COPERNICUS - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Press Contact
- Founder, Copernicus Space Corporation Frank B. Baird Jr Professor of Science at Harvard University New York Times Bestselling Author
Abraham (Avi) Loeb is the Frank B. Baird Jr Professor of Science at Harvard University and a New York Times bestselling author. He received a PhD from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem at age 24 (1980-1986), was subsequently a member of the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton (1988-1993) and has been a professor at Harvard University since 1993. Avi chaired the Harvard Astronomy department between 2011-2020 and has served as director of Harvard's Institute for Theory & Computation since 2005. Loeb is founding director of Harvard's Black Hole Initiative, chairs the Advisory Board for the Breakthrough Starshot Initiative, and chaired the Board on Physics & Astronomy of the National Academies in 2018-2021. He is an elected member of the American Academy of Arts & Science, the American Physical Society, and the International Academy of Astronautics. Loeb also served as a member of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology in Washington DC. In 2012, TIME magazine selected Loeb as one of the 25 most influential people in space along with Elon Musk. Loeb wrote over a thousand scientific papers and nine books, including "Extraterrestrial", "Life in the Cosmos" and "Interstellar". Together with Frank Laukien he co-founded the Galileo Project and Copernicus Space Corporation, hoping to advance the next Copernican revolution by launching numerous miniaturized probes, equipped with AI into our solar system, and then interstellar space.
Job Titles:
- CEO
- Leader
- Member of the Board of Directors
- President
- Press Contact
- Aerospace Executive, Company
- Member of the NASA
Starting in 2015, Mr. Rush served as President & CEO of Made In Space, which he developed from its early stages into a profitable space technology company with 140 employees. Under Andrew's leadership, Made In Space became the first firm to manufacture in space, sell a space-built product to a customer on Earth, and develop the first-ever satellite that will manufacture and assemble parts in orbit. In 2020, Andrew led the successful sale of Made In Space to Redwire Corporation, where he became President & COO. At Redwire, Mr. Rush oversaw the business portfolio, long-term planning, and strategic investments. Under his guidance, Redwire diversified its portfolio across civil, national security, and commercial organizations, including boosting the International Space Station's power-generating capability with roll-out solar arrays, building more than 40 antennas for a national security customer, and providing state-of-the-art digital engineering solutions for commercial providers. During Andrew's time as President, Redwire increased annual revenue to $160M with over 700 employees, acquired multiple space technology companies, and went public on the New York Stock Exchange.
Mr. Rush currently serves as a member of the NASA Advisory Council on Technology, Innovation & Engineering. Andrew is a member of the Physics Advisory Group at the University of North Florida (UNF), where he has been awarded the Young Alumni Achievement Award. Andrew earned a Bachelor of Science degree in physics from UNF, and a Juris Doctor degree from Stetson University, with focus on intellectual property (IP) law. From 2012-2015, Andrew was a partner at PCT Law Group, with extensive experience and work in space technology IP matters.
President & CEO Andrew Rush is an experienced and successful aerospace executive, company builder and thought leader in the emerging space economy.
Job Titles:
- Chief Administrative Officer ( CAO )
Job Titles:
- Professor in Pathology at Stanford University School of Medicine
Job Titles:
- Senior Marketing Executive, Former VP of Marketing Development
- SVP for Strategic Partnerships
Christian M. Voigt, JD, LL.M. is an attorney-turned-senior executive with strategic marketing and global commercial expertise in business development and large-scale, multi-year global sponsorship alliances with some of the largest and most prominent corporations in the world. He is a licensed attorney in Germany and New York, has a Master of International and Comparative Law from Chicago-Kent College of Law (focus IP Law), and a JD from Ludwig-Maximilians University in Munich. Chris was Senior Head of Global Sports Marketing & Licensing at PUMA for nearly a decade. From 2017 to 2021, Chris was Vice President of Marketing Development of the largest sports partnership program in the world at the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and integrated leading technology brands into the Olympic Movement. Most recently, Chris was the Senior VP for Strategic Partnerships at Whoop, Inc. Chris is an author, lecturer and expert panelist, and joined Copernicus Space Corporation as Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) and SVP - Strategic Partnerships in September 2022. Chris Voigt commented: "I am very excited to support Copernicus in taking a truly innovative approach to space exploration. The fastest and most successful path for business innovation is to begin the journey with disruptive and multi-disciplinary thinking, instead of transforming one's way to get there."
