Judges

Dan Barry M.D., Ph.D.
Former NASA Astronaut
President & Founder, Denbar Robotics

Dan is a former NASA astronaut and a veteran of three space flights, four spacewalks and two trips to the International Space Station. He retired from NASA in 2005 and started his own company, Denbar Robotics that creates robotic assistants for home and commercial use, concentrating on assistive devices for people with disabilities.

He received numerous honors. A few of them are:  the 2000 and 2002 NASA Exceptional Service Medals, 2001 Top 10 in the world career spacewalk hours, 100 Most Notable Princeton Graduate School Alumni of the 20th Century, Harvard Medical School Paul J, Corcoran Award and honorary doctoral degrees from Beloit College and St. Louis University. Dan is also a frequent speaker and has given keynote addresses to audiences throughout the world.

Dan's educational background includes a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering from Cornell University in 1975; a master of engineering degree and a master of arts degree in electrical engineering/computer science from Princeton University in 1977; a doctorate in electrical engineering/computer science from Princeton University in 1980; and a doctorate in medicine from the University of Miami in 1982.   He has seven patents, over 50 articles in scientific journals and has served on two scientific journal editorial boards. He has film and television experience as well, including roles in two documentary films and as a cast member in season 12 of CBS Survivor.

George Cowgill
Vice President of Product Services & Architecture
Prodea Systems, Inc.

George has been working with Anousheh for over 14 years and has a passion for space and education.  He is an amateur astronomer and enjoys giving tours of the night sky.

George leads many of the engineering and planning efforts at Prodea Systems, Inc.  He is responsible for the product requirements and management of our products and services. Most recently, he was a strategic advisor to Ezad Corporation. Prior to this role, he served in the Office of CTO for Sonus Networks and as Vice President of Engineering at Telecom Technologies, Inc., with a focus on planning and engineering for existing and emerging products in the VoIP call processing arena. Previously, he worked at MCI for more than ten years, as a Senior Staff Member, Switch Systems Engineering, and as Manager of MCI’s Technical Training Center.

George has been awarded four U.S. patents, providing innovative solutions in the areas of ISDN and SS7 signaling and telecom call processing, test automation, and IP networking.

Beth Leavitt
High School Physics and Astronomy Teacher
Wade Hampton High School

Beth Leavitt is a high school physics and astronomy teacher from Greenville, SC at Wade Hampton High School.  She holds a BS degree from Clemson University in biological sciences, spent twelve years as a professional environmental chemist, a MED from Converse College, and has taught K- college for ten years.  In addition she presents planetarium programs to the general public.  Ms. Leavitt has numerous additional coursework in gifted/talented education, AP physics, curriculum writing, earth and space science, and international education following a Fulbright Memorial scholarship to Japan in 2004.  National Board certification was added  as well as workshops in X-ray astronomy, SETI's Voyages Through Time, and several sponsored by NASA.  Ms. Leavitt applied for Educator Astronaut in 2002 and though not chosen her semi-finalist status has included her in an elite group called NASA Network of Educator Astronaut Teachers, NEAT.  She has attended Space Camp, two shuttle launches, and has flown weightless.  Ms. Leavitt presents workshops regularly locally and nationally.  Several awards have been bestowed upon her including Science Teacher of the Year, District Top Ten TOY, and Space Symposium Teacher Liaison.

Gregg Maryniak
Director
J. S. McDonnell Planetarium

Gregg Maryniak is the Director of the J.S. McDonnell Planetarium, Vice President for Aerospace Science of the St. Louis Science Center and Executive Vice President of the X PRIZE Foundation. He formerly served as Executive Director of the X PRIZE Foundation, Senior Scientist of the Futron Corporation and Chief Executive Officer of the Space Studies Institute of Princeton.

Mr. Maryniak is a member of the faculty of the International Space University.  The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics named him a Distinguished Lecturer for his presentation, "The Harvest of Space."  He was awarded Russia’s Tsiolkovsky Medal for his work on the use of the resources of free space.  He received the Space Frontier Foundation’s Vision to Reality Award for his role in creating the Lunar Prospector Mission launched in 1998.

An instrument-rated commercial pilot with more than 30 years of flight experience, Mr. Maryniak was the Flight Director for Erik Lindbergh’s New Spirit of St. Louis flights in 2002. In 2006 he was the recipient of the St. Louis Flight Instructors Association’s James Byrnes Aviation Excellence Award.  He serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the Lindbergh Foundation.

Mike Simmons
Founder and President
Astronomers without Borders

Mike Simmons has been an amateur astronomer for more than 35 years and loves sharing the sky with others. Mike joined the Los Angeles Astronomical Society in the early 1970s and served in many capacities including two terms as President and ten years on the Board of Directors. In 1976 he joined the staff of Griffith Observatory where he operated the Zeiss 12-inch refracting telescope for the public and described the many facets of astronomy to tens of thousands of visitors.

In the early 1980s Mike was instrumental in founding the Mount Wilson Observatory Association (MWOA), a support organization dedicated to improving the experience of visitors to the renowned observatory. He served as the founding President of MWOA and has been on the Board of Trustees ever since. He is currently the MWOA Vice President.

Mike's outreach efforts in astronomy broadened in 1999 when he traveled to Iran for a total solar eclipse. In Iran he found an enthusiastic astronomy community lacking the resources easily found in the West. He has since traveled to Iran several times, and in 2004 he led a group of Westerners to Iran to observe the rare Transit of Venus alongside hundreds of Iranian amateur astronomers. In 2006 Mike traveled to the Kurdistan region of northern Iraq, bringing observing equipment donated by American astronomers to their enthusiastic but isolated Kurdish counterparts. He has also assisted amateur astronomers and educators in many countries via the Internet. Seeing astronomy as a universal interest that transcends cultural differences, Mike founded Astronomers Without Borders in 2006. He now serves as President of this effort to unite astronomy and space enthusiasts around the world through those common interests.

Mike is also a writer and photographer who has contributed to publications including Scientific American, Astronomy and Sky and Telescope. He regularly gives presentations, both in the US and abroad, on his experiences and interests, and on his outlook on international relations through astronomy.

In 2005 Mike was presented with the Clifford W. Holmes Award, an honor given annually by RTMC for a "Major Contribution to Popularizing Astronomy." Minor Planet Simmons was named in his honor in 2003, in part for his "varied outreach activities in astronomy."