space systems programs for exploration, national security, and commercial innovation.
Previously, he served as Vice President of Space Infrastructure and Civil Space at Maxar
Technologies where he led significant innovation in next-generation spacecraft design and space
infrastructure, integrating robotics and on-orbit satellite manufacturing, servicing, and assembly
capabilities. Over the course of his career at Maxar, he participated in 13 missions and launch
campaigns, many of which deployed cutting-edge communications and remote sensing systems
Tadros has worked with both commercial enterprises and government agencies to develop space
systems for communications, satellite servicing, remote sensing, and exploration.
An authority in on-orbit servicing, assembly and manufacturing, Tadros holds patents in the field of
attitude control systems, and was responsible for early telerobotics research for the International
Space Station.
Mike Cassidy is the VP of Product Management at Astra. Mike Cassidy was recently the CEO of Apollo Fusion, Inc. and a Vice President at Google. He was the Project Leader of GoogleX's Project Loon (balloon-powered Internet for everyone).
Prior to Astra, Mike was the Co-Founder and CEO of five start-ups: Apollo Fusion, Ruba, Xfire, Direct Hit, and Stylus Innovation.
Apollo Fusion designs and builds ion thrusters for satellites and was acquired by Astra for $145 million. Ruba helped travelers share their favorite places and was acquired by Google. Xfire helps gamers play online with their friends and was acquired by MTV for $110 million. Direct Hit was a revolutionary search engine whose customers included MSN, Lycos, AOL, etc. and was acquired by Ask Jeeves for $500 million. Stylus Innovation's flagship product was computer telephony software Visual Voice. Artisoft acquired Stylus for $13M. Mike has a BS/MS in Aerospace Engineering from MIT.
He graduated from Harvard Business School and has been an advisor to Endeavor.org, StartX, Tim Berners-Lee's WebFoundation, From the Top, Jazz at Lincoln Center, and over 300 startup companies. He has four patents and was selected for the DEMO Lifetime Achievement Award, nominated for a Webby award, and named a Forbes E-gang Trendsetter. His startup products have won PC Magazine's Top 100 Websites, Computer Telephony Product of the Year, CNET Editor's Choice, and PC Magazine's Editor's Choice.
Grant Kendall-Bell is currently a Business Development Manager at Orbit Fab where he helps to grow the business by building relationships, closing contracts, and establishing strong processes across the company. He joined this team to help build towards their mission to enable unlimited mobility in space in an effort to exponentially grow the space industry and extend human civilization into the final frontier.
In his previous role at Techstars Starburst Space Accelerator, he helped NewSpace startup founders to build the next generation of space technology companies. Grant Kendall-Bell worked closely with innovators who had developed incredible technologies to help them iterate on their business model approach and go-to-market strategies. He also helped the startups to strategize fundraising efforts and improve business processes, while he managed program operations for Techstars.
Prior to Techstars, Grant Kendall-Bell worked as a venture investor with VU Venture Partners on the frontier technologies team. He evaluated deals across a range of industries, but focused on Aerospace, Robotics, 3D Printing/Advanced Manufacturing, Transportation, IoT, and Enterprise Infrastructure, with a primary interest in Space Technologies. He values a first-principles approach, challenging the status quo, and those with a unique insight into markets. Kendall-Bell says that he is "constantly looking to meet people that build, finance, consult, and drive forward the growing space industry."
Dr. Chris Boshuizen is an Operating Partner at DCVC (Data Collective) leading investment in space (Capella Space, Rocket Lab) and other deep tech companies. Chris was co-founder of Planet Labs, a DCVC company providing unprecedented daily, global mapping of our changing planet from space. As the company’s CTO for 5 years, he took the company from the drawing board to having launched more satellites into space than any other company in history, completely transforming the space industry along the way. Chris was previously a Space Mission Architect at NASA Ames Research Center. After working on a number of traditional spacecraft programs at NASA, Chris co-created Phonesat, a spacecraft built solely out of a regular smartphone. Chris received his Ph.D. in Physics (with honors) and a BSc. in Physics and Mathematics, both from the University of Sydney.
Ryan McLinko is the Co-Founder and CTO at Astranis. He graduated from MIT and has worked with SpaceX, United Launch Alliance, Infoscitex, Sierra Nevada Corporation, and Planet Labs. He specializes in developing mechanical and systems engineering, designing, and building with an emphasis on manned and unmanned spacecraft. Going forward, Ryan intends to continue to build vehicles that enable low-coost, reliable access to space to help move our civilization forward.
