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Dr. Vukica Jovanovic is an Associate Professor of Engineering Technology in Mechanical Engineering Technology Program. She holds a Ph.D. from Purdue University in Mechanical Engineering Technology, focus on Digital Manufacturing. Her research is focused on mechatronics, digital manufacturing, digital thread, cyber physical systems, broadening participation, and engineering education. She is a Director of Mechatronics and Digital Manufacturing Lab at ODU and a lead of Area of Specialization Mechatronics Systems Design. She worked as a Visiting Researcher at Commonwealth Center for Advanced Manufacturing in Disputanta, VA on projects focusing on digital thread and cyber security of manufacturing systems. She has funded research in broadening participation efforts of underrepresented students in STEM funded by Office of Naval Research, focusing on mechatronic pathways. She is part of the ONR project related to the additive manufacturing training of active military. She is also part of the research team that leads the summer camp to nine graders that focus on broadening participation of underrepresented students into STEM (ODU BLAST).

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Program Director, Training Specialist; Director, ODU BLAST (Building Leaders to Advance Science and Technology); Professor in STEM Education and Professional Studies, Darden College of Education, Old Dominion University, VA.

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Dr. Otilia Popescu received the Engineering Diploma and M.S. degree from the Polytechnic Institute of Bucharest, Romania, and the PhD degree from Rutgers University, all in Electrical and Computer Engineering. Her research interests are in the general areas of communication systems, control theory, signal processing and engineering education. She is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Engineering Technology, at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, and serves as the Program Director for the Electrical Engineering Technology Program. In the past she has worked for the University of Texas at Dallas, University of Texas at San Antonio, Rutgers University, and Politehnica University of Bucharest. She is a senior member of the IEEE, serves as associate editor for IEEE Communication Letters, and has served in the technical program committee for the IEEE ICC, WCNC, RWW, VTC, GLOBECOM, and CAMAD conferences.

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Dr. Tysha Sanford taught for 15 years in the secondary and collegiate arena. During her years in the secondary arena, she worked on numerous curriculum committees aligning the Standards of Learning (SOLs) to the Newport News Public Schools pacing guide for biology as well as creating the curriculum for Forensic science which is taught in all five high schools within Newport News. She has taught Environmental science, Biology, Advanced Placement biology, Human Anatomy, and Forensic science. Within her three years at Virginia Space Grant Consortium, she has used Qualtrics to examine pre-test and post-test surveys in the middle/high school program that she coordinates to examine its effectiveness in leading students to explore STEM related careers. She received her B.S. in Biology from Virginia Commonwealth University and her M.S. in Clinical Laboratory Sciences, Categorical Microbiology from the Medical College of Virginia at Virginia Commonwealth University. She completed her Doctoral studies at Regent University with an emphasis in Higher Education. Her dissertation Examining the Correlation of Test Anxiety, Test-Wiseness, Student Motivation and Metacognition of Praxis I Scores at a Historically Black University utilized a statistical multiple regression.

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Mary Sandy has served as Director for the Virginia Space Grant Consortium since 1990 when she became the newly formed organization’s first full-time director. Sandy has over thirty-five years of experience in the management of educational, workforce development and research programs for NASA and industry, along with another nine years as a classroom teacher. She holds an M.S.A. in Public Administration from George Washington University, an M.A. in Transpersonal Studies from Atlantic University, and a B.A. in English and Spanish with minor in Education from Radford College. Prior to becoming Director of the Virginia Space Grant Consortium, she served as NASA’s Public Affairs Officer for Aeronautics, Exploration and Space Technology at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC and Head of the Office of Public Services and Center Educational Programs Officer for NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. As Director of the Virginia Space Grant Consortium, Sandy oversees a wide range of programs and partnerships that engage students in STEM and foster them through the STEM workforce pipeline to meet the Nation’s critical need for STEM workers.

Sandy serves on the Boards of the Virginia Air and Space Center, National Space Grant Alliance and Carl O. Helvie Holistic Cancer Foundation and is a member of the Governor’s Aerospace Advisory Council. She is the recipient of numerous awards including the Virginia Association of Science Teacher’s Presidents Award for outstanding support of quality science education and NASA award for Outstanding Personal Performance and Professional Achievement in Public Affairs Activities. Representative awards for VSGC programs include: NASA’s Robert H. Goddard Exceptional Achievement Outreach Award for RockOn!,Virginia Math/Science Coalition Programs That Work Award for BLAST, 2016, Virginia Space Coast Scholars, 2015, for Technology Explorations Saturdays, 2015, Virginia Aerospace Science and Technology Scholars Program, 2014; NASA Robert H. Goddard Team Achievement Award for Virginia Space Coast Scholars, 2014; NASA Team Award for Langley Aerospace Student Scholars Program, 2014; NASA Langley Team Award for Aerospace Science and Technology Scholars Program, 2013; and NASA Team Achievement Award for RockOn! Sounding Rocket Payload Program, 2011.

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