Camille Bergin
Galactic Gal
Camille Elizabeth Bergin is an aerospace engineer turned business strategist and science communicator. Otherwise known on social media as @TheGalacticGal, Camille has accumulated over half a million followers and reached hundreds of millions of people globally since founding her platform in 2020. She has been featured in the New York Times and the Washington Post for her science outreach and has appeared on NASA TV and Fox Business segments. Most recently, Camille was chosen as a LinkedIn Top Voice. Camille speaks globally to schools and professionals about a variety of topics related to the space industry.
Camille has spent most of her career working on technologies that will enable humanity to live and work farther into the Solar System. Notably, she was a mechanical integration engineer on the Orion Crew Capsule for Artemis I, II, and III. She also developed cislunar technology development strategies during her time on the Advanced Programs Business Development team at Lockheed Martin Space.
Camille graduated from the University of Tennessee Knoxville in 2019 with a Bachelor of Science in aerospace engineering.
Nathan Sam Dougherty
Senior Systems Engineer and Technical Fellow – ERC, Inc.
Sam Dougherty is former senior manager of mechanical/ structures engineering at the Boeing Company, Huntsville Site, Huntsville, Alabama, retiring in 2003. Dougherty is a Senior Systems Engineer and Technical Fellow for ERC, Inc. in the Jacobs Engineering Group at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center and senior staff member working in the structures, thermal, and environments area of vehicle/spacecraft systems engineering and integration.
Dougherty received his bachelor’s in mechanical engineering in 1962 and his master’s in aerospace engineering from UTSI in 1970. He continued studies in aerospace engineering and engineering management at UTSI and at the University of Alabama in Huntsville.
James “Jim” Gray, M.D.
Radiation Oncologist, Tennessee Oncology; Medical Director, Tennessee Oncology Proton Center
James Gray graduated from the University of Tennessee with highest honors in 1982 from the Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics, focusing on biomedical engineering. He went on to study medicine at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, graduating in 1986. Gray is currently a physician member of Tennessee Oncology, one of the largest private clinical oncology practice and research groups in the country and serves as medical director of the Tennessee Oncology Proton Center in Franklin, Tennessee.
Scott N. Hilleary
President and CEO, SSM Industries, Inc.
Scott Hilleary is a senior executive with over 35 years of experience in textile manufacturing– products and processes from design concept through production readiness and delivery.
Hilleary is a leader in strategic development and implementation. He received his bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from the University of Tennessee in 1985 and his MBA from Vanderbilt University in 1992.
Chad Hollis
Director of Product Development, Foot and Ankle Division, DePuy-Synthes
Chad Hollis is a product development engineer with 20+ years of experience in the consumer product and orthopedic medical device spaces. He started his career with Porter-Cable/Delta (Stanley Black & Decker) designing products including woodworking equipment and pressure washer pumps. Most recently, he was a co-founder and the VP of R&D for CrossRoads Extremity Systems, which experienced a successful exit to DePuy-Synthes (Johnson & Johnson) in 2022, where he currently serves as the director of product development for the Foot and Ankle Division. He is an inventor on over 50 US patents and a registered Patent Agent with the USPTO.
Hollis received his bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from the University of Tennessee in 1999.
H. Lee Martin
Founder, Pavilion of Pickleball; Emeritus Professor of Practice, Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, University of Tennessee
H. Lee Martin is an Emeritus Professor of Practice in UT’s Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering. During his time as faculty, he created the Engineering Entrepreneurship Program for the Tickle College of Engineering. He is a successful entrepreneur, holder of 20 US patents, author of the book “Techonomics” and a mentor of many area entrepreneurs. After retiring, Martin founded the Pavilion of Pickleball in Knoxville.
He received his BS in mechanical engineering from the University of Tennessee in 1978, his MS in mechanical engineering from Purdue University in 1979 and his PhD in mechanical engineering from the University of Tennessee in 1986.
Thomas C. Noyes
Managing Director, StarPoint LLP
Thomas Noyes is the managing director of StarPoint LLP. He has over 20 years of experience in banking, payments, software development and product innovation. He has worked with leading banks, mobile operators, payment networks, and entrepreneurs globally to bring innovation to consumers. He has built high performance global teams that have created new products to serve both advanced markets and the rural poor. He received his bachelor’s in aerospace engineering from the University of Tennessee in 1987 and his MBA from the University of Houston in 1991. Noyes worked for McDonnell Douglas Space Systems for 8 years and has been a frequent guest on CNN, Fox News, and ABC as a space analyst.
Yarom Polsky
Division Director, Manufacturing Science Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Yarom Polsky is director of the Manufacturing Science Division at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, where he leads a globally recognized team that operates the Department of Energy’s Manufacturing Demonstration Facility and Carbon Fiber Technology Facility. The division has four primary focus areas: composite science and technology, industrial efficiency and decarbonization, precision manufacturing and machining, and secure and digital manufacturing.
Over the course of his career, he has earned 14 patents and has authored more than 70 peer-reviewed publications. Prior to joining ORNL in 2009, he worked at Sandia National Laboratories and Schlumberger.
Polsky holds a PhD in mechanical engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology, an MS in mechanical energy from Rice University, and BA in physics from Rice University. He is a joint faculty member in UT’s Bredesen Center for Interdisciplinary and Graduate Studies and a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.
Carol Whitt Tevepaugh
Owner and Managing Partner, Water Oak Resources LLC
Carol Tevepaugh has more than 30 years experience in a diverse range of aerospace, defense and energy programs: advanced concept studies, aerospace life support systems, liquid rocket propulsion, information technology, risk management, systems engineering, and economic development. She has been the owner and managing partner of Water Oak Resources LLC since 2011. She received her bachelor’s from the University of Alabama, Huntsville in 1975, her master’s from the University of Tennessee in 1979 and her MBA from Vanderbilt University in 1998.
James A. Tevepaugh
Owner and Managing Partner, Water Oak Resources LLC
James Tevepaugh has more than 40 years experience in executive management, program management, engineering, integration and test experience in missile systems, space systems, energy and environmental systems. He received his bachelor’s degree from North Carolina State University in 1973 and his master’s from the University of Tennessee in 1979.