Giselle is a postdoctoral research associate in the Verification and Analysis Group, X Computational Group at Los Alamos National Laboratory since 2019. Her research is currently focused on machine learning applied to fracture mechanics and inertial confinement fusion. Giselle earned her bachelor’s degree in nuclear engineering from Instituto Balseiro, Argentina in 2014. She earned her master’s degree in mechanical engineering in 2016 and her Ph.D. degree in aerospace engineering in 2018 from the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of Florida under the supervision of Dr. Haftka and Dr. Balachandar. Her research focused on multi-fidelity surrogates and uncertainty quantification of large-scale multiphase flow simulations.
Degrees
2018 Ph.D.- Aerospace Engineering
2016 M.S – Mechanical Engineering
Tracy Gill works for NASA at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC). He has thirty years of experience including work on space shuttle payloads and on space station elements and experiment payloads gaining valuable experience doing “hands-on” work on flight and ground support hardware and working with people from all over the United States and the world. He currently supports the NASA Artemis program including Human Landing Systems, Gateway and NextSTEP (Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships) commercial partnering efforts for lunar exploration.
Tracy is a big sports fan following football and basketball and any team that represents the University of Florida. And as expected of someone in the space field, he is a fan of popular science fiction including Star Wars and Star Trek and participates in the occasional comic book convention. Tracy enjoys speaking to local schools on various topics in the space field and is an adjunct professor for the International Space University.
Degrees
2000 MS – Aerospace and Mechanical Systems
1989 BS – Electrical Engineering
35+ years of proven technical leadership and management success in IT sales, business development, business partnerships, business strategy and systems engineering in both commercial industries (airline, consumer packaged goods, high performance computing, life sciences, retail, utilities) and with US Federal government agencies. Accomplished and collaborative leader with expertise in building, managing and leading an organization to exceed sales goals and business objectives with strong business relationships. Built a technical sales team that delivered over $200M in yearly revenue. Strong and effective oral and written communication skills coupled with grounded business acumen. Accomplished public speaker at IT conferences internationally. Speak at local high schools to educate students on the vlaue of engineering in the global marketplace. Assist George Mason University students on the value of partnerships.
Hobbies include photography, international travel, tennis, swimming, Gator football, and playing the guitar.
Degrees
1977 BS – Mechanical Engineering
Vinay currently works for Enovix Corporation, engineering the novel 3D Silicon Anode Lithium Ion Battery architecture for Wearable, IoT, Laptop, Mobile and Industrial Applications. He previously worked with Lucid Motors for the launching the first Greenfield Electric Vehicle Factory in North America. At Caterpillar, he was involved in developing a Boom Energy Recovery system for Electrification Architecture of Hydraulic Mining Shovels. During his Masters degree at UF, Vinay got the opportunity to gain practical experience through internships with Tesla and Eone Fire Trucks.
Vinay graduated from the University of Florida in Spring 2018 with a Master of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering . He holds a Bachelor of Technology degree in Mechanical Engineering from COEP Technological University, Pune. He has been recognized as a J.N.Tata Scholar in 2016.
Degrees
Master of Science Mechanical Engineering 2018
Bachelor of Technology Mechanical Engineering 2015
Certification in Project Management Stanford University 2020
John is a successful Global Technology Executive with a track record that spans more than a decade. He is committed to driving digital transformation in many different businesses. His specialty is putting cutting-edge technology into fields like automotive manufacturing, alternative energy, and life sciences. John has led and managed teams as well in foreign markets, especially in the fast-changing APAC and NA regions.
John has been a main force behind a number of digital project initiatives that have successfully helped companies ranging from mid to enterprise. His creative leadership has been a big reason why these organizations have been able to improve their operations and become more efficient by using new technologies.
John has made great advances to the world of technology, and he is also a recognized published author. His #1 best-selling book on Amazon, “Freedom Thinking for the 21st Century: How to Live Life to Your Fullest Potential,” shows his gratitude to help others in succeeding their ultimate potential in life
John has been a leader and change agent in driving sustainability and energy efficiency through cutting-edge technology on a global scale for over a decade.
Having lived abroad and worked with diverse government and enterprise clients worldwide in automotive manufacturing, high-tech, alternative energy, and life sciences, he has firsthand experience with today’s toughest challenges and their solutions.
In addition to his technological contributions, John is a recognized author of three published books. One of his works, *Freedom Thinking for the 21st Century: How to Live Life to Your Fullest Potential*, became an Amazon #1 best-seller, showcasing his dedication to helping others achieve their highest potential.
Degrees
Bachelors of Science in Mechanical Engineering
Masters in Business Administration from Cornell University
Dr. Oscar A. Martinez is currently an R&D Staff member and Package Testing Program Manage at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in the Nuclear Energy and Fuel Cycle Division. He received his B.S. (2003), M.S. (2004), and Ph.D. (2007) in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Florida. His primary research interests are in solid mechanics, structural analysis, explicit dynamic computational modeling, mechanical testing of hazardous material shipping containers, and transportation of radioactive material shipping containers. At ORNL, Dr. Martinez provides subject matter expertise on structural modeling, finite element modeling and simulation, and design analysis to various projects with mechanical engineering, finite element analysis, or structural analysis need. Additionally, he is Program Manager of the Package Testing Program (PTP) of packages that contain radioactive materials at the National Transportation Research Center. Packages that contain radioactive materials require demonstration that they pass rigorous performance tests to ensure that the public and environment are protected from the hazardous nature of the cargo. The PTP develops and evaluates testing solutions—ensuring that they are safe, efficient, and meet regulatory requirements. Dr. Martinez possesses the broad range of expertise and equipment needed to support all phases of the development and deployment of safe and secure transportation systems.
