Appendix B

Committee Biographical Sketches

Andrea Christelle, Ph.D., (Co-chair) is the vice provost for research at Diné College, where she fosters innovation and knowledge generation rooted in Diné values. She previously served as the acting director of Good Systems, an AI Grand Challenge at the University of Texas at Austin, and as the founding director of Philosophy in the Public Interest at Northern Arizona University.

Dr. Christelle’s expertise lies in promoting and encouraging new knowledge frameworks in research and beyond. She is a diversity, equity, and inclusion committee member for the National Council of University Research Administrators, Region VII, and serves on the editorial advisory board of the Public Philosophy Journal. Dr. Christelle is the recipient of the civic leadership award for the League of Women Voters, Greater Verde Valley, and the American Philosophical Association/Philosophy Documentation Center’s Award for Excellence and Innovation in Philosophy Programs. She is a founder of Sedona Philosophy, a unique tour company that combines immersion in the natural world with philosophical reflection to advance discovery through experience and observation.

Dr. Christelle has a Ph.D. in philosophy from Tulane University and a diverse background in higher education administration, economic development, AI ethics, and public philosophy.

Erin Lynch, Ph.D., C.R.A., (Co-chair) is the president of Quality Education for Minorities Network. Dr. Lynch’s research area is strategic planning

and program development. Her work focuses on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), research cultivation, educational assessment, program evaluation, and campus climate assessments. She is formerly associate provost of scholarship, research, and innovation and dean of Graduate School and endowed professor of education at Winston-Salem State University, a North Carolina HBCU; research director of the Center of Excellence of Learning Sciences at Tennessee State University; and faculty member in the College of Education and director of Office of Undergraduate Research at Austin Peay State University.

She was a 2020 Woodson Fund HBCU Change Makers Award recipient and a 2016 Excellence in Presentation Awardee at the Academic Business World and International Conference on Learning and Administration in Higher Education conferences for her work entitled “Black Minds Matter: The Call to Retention of Young Black Academics (YBAs) in Higher Education.” She has a B.A. in English/secondary education from James Madison University, an Ma.ED. in special education from Vanderbilt University, an Ed.D. in curriculum and instruction from Tennessee State University, and a Ph.D. in industrial organizational psychology from Northcentral University.

Nadya T. Bliss, Ph.D., is the executive director of the Global Security Initiative at Arizona State University (ASU). In this capacity, she leads a pan-university organization advancing research, education, and other programming in support of national and global security. Before joining ASU, Bliss spent 10 years at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Lincoln Laboratory, most recently as the founding group leader of the Computing and Analytics Group.

Actively involved in national service, she is the chair of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Information Science and Technology Study Group, and the vice-chair of the Computing Community Consortium. She also serves on the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Cyber Resilience Forum and the National Academies’ Climate Security Roundtable.

Dr. Bliss is the recipient of the inaugural (2011) MIT Lincoln Laboratory Early Career Technical Achievement award and the R&D100 award for her work on PVTOL: Parallel Vector Tile Optimizing Library. She received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in computer science from Cornell University and earned her doctorate in applied mathematics for the life and social sciences (complex adaptive systems science) from ASU.

Robert D. Braun, Ph.D., (NAE) is head of the Space Exploration Sector at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, with responsibilities that span all civil and national security space activities at the lab. He has contributed to the formulation, development, and operation of multiple spaceflight missions and is a recognized authority in hypersonics technology and the development of entry, descent, and landing systems. Dr. Braun previously served in executive positions at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and has served as a tenured professor at Georgia Tech, CU Boulder, and Caltech.

He earned a B.S. in aerospace engineering from Pennsylvania State University, an M.S. in astronautics from George Washington University, and a Ph.D. in aeronautics and astronautics from Stanford University. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, a fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and the American Astronomical Society, and the author or coauthor of over 300 technical publications.

Brian K. Chappell, Ph.D., is a research staff member on the Nuclear Weapons Strategy and Policy Team and serves as vice chair of the Black Professionals Employee Resource Group at the Institute for Defense Analyses. Dr. Chappell retired from the U.S. Air Force (USAF) as a Lieutenant Colonel in 2021, after serving 28 years on active duty. He is a veteran of the Afghanistan War and a career Minuteman III Intercontinental Ballistic Missile nuclear weapons launch officer. While assigned to the Pentagon, Dr. Chappell served as a Middle East Policy Senior Advisor to the Under Secretary of the Air Force for International Affairs, South Asia Policy Advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and a Senior Advisor for Defense Governance to the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy.

