Sandra Magnus, PhD

Former NASA Astronaut
Former Executive Director, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
Professor of the Practice, Georgia Institute of Technology

Sandra “Sandy” Magnus is a former NASA astronaut who was selected to the NASA Astronaut Corps in 1996 shortly after earning her PhD in materials science and engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology. Originally from Belleville, IL, Magnus earned her BS in physics in 1986 and MS in electrical engineering in 1990 from the Missouri University of Science and Technology.

Magnus began her engineering career working on the propulsion system for the A-12 Avenger II stealth aircraft at McDonnell Douglas before joining NASA and flying on her first shuttle mission in 2002. From 2012 to 2018, she served as Executive Director of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA).

She has since served as a principal at AstroPlanetView, Deputy Director for Engineering for the U.S. Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, and a Space Advisory Board member for Virgin Galactic. In 2022, she was elected to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE).

Innovation Lab

Main Lobby 650 Tim Bradley Way

4:00 - 4:45: Lab-To-Market Workshop

Sunjeev Phull, NextGen Precision Health Fellow

5:00 - 5:05: Welcoming remarks

Dave Arnold, Exec. Director, NextGen Precision Health Initiative

5:05 - 5:20: Missouri S&T's Biomedical Innovation Ecosystem Vision

Mo Dehghani, Chancellor, Missouri S&T

5:20 - 5:35: Missouri S&T’s Research Enterprise

Kamal Khayat, Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation, Missouri S&T

5:35 - 6:00: Biomedical Research