Job Titles:
- Press Contact
- Professor in the Harvard Physics Department
- Professor in the Harvard Physics Department World - Leading Authority in String Theory and Its Applications to Astrophysics
- Professor of Mathematics
Cumrun Vafa:
Professor in the Harvard Physics Department;
World-leading authority in string theory and its applications to astrophysics
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Stephen Wolfram:
Creator of Mathematica, Wolfram | Alpha and Wolfram Language Founder and CEO of Wolfram Research
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Cumrun Vafa is the Hollis Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy in the Department of Physics at Harvard University. His primary area of research is string theory, which may provide a framework to unify everything we know about nature, including all particles and the forces between them, in a consistent quantum theory. String theory is at the cross-roads of many fields, including mathematics, particle phenomenology and astrophysics, and Cumrun's research has involved all these aspects. His recent work involves applying these ideas to come up with predictions for the nature of the dark energy and the fate of our universe. He has received numerous prizes and recognitions for his work on theoretical physics including the 2017 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics, the 2008 Dirac Medal of ICTP and prizes for his work on mathematical physics from the American Mathematical Society, as well as the American Physical Society. Cumrun is a member of National Academy of Sciences as well as of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Dr. Vafa said: "I am delighted to join the advisory board of Copernicus which represents an ambitious but achievable goal of integrating the latest in robotics and space technology and applying it to finding the answer to whether we are alone in the universe, beginning with the solar system."
Job Titles:
- Professor of Astronomy at Harvard University / Founding Director Harvard Origins of Life Initiative
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Press Contact
Simon Peter "Pete" Worden, (Brig. Gen., USAF, Ret., PhD) holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics and Astronomy from the University of Michigan and a PhD in Astronomy from the University of Arizona. Dr. Worden was Director of NASA's Ames Research Center from May 2006 until March 2015. He has held several positions in the United States Air Force and was research professor of astronomy at the University of Arizona in Tucson. He is a recognized expert on space and science issues - both civil and military, and he has been a leader in building partnerships between governments and the private sector internationally. Dr. Worden has authored or co-authored more than 150 scientific papers in astrophysics space sciences, and strategic studies. He served as a scientific co-investigator for three NASA space science missions - most recently the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph launched in 2013 to study the Sun. He received the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal for the 1994 Clementine Mission to the moon. Dr. Worden was named the 2009 Federal Laboratory Consortium Laboratory ‘Director of the Year' and is the recipient of the 2010 Arthur C. Clarke Innovator's Award.
Dr. Worden said: "I am truly honored to join the Copernicus Board. I'm looking forward to searching for life throughout our solar system and expanding our reach into the Galaxy."
Job Titles:
- President
- Press Contact
- President of the Science Philanthropy Alliance / Former Director of NSF
- Senior Science Administrator
France Córdova is an American astrophysicist and senior science administrator who was the fourteenth director of the National Science Foundation and the first woman to be NASA's Chief Scientist. She was the eleventh President of Purdue University, chancellor of the University of California at Riverside, vice-chancellor for research at the University of California at Santa Barbara, and department head at Penn State. She is a Kilby Laureate and has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She has been inducted into the California Hall of Fame and the Stanford University Multicultural Hall of Fame. She was in the vanguard of researchers using a multi-wavelength approach to investigate close binary star systems using both space-based and ground-based telescopes. She was a co-investigator on a multiwavelength telescope on the X-ray Multi-Mirror Mission (ESA's XMM-Newton).
Dr. Córdova said: "I'm thrilled to join such a venturesome group, attempting to do novel space science experiments searching for signs of life beyond Earth with great expectations."
