A NASA veteran who flew on all three Space Shuttles, Garrett Reisman was selected by NASA as a mission specialist astronaut in 1998. His first mission in 2008 was aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour, which dropped him off for a 95-day stay aboard the International Space Station, after which he returned to Earth aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery. His second mission in 2010 was aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis. During these missions, Garrett performed 3 spacewalks, operated the Space Station Robot Arm, and was a flight engineer aboard the Space Shuttle. Not only was he an astronaut, but Garrett was also an aquanaut, serving as a crew member on NEEMO V and living on the bottom of the sea in the Aquarius deep underwater habitat for 2 weeks.

After leaving NASA in early 2011, he joined SpaceX where he served in multiple capacities, most recently as the Director of Space Operations.

Garrett stepped down from his full-time position at SpaceX in May of 2018 and in June 2018 he became a Professor of Astronautical Engineering in the Viterbi School at USC. He continued to support SpaceX as a Senior Advisor until 2024. Today Garrett continues to contribute to the commercial space sector by working as an Astronaut Advisor at VAST.

Garrett attended the University of Pennsylvania and Caltech, where he received his Ph.D. in 1997.

Gordon G. Chang is the author of “Plan Red: China’s Project to Destroy America” and “The Coming Collapse of China.” His other works include “The Great U.S.-China Tech War” and “China Is Going to War.”

Chang lived and worked in China and Hong Kong for almost two decades, practicing law in Shanghai as Counsel to the American law firm Paul Weiss and in Hong Kong as Partner in the international law firm Baker & McKenzie.

He is a columnist at Newsweek and writes regularly for The Hill and other publications.

Mr. Chang has given briefings at the National Intelligence Council, Central Intelligence Agency, State Department, and the Pentagon. Chang has appeared before the Senate Special Committee on Aging, the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, and the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission.

He has also spoken before industry and investor groups including Bloomberg, Sanford Bernstein, Economic Club of New York, Royal Bank of Scotland, Credit Lyonnais Securities Asia, American Chamber of Commerce, Bank of America, Standard Chartered Bank, Federal Home Loan Bank of Cincinnati, and the California Association of Public Retirement Systems.

He frequently appears on Fox News, Fox Business, Newsmax TV, and CNN. He served two terms as a trustee of Cornell University.

Vanessa Chan is an entrepreneur, angel investor, speaker, and educator known for her expertise in innovation and entrepreneurship at the intersection of technology and business. She is the inaugural Vice Dean of Innovation & Entrepreneurship at the University of Pennsylvania’s Engineering School and the Jonathan & Linda Brassington Professor of Practice.

Under President Biden, Vanessa served as Chief Commercialization Officer at the U.S. Department of Energy and Director of the Office of Technology Transitions. In this role she advanced clean energy technologies nationally, notably through the “Pathways to Commercial Liftoff” reports, which provided roadmaps for decarbonizing sectors including geothermal and hydrogen. Her work earned her a place on TIME100’s 2024 list of the world’s 100 most influential business leaders in climate.

Before the Department of Energy, Vanessa was a partner at McKinsey & Company for 13 years, where she co-led the innovation practice and helped large publicly traded companies commercialize their technologies. She later founded re.design, a company dedicated to reinventing consumer products to solve everyday challenges, and sold her product on QVC.

At Penn, Vanessa served as Undergraduate Chair of the Materials Science Department and sat on the Executive Committee of Penn Health Tech, a center bridging the School of Medicine and the Engineering School to develop transformative medical devices. Her focus is on training engineering students in innovation and entrepreneurship and supporting the commercialization of university technologies.

A sought-after speaker and writer, Vanessa shares insights on transitioning from corporate executive to entrepreneur and advocates an entrepreneurial approach to life. Her journey has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and CBS. She earned her Ph.D. from MIT and a B.S.E. from the University of Pennsylvania, both in Materials Science and Engineering, and holds three patents.

Professor Spanier investigates the structure and the physical, electronic, and dielectric properties of emergent solid-state electronic materials, striving to advance the state of the art in energy-efficient materials and devices. He and his research group probe the interactions of light with matter, including inelastic light scattering revealing lattice, electronic, and magnetic phase stability. They investigate the structure of ferroic and multiferroic solids and their electromechanical, magnetoelectric, energy-storage, and charge- and spin-storage properties. Such properties find great application in energy-efficient sensors and in components for information and communications technologies and power systems.

Spanier joined the Drexel faculty in 2003 after a postdoctoral fellowship in physical chemistry with Professor Hongkun Park at Harvard University, and completed his Ph.D. in the group of Professor Irving P. Herman. Since November 2018 he has served as Interim Head and, beginning in 2020, Head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Mechanics. He served as Associate Dean in the College of Engineering, where he led development of the College’s 2013-18 Strategic Plan. From 2011-17 he was Director of the University’s Centralized Research Facilities. He also served as Interim Associate Department Head for MSE from 2006-08 and as a University Provost Fellow in 2009. Prior to completing the Ph.D., he held research and technical staff positions at the US Naval Research Laboratory in physical acoustics and in the semiconductor device industry, and he was a visiting scientist at the Technion, the Israel Institute of Technology, in 2001.

Marek advises metropolitan regions across the country on economic strategy, global engagement, and inclusive growth, moderating the summit’s economic development panel on what it takes for Greater Philadelphia to compete on the world stage.

Chris Scafario is the President and CEO of DVIRC, where he leads initiatives to advance small to mid-sized manufacturers (SMMs) and their supply chain through consulting services in operational excellence, top-line growth, and business management. Chris spearheaded the Pennsylvania Talent Pipeline Program and #PhillyBuildsGiants, a collaborative effort with Blue Forge Alliance to develop skilled workers and empower regional manufacturers to support the Submarine Industrial Base.

Chris has been working vigorously to educate and advocate for MEP Centers throughout the national network to introduce urgency to their clients around pursuing strategies for innovation, technology integration, and top-line growth. His contagious energy when sharing best practices for growing SMMs has made him a nationally recognized speaker, subject matter expert, and trusted advisor to organizations and economic development groups alike.

Rear Adm. William Greene is a native of Ann Arbor, Michigan. He entered the Navy through the Reserve Officer Training Corps program at the University of Florida, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Nuclear Engineering. He also holds a Master in Business Administration from the University of Florida, a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering, and a Master of Science in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Greene’s shipboard tours include USS Guitarro (SSN 665), USS West Virginia (SSBN 736), and USS Santa Fe (SSN 763). During these assignments, he completed three deployments and four strategic patrols and earned the designation qualified for command of submarines. Following selection as an engineering duty officer, Greene served as a project officer at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility (PSNS&IMF); repair officer at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility; production resources officer and operations officer at PSNS&IMF; chief of staff for the deputy commander, logistics, maintenance and industrial operations; and military deputy for shipyard operations at Naval Sea Systems Command.

Greene was selected as the 84th commander of Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, where the command earned the Department of Defense Robert T. Mason Award for Excellence in Depot Maintenance and a Meritorious Unit Citation. He then reported as the executive director for logistics, maintenance and industrial operations at Naval Sea Systems Command in August 2016, and in March 2017 became the deputy commander, logistics, maintenance and industrial operations (NAVSEA04). Greene reported as the director, Fleet Maintenance, U.S. Pacific Fleet in September 2017.

Greene most recently served as director, Fleet Maintenance, U.S. Fleet Forces Command from July 2019 through August 2023.

His decorations include the Legion of Merit, Navy Meritorious Service Medal, Navy Commendation Medal, Navy Achievement Medal, and various other campaign and unit awards.