While on active duty, Dr. Chappell led the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy’s oversight of five academic Regional Centers and their $58 million budget and managed the Air Force Culture and Language Center’s $7 million culture training contracts. Dr. Chappell led two Air Advisor Review Teams to Iraq and one to Afghanistan to interview USAF personnel and identify future Security Cooperation training requirements. He also worked with the defense industry business development teams and as the country director for the $2 billion United Arab Emirates foreign military sales portfolio, and led oversight of USAF fiscal year programming for out-year international education and training allocations.

Dr. Chappell is the author of State Responses to Nuclear Proliferation: The Differential Effects of Threat Perception. He is a member of Phi Beta Delta Honor Society for International Scholars, Pi Lambda Theta National Honor Society in Education, The National Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, and Pi Sigma Alpha National Political Science Honor Society. He is also the inaugural recipient of the Monroe High School (MI) Distinguished Alumni Award. Dr. Chappell is a life member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, and is a graduate of the Air War College, Air Command and Staff College, National Intelligence University’s Post-Graduate Intelligence Program, and Harvard Kennedy School Executive Education Course on Leadership in Crises. Dr. Chappell earned a B.A. in political science from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; an M.S. in administration from Central Michigan University; an M.A. in international affairs from Catholic University; an M.S. in strategic intelligence from the National Intelligence University; and a Ph.D. in world politics from Catholic University.

Paul T. Deaderick is a senior project leader for the Aerospace Corporation and leads Satellite Systems and Ground Systems Integration and Test, and Transition to Operations. As a Federally Funded Research and Development Center professional, Mr. Deaderick is a seasoned satellite operator and engineering expert with over 30 years of diverse expertise across government, military and commercial aerospace, IT, and communications infrastructure construction management. Mr. Deaderick actively works with Next Generation Geostationary and Polar Overhead Persistent Infrared, Medium Earth Orbit, and Low Earth Orbit Overhead Persistent Infrared programs.

During his prior assignment, Mr. Deaderick served at the National Reconnaissance Office and led Continuity of Operations, the Crisis Response Cell, and Intelligence Oversight programs. To fill a critical gap, Mr. Deaderick served as the interim chief of staff to the Aerospace Data Facility-Colorado Commander and deputy in the daily operations of the largest multi-mission ground station responsible for supporting worldwide defense operations and multi-agency collection, analysis, reporting, and dissemination of intelligence information. In a prior assignment as a senior intelligence officer, he developed and delivered critical intelligence to customers ranging from deployed personnel to national level policymakers. Mr. Deaderick has been a systems engineering branch chief, a command briefer, and the author of several intelligence community white papers on coalition leadership in a multi-agency multi-intelligence environment.

Mr. Deaderick is a retired Lieutenant Colonel who served over 30 years on active duty and in the Reserves in the Colorado and Ohio Air National Guard. He earned his B.S. in electronic engineering technology from Metropolitan State University of Denver and his M.S. in space systems operations management from Webster University.

Mr. Deaderick served on the Metropolitan State University Applied Engineering Sciences Advisory Council and has been an industry speaker for the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, and Colorado State University Global. He is a member of the National Society of Black Engineers, American Institute of Aerospace and Astronautics (Diversity Chair), the Colorado Space Coalition, the Society of Physician Entrepreneurs, and Colorado Space Business Round Table (Advisory Board).

Bruce H. Dunson, Ph.D., is the president of Metrica, Inc. He oversees the operational, financial, and contracting units of Metrica and its subsidiaries and affiliates: Metrica Relocations+ Inc., Traclabs, Inc., and Pride Automation, Inc. Traclabs conducts Small Business Innovation Research-award-winning research on robotics, automation, and artificial intelligence. In past decades, Dr. Dunson served as associate professor and chairman of the Department of Economics and Finance at Prairie View A&M University, assistant professor and adjunct associate professor at Texas A&M University, and assistant professor at the University of Maryland.