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Founder, Copernicus Space Corporation Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Bruker Corporation ( Nasdaq
Job Titles:
- Press Contact
- Professor in Pathology at Stanford School of Medicine
- Professor in Pathology at Stanford University School of Medicine
Garry Nolan is Rachford and Carlota A. Harris Professor in Pathology at Stanford University School of Medicine. Garry has published >350 research articles, is the holder of 50 US patents, and has been honored as a top 25 inventor at Stanford. He cloned and characterized key transcription factors in immune regulation, such as NF-KB p65, and was a creator of the 293T retroviral packaging systems used extensively in clinical human gene therapy. Dr. Nolan was a founder of Rigel Inc. (Nasdaq: RIGL), BINA (genomics computational company sold to Roche Dx), Apprise (sold to Roche Sequencing Solutions), and coFounder of Ionpath and of Akoya (Nasdaq: AKYA). Dr. Nolan said: "Humanity's creativity is exemplified in the goals of the Copernicus Space Corporation. I am thrilled to be a part of this superb merging of technology, biotech, and more that will extend human reach beyond our first planetary home."
Job Titles:
- Press Contact
- Professor of Genetics at Harvard Medical School Faculty Wyss Institute Professor of Health Sciences and Technology at Harvard and MIT Prolific Company Founder
George Church is Professor of Genetics at Harvard Medical School and Professor of Health Sciences and Technology at Harvard and MIT. He is Director of the U.S. DoE Technology Center and was Director of three NIH Centers of Excellence in Genomic Science 2004-2020. Dr. Church has received the 2011 Bower Award for Achievement in Science from the Franklin Institute, and he has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences and Engineering. At the Wyss Institute at Harvard, Dr. Church leads Synthetic Biology and oversees the directed evolution of molecules, polymers, and whole genomes to create new tools with applications in regenerative medicine, new materials and imaging. He helped initiate the Human Genome Project in 1984 and the BRAIN Initiative in 2011.
George invented the broadly applied concepts of molecular multiplexing and barcode tags, nanopores, multiplex genome editing, and array DNA synthesizers. His innovations have been the basis of over 40 biotechnology companies.
Dr. Church said: "I am delighted to join the advisory board of Copernicus, which is merging exponentials in synthetic biology with nanogram-scale space-probe technology for a novel exploration venture."
Giovanni G. Fazio is Senior Physicist, Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, and Faculty Emeritus, International Space University, Strasbourg. He was for many years a Lecturer in the Astronomy Department of Harvard University. Dr. Fazio is an expert in astronomy and space instrumentation, using high-altitude balloon-borne and space telescopes to explore the Universe. He has served as Principal Investigator for three NASA space missions, as well as Principal Investigator for two high-altitude balloon-borne telescope programs for gamma-ray and infrared astronomy. He initiated the 10-meter Cerenkov Telescope for ultra-high gamma-ray astronomy at the F. L. Whipple Observatory in Arizona. He most recently was Principal Investigator for the Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) on the Spitzer Space Telescope, one of NASA's Great Observatories. Dr. Fazio has authored or co-authored more than 365 scientific papers in astronomy and astrophysics, space science, and instrumentation. Dr. Fazio is a Fellow of the American Physical Society and past Chairman of its Astrophysics Division, a Fellow of the AAAS, and of numerous other scientific societies. He has received numerous awards, including the American Astronomical Society's Henry Norris Russell Lecture award. Giovanni G. Fazio holds undergraduate degrees in physics and chemistry from St. Mary's University, Texas, and a PhD in physics from MIT. Dr. Fazio added: "Of the many space missions I have been associated with, this program is by far the most unique and the most exciting."
Job Titles:
- Chief Strategy Officer
- Head
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Press Contact
In his role as Chief Strategy Officer, Grunsfeld will spearhead the evolution and expansion of Copernicus's innovative swarm satellite technology, fostering its adoption across civil, commercial, and national security domains. Grunsfeld has a distinguished career spanning numerous roles, including NASA astronaut, Associate Administrator for Science, and Chief Scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C., overseeing pivotal programs and missions in space science and exploration. As Associate Administrator, his responsibilities included a $7B/year portfolio of Earth Science, Astrophysics, Planetary Science, Heliophysics, the James Webb Space Telescope, and the NOAA weather satellite program. Previously, he served as the Deputy Director of the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, managing the science programs for the Hubble Space Telescope and the James Webb Space Telescope.