Yanni Barghoutyis the CEO and Co-Founder of Cosmic Shielding Corporation. He was recently featured in Forbes 30 Under 30 for his exceptional business skills and eye for the future. Yanni and Co-Founder Lembit Sihver have patented a unique multifunctional polymer shielding that will make space more accessible and sustainable for all space entrants.
With world leading nuclear and helio physicists and material scientists developing radiation mitigation technologies, CSC will use their multifunctional polymer shielding to build a sustainable and permanent future in space. They will 3D print the next generation of radiation shielding, protecting instruments, satellites, and people from cosmic rays and solar particles.
Cosmic Shielding Corporation is currently preparing to launch its first orbital demonstration in the beginning of July and next the ISS in August.
Prior to Cosmic Shielding Corporation, Yanni led various successful seed round funding for other start up companies and worked at NASA as an intern before attending college. Yanni graduated with a Biomedical Engineering degree from Georgia Institute of Technology and has worked in engineering and business fields since then. Now, Yanni is going to make space safe, sustainable, and accessible by overcoming the harsh radiation environment.
Matt (CEO) is the co-founder and CEO of AstroForge, an asteroid mining company. He has more than a decade of experience providing exemplary leadership to accomplished engineering teams. Upon receiving his Masters's degree in electrical engineering, he joined Toyon Research, where he was responsible for creating novel navigation algorithms. He went on to join the initial technical team at Virgin Orbit. During his tenure, he led the flight software and GNC teams and oversaw all aspects of the building and hiring of Avionics. Following Virgin, he accepted a leadership position at Bird as the Director of Vehicle Software. There led his team through the development of the Bird 2 and 3 vehicles.
Coming soon...
Brunston is currently a Space Infrastructure Systems and Software Engineer at Loft Orbtial, where he worked on developing flight command and control capabilities in the Cockpit mission control system for the YAM-3 satellite and future missions on the LeoStella satellites. He graduate from UC Berkekely in 2020, and has previously worked at Google, Boeing, and SpaceX.
Victoria is a senior at UC Berkeley studying Political Science with an International Relations emphasis. She helped lead decal and is a Project Manager for the Planet project.
Currently, Victoria is working as an intern at Cosmic Shielding Corporation and is passionate about sustainable space infrastrastructure that affects both space and our planet.
Her goal is to be able to focus on the entrepreneurial and brand strategy side of NewSpace.
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Nolan Lautrette is a sophomore studying Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) and Mechanical Engineering at UC Berkeley. He has been heavily involved in Space Enterprise at Berkeley (SEB) as a systems engineer, helping build, test, and improve liquid bi-propellant rocket engines.
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Justin is a junior at UC Berkeley studying Computer Science and Applied Mathematics. Formerly a software engineer on the Quatum CubeSat team, he is now the External Vice President of STAC.
He spent the last summer working with The Aerospace Corporation as a Software Engineer in the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent Group, and currently has commitments with Intel, Microsoft, and a stealth startup.
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Vidish is a senior studying Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and is the current team lead of the
Quantum CubeSat Project, where he oversaw the engineering, development, and integration of the small sat since its
inception in 2019. The QubeSat launced on Astra Space's LV-0008 from Cape Canavarel in early February.
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Raymond Mo is a second year studying Electrical Engineering and Computer Science + Business Administration at Berkeley.
He is an External Vice President at Space Technologies at Cal and also an avid member of the High Altitude Balloon Team. L
ast summer, Raymond worked at Google streamlining their machine learning infrastructure.
In his free time, Raymond likes to stargaze and take photos of the night sky.
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Sam Phillips is a third year mechanical engineering student here at UC Berkeley.
Having been both the propulsion deputy and Business lead for STAR, the rocketry team, he is now president of the team alongside running the NewSpace Entrepreneurship DeCal
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An aspiring 'astropreneur.'
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Hubert has always been extremely passionate about space exploration and technology. His focus centers around technologies related to lunar commercialization.
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Hannah Joo is the Chief Safety Officer of Space Enterprise at Berkeley, where she leads operations and works on avionics and outreach. This summer, she will be working at NASA JPL to develop test automation, telemetry tracking, and control for spacecraft and instruments such as JWST, Perseverance, and NISAR. She is passionate about developing technology that both expands the horizons of space exploration and benefits life on Earth.