He has over 35 years’ experience in managing and conducting research in the area of applied microeconomics and in the analysis of data using statistical methods. Dr. Dunson spent the early part of his career working simultaneously in academia and the government sector, conducting economic research for the Department of Defense, the National Science Foundation, and other federal government agencies. His relevant technical expertise includes econometric analysis, survey design, cost benefit analysis, program evaluation, and economic analysis. Previously, he earned his bachelor’s degree (political science, University of California, Irvine, 1969), master’s degrees (city and regional planning, University of California, Berkeley, 1971; economics, Harvard, 1976), and Ph.D. (economics, Harvard, 1979).

Erick C. Jones, Ph.D., former dean, College of Engineering, at University of Nevada, Reno. He is a former senior science advisor in the Office of the Chief Economist at the U.S. State Department. He is a former professor and associate dean for graduate studies at the College of Engineering at the

University of Texas at Arlington. Dr. Jones is an internationally recognized researcher in industrial manufacturing and systems engineering.

His career over the past 25 years has spanned industry, government, and academia. His current research on pandemic supply chains was a main consideration for working at the State Department, in the Office of the Chief Economist. Dr. Jones studies how the United States can better understand the economics of supply chains and how their disruptions impact global commerce, operations, and quality of life.

Keith A. McGee, Ph.D., is professor of biology at Alcorn State University. A native of Quitman, located in Clarke County, MS, he began his postsecondary education at Mississippi Valley State University, majoring in biology. He received a Ph.D. from the University of Southern Mississippi in molecular biology. Dr. McGee’s research focused on a family of ATP transport proteins, specifically those involved in phenotypic multi-drug resistance. As a faculty member, he sustained a productive graduate student training program, advising many master’s-degree seeking students, along with many undergraduates and summer research students.

Dr. McGee has served in multiple administrative capacities at Alcorn State University; most recently he was appointed to serve as the inaugural associate provost for research, innovation, and graduate education. In this role, Dr. McGee is responsible for providing leadership in developing a clear research vision for the university, while growing its research footprint, and elevating interdisciplinary research activities. He is charged with promoting an understanding and drive for new research opportunities, working with the university deans on all aspects of research and graduate education to ensure alignment with their specific disciplines, while supporting and expanding innovative graduate programs and scholarly activity.

Eric R. Muth, Ph.D., is vice chancellor for research and economic development at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, with the goal of helping others grow their research acumen and programs. He is trained as an experimental psychologist and has over 25 years’ experience post-degree leading a wide variety of research and development projects in both the laboratory and the field. Dr. Muth spent 3 years as a uniformed researcher in the U.S. Navy and performed data collection aboard ship, in aircraft, and in virtual environments. Dr. Muth spent 19 years of his career at Clemson University and has been associated with over $7 million of funded research and 100 publications, with the

last portion of his career working on translational research in the area of mobile health technologies.

Dr. Muth’s graduate training was in gastrointestinal psychophysiology. He completed his dissertation at the Pennsylvania State University Hershey Medical Center. His dissertation and early publications were related to functional gastrointestinal disorders. From August 2008 to 2009, Dr. Muth spent the year on sabbatical in Germany, funded on a Humboldt Research Fellowship working at the Universität Tübingen in the Psychosomatic Medicine Department. There he continued working on projects associated with functional gastrointestinal disorders and obesity. In 2019, he was accepted as a member of the Academy of Behavioral Medicine Research. In addition to his behavioral medicine work, Dr. Muth is an internationally known expert in the area of motion sickness. His work over the years in this area focused on understanding the causes, symptoms, physiology, and prevention of motion sickness, with specific attention on user experience and performance while wearing head-mounted displays.

Anna Quider, Ph.D., is founder and principal of the Quider Group and an affiliated senior research fellow at Northern Illinois University (NIU). As assistant vice president for federal relations at NIU, she developed and championed policies to increase equity in the federal science and technology (S&T) research enterprise for historically underrepresented groups and emerging research institutions. She was president of the Science Coalition, a national coalition of research universities supporting federal S&T research, and held research and policy leadership positions within the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities.