A veteran of five space shuttle flights, Grunsfeld has executed eight spacewalks, specifically on missions servicing and upgrading the Hubble Space Telescope. His commitment to advancing knowledge in planetary science and the quest for extraterrestrial life has earned him prestigious accolades, including induction into the Astronaut Hall of Fame in 2015 and awards such as the National Space Trophy and the NASA Distinguished Service Medal.
"For the first time in human history we have the technology and the means to answer the question of ‘are we alone in the Universe?' I am honored to join the leadership team at Copernicus to help advance innovative solutions for space exploration and the quest to find signs of life beyond Earth."
Chief Strategy Officer John Grunsfeld is a former astronaut and Head of NASA's Science Mission Directorate.
Job Titles:
- Press Contact
- Group Leader at the Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology Senior Research Fellow at Trinity College Visiting Professor at Harvard
Professor John Sutherland is a Group Leader at the Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge UK, a Senior Research Fellow at Trinity College, Cambridge and visiting Professor at Harvard. John's research concerns the origin of life - how did chemistry initiate biology and to what extent did it shape its basic structure and function? His research has established prebiotically plausible syntheses of the building blocks of the informational, catalytic and compartment-forming macromolecules crucial to life, and his group is seeking to establish how these building blocks became linked. John's research has been recognized, inter alia, by his election as a Fellow of the Royal Society and their Darwin Medal, and by the Tilden Prize of the Royal Society of Chemistry.
Dr. Sutherland said: "Are we alone? Such a profound question - Copernicus have a great approach to trying to find the answer and I'm delighted to join forces with its hugely talented team."
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Press Contact
- Corporate Attorney
Corporate attorney Mr. Richard Stein has represented a variety of life science companies and other corporate and non-profit entities during his 45 years of legal practice. In January 2022, Rich retired as a partner from Nixon Peabody LLP. Richard is a graduate of Brandeis University and received his law degree from Boston College Law School. Rich has deep and broad experience from service on several private and US public-company boards of directors, and currently serves as a director of a medical device company. Richard's corporate legal practice included or interfaced with venture and private equity financings, M&A, IPOs, follow-on offerings, SEC matters, corporate dispute resolution and litigation, and numerous contractual, IP, regulatory, tax, export, HR and other legal matters, as well as strategic and tactical business advice.
Richard Stein commented: "It is an honor to serve on the Board of the visionary Copernicus Space Corporation. I look forward to working with Avi, Frank and Pete on the important mission and strategic plans of Copernicus."
Job Titles:
- Professor / Director of Beyond Center for Fundamental Concepts in Science at Arizona State University
Job Titles:
- Press Contact
- Creator of Mathematica, Wolfram Alpha and Wolfram Language Author of a New Kind of Science Originator of Wolfram Physics Project CEO of Wolfram Research
Stephen Wolfram is the creator of Mathematica, Wolfram|Alpha and Wolfram Language; author of A New Kind of Science and other books; originator of Wolfram Physics Project and Wolfram Institute; Founder and CEO of Wolfram Research. Over the course of more than four decades, he has been a pioneer in the development and application of computational thinking, and has been responsible for many discoveries, inventions and innovations in science, technology and business. Wolfram was educated at Eton and Oxford, and received his PhD in theoretical physics from Caltech by age 20.
Job Titles:
- Founder and CEO of Wolfram Research / Learn
Job Titles:
- Press Contact
- Assistant Professor of Robotics at Carnegie Mellon University
Zac Manchester is an Assistant Professor of Robotics at Carnegie Mellon University. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in applied physics and a Ph.D. in aerospace engineering, both from Cornell University, and was previously a member of the faculty at Stanford University and a researcher at NASA Ames Research Center. Zac pioneered the development of gram-scale ChipSat spacecraft as founder of the KickSat project and has served as Principal Investigator on multiple NASAfunded small satellite missions. He received a NASA Early Career Faculty Award in 2018 and a Google Faculty Research Award in 2019. His research interests include numerical optimization and control systems, particularly with application to robotic space exploration. Dr. Manchester commented: "I am extremely excited to be a part of the Copernicus Space Corporation and honored to be in such great company. Copernicus is taking the next step in the great tradition of humanity's reach for the stars."