Gary Morris earned his Ph.D. in Space Physics & Astronomy from Rice University, worked as a post-doctoral researcher at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, then studied transport of air pollution from China to Japan on a Fulbright Scholar grant. He arrived at St. Ed’s in July 2014 as Dean of Natural Sciences and Professor of Physics, and is excited to bring Go For Launch! to Austin.

Jim Allan is the Accessibility Coordinator the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired. He was the webmaster at the school for 18 years. Jim was an itinerant TVI in public schools for 10 years and an assistive technology specialist for 10 years. He has worked in the field of assistive technology and accessible information access for more than 38 years. Jim is committed to accessible web design; and, the development of accessible multimedia textbooks, online-learning materials, and assessment. An instructor at AccessU for 10 years, he has been teaching developers how to create accessible websites. Jim helped Space Camp to be accessible to visually impaired students, and has been bringing students for 23 years. He was inducted into the Space Camp Hall of Fame in 2009. Jim is a participant in the World Wide Web Consortium’s-Web Accessibility Initiative (W3C – WAI). He is the current Chair of the User Agent Working Group that developed browser accessibility guidelines. Jim is the Co-Chair of the Low Vision Taskforce. He has a PhD in Special Education from the University of Texas.

Paul Colosky Jr is an entrepreneur in the physical therapy, wellness, and fitness industries, and is the owner of Valeo Human Performance, LLC in Houston, TX. His experience in exercise science, athletic training, and microgravity research and parabolic flight resulted in NASA funding to develop and patent the award-winning Constant Force Resistive Exercise Unit (CFREU), for use in maintaining bone and muscle health in space. He is currently active in treating clients and mentoring students at Valeo Physical Therapy, the clinic he’s owned since 2007, where he uses advanced, non-traditional treatment techniques such as cold laser therapy and whole body cryotherapy in his daily practice across all populations. Paul readily accepts professional challenges as a means to learn and grow, believes in seeking alternative methods to problem-solving, and asserts that if you’re not doing what you love, you need to try something different!

Michelle Lucas spent 10+ years working at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. First as part of the International Space Station (ISS) Payload Safety Review Panel (PSRP) and then in the Mission Operations Directorate as a Flight Controller in ISS Mission Control and as an Astronaut Instructor in the ISS Daily Operations Group. Additionally, she worked with each of the International Partners (European Space Agency – ESA, Japanese Space Agency – JAXA, and the Russian Space Agency) in the field of Daily Operations, Flight Controller, and Instructor Training. Michelle was part of the Core NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO) team for 9 missions where astronauts would carry out analog space missions underwater in the Aquarius habitat. Along the way, Michelle found she has a passion for launching the next generation’s dreams and ambitions. Her passion for inspiring students led to extensive work with other organizations in STEM outreach so she founded the non-profit Higher Orbits to use space to excite and inspire students about STEM, Leadership, Teamwork, and Communication. Michelle is proud to be a Space Camp Alum, AIAA Associate Fellow, and member of the Space Camp Hall of Fame. She believes that collaboration in space and STEM is the key to the stars! Space Inspires!