Prior to NIU, Dr. Quider developed S&T policies and programs at the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. House of Representatives. Dr. Quider is a fellow of the American Physical Society (APS) and chair-elect of the APS Forum on Physics and Society. Appointed by the UK Ambassador to the United States, she is the lead science, technology, engineering, and mathematics evaluator for the Marshall Scholarship at the British Embassy. Dr. Quider holds a Ph.D. in astronomy from the University of Cambridge, where she was a Marshall Scholar. She holds a B.S. with Honors in physics in astronomy and a B.A. with dual majors in religious studies and the history and philosophy of science from the University of Pittsburgh.

Aaron M. Schutt is president and CEO of Doyon, Limited. He is responsible for working with the board of directors to set the overall direction of

the Doyon Family of Companies and provide leadership to its senior management team. Mr. Schutt has worked at Doyon since 2006. Prior to being named president and CEO, Schutt served as senior vice president and chief operating officer from 2008 to 2011.

Mr. Schutt clerked for Alaska Supreme Court Justice Alexander Bryner after receiving his juris doctorate from Stanford Law School. He holds a Master of Science in civil engineering from Stanford University and graduated with honors and as an S. Town Stephenson scholar from Washington State University with a Bachelor of Science in civil engineering. Before joining Doyon in 2006, he was an attorney at the Anchorage offices of national law firms Sonosky, Chambers, Sachse, Miller & Munson, LLP, and Heller Ehrman, LLP, where he represented tribal and Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act corporation clients in transactional and business matters.

He serves on the board of directors for Northrim BanCorp, Inc., and Akeela, Inc., and on the University of Alaska Fairbanks Board of Advisors. In 2004, Mr. Schutt was named as a recipient of the Alaska Journal of Commerce’s “Top 40 Under 40” award.

Mr. Schutt is Koyukon Athabascan and is an enrolled member of the Native Village of Tanana.

Sharon Tettegah, Ph.D., is professor and director of the Center for Black Studies Research at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Her research framework is at the intersection of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM); psychology; and education with an emphasis on Black and ethnic studies. Her current research focuses on the use of high-performance computing to examine broadening participation in STEM and beyond.

The focus of Dr. Tettegah’s most recent past research examines affective, behavioral, and cognitive facets of empathy and empathic dispositions using multiple technologies (e.g., functional magnetic resonance imaging, simulations, games). Her interest and research in empathy, emotions, and technology is the result of passion and commitment to the improvement of equity in leadership, teaching, and learning.

In addition to her research on empathy, Dr. Tettegah is also involved in the examination of innovation and creativity in STEM fields. Her goals as a researcher and practitioner are to broaden participation for students of color in STEM disciplines.

Dr. Tettegah’s portfolio includes leadership roles as associate dean for research and sponsored programs in the College of Education at the

University of Nevada, Las Vegas; former National Science Foundation Program Officer, where she managed programs in the Division of Research on Learning and Computer and Information Science and Engineering; and chair of the American Psychological Association’s Continuing Education Committee. She also had a Gubernatorial Appointment as a member of California’s Interagency Council on Early Intervention, served as chair of the Committee for Early Career Psychologists, and served as treasurer elect at the American Psychological Association’s Division 15. Dr. Tettegah is also a faculty affiliate with the Center for Responsible Machine Learning and Center for Information Technology and Society.

C. Reynold Verret, Ph.D., is the sixth president of Xavier University of Louisiana. Prior to his 2015 investiture as president, Dr. Verret served as provost and chief academic officer for Savannah State University. Previously, he served as provost at Wilkes University in Pennsylvania and as dean and professor of chemistry and biochemistry at University of the Sciences in Philadelphia. Dr. Verret also served on faculty at Tulane University and Clark Atlanta University. Dr. Verret’s research interests have included the cytotoxicity of immune cells, biosensors, and biomarkers. He has published in the fields of biochemistry and immunology, and also collaborated on matters of social exclusion and health. Throughout, Dr. Verret has worked to increase the number of U.S. students pursuing degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines and continuing to advanced study. This includes the development of qualified science and math teachers in K-12. Dr. Verret received his undergraduate degree cum laude in biochemistry from Columbia University and a Ph.D. in biochemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. To these, he added postdoctoral experiences as fellow at the Howard Hughes Institute for Immunology at Yale University and the Center for Cancer Research at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

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