Degrees
2007 Ph.D. – Aerospace Engineering
2004 Master of Science – Aerospace Engineering
2003 Bachelor – Aerospace Engineering
Sean is a lecturer in MAE focusing his research and teaching efforts on pedagogical improvement to the way we teach Senior Design. He also dabbles in Mechanical Design, Design for Manufacturing, and Instrumentation Design when time permits. As a former Formula SAE team member, Sean continues to support student groups, and mentors several undergraduate thesis students each semester.
In his free time, Sean enjoys hiking through our nation’s beautiful National parks and homebrewing his own “adult beverages” when time and circumstance allows.
Degrees
2018 Ph.D. – Mechanical
2015 Master of Science – Mechanical
2012 Bachelor – Mechanical
2012 Bachelor – Aerospace
Grew up in Key West, UF Navy ROTC, Naval Aviator, Pilot (F/A-18 and others), 28 years in the Navy retiring as a Captain. Commanded the Naval Strike Test Squadron as well as the Naval Air Warfare Center for training systems. Upon retiring in 2012, started my own company as a Aerospace and Defense business coach. I also conduct leadership workshops and serve as an executive coach as a certified John Maxwell Executive Director and have a very diverse client base.
Degrees
1984, 1993 Post Masters – Aeronautical Engineering
David works as an aircraft design engineer within the Advanced Concepts group of Boeing’s Commercial Airplanes division in Long Beach, CA. In this role, David designs and analyses future configuration and propulsion architectures for commercial aircraft. David also works within the Boeing AvionX organization as a GNC and software development engineer, and previously worked at Northrop Grumman as a GNC engineer.
David got his Bachelors in Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering at UF followed by a Masters in Aerospace Engineering at Stanford, where he focused in conceptual aircraft design. In his time at the University of Florida, David co-founded the AeroGators organization and was involved with AIAA and Theta Tau. David also did undergraduate research with Dr. Rick Lind.
In his free time, David enjoys hiking, scuba diving, skiing, and playing soccer, and is a private pilot in both fixed-wing and helicopters.
Degrees
2018 M.S. – Aerospace Engineering
2015 B.S. – Aerospace Engineering
2015 B.S. – Mechanical Engineering
Tyler grew up in South Florida and worked for Macaroni Grill in High School before moving out to Gainesville for his bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering. While at the University of Florida he was the Programs Coordinator for ASME, which put him in contact with many local companies as he strove to set up tours for new Engineering Students.
One of those tours to Lockheed Martin in Ocala, FL led to Tyler landing his first job after college as a Quality Engineer. Over his six years with Lockheed Martin he had the opportunity to ramp up a production line, co-author the Fighter Production System strategy for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, and improve the quality process for an automated conformal coating line. Tyler was awarded his Lean Six Sigma Green & Black Belt certifications while at Lockheed Martin and recently received his Master Black Belt certification.
While completing his MBA at Southern Methodist University Tyler had the opportunity to work for a Private Equity Firm, Patriot Capital, where he learned his love of finances. This later led to him leave Lockheed Martin for Southwest Airlines (SWA) and enter into a Corporate Strategy role.
Tyler currently leads a high-powered Team of Senior Analysts responsible for providing support to FP&A Leadership, Business Partners, and SWA Leadership by delivering financial models, workflow automations, dashboards, and tools to enable the FP&A Department to deliver actionable plans and analysis for business decisions.
Tyler is also an avid golfer, runner, and obviously a huge Gator fan! Please reach out to him to connect.
Degrees
2013 M.B.A. – Strategy and Entrepreneurship
2009 B.S. – Mechanical Engineering
Currently, I’m working in the consumer goods industry but am most proud of my time at Kennedy Space Center as a Propulsion and Life Support Engineer, where I led a team of engineers that solved an impossible task for astronaut rescue that was a return to flight mandate after a space shuttle explosion. It was technically and politically monstrous with plenty of failed experiments before we had a breakthrough. It is not the failures at solving the impossible tasks that define us; it is the tenacity to find another way to succeed.
For fun I race in half ironman distance triathlons and yes this is my definition of fun. Truthfully, sometimes I wonder why I keep doing these races because the course is out to beat you, it is relentless, it is painful and all the training done in preparation doesn’t seem enough. But I don’t quit. Every race is dedicated to my daughter who is a survivor of childhood disease, a school shooting and a chronic illness that limits her life. She does not complain so it would be trivial for me to complain about my self-induced pains.
Entering the last phase of my career I want to ignite a generation of technical women to take on the hardest tasks, take risks and move society forward on our biggest challenges in education equity. We need all of our talented young minds engaged in solving new impossible challenges. If we screen out people by gender or color we are limiting the possibilities and lowering our chance for transformation.
Degrees
2001 PhD – Operations Research
1992 MSME – Mechanical Engineering
1983 BSME – Mechanical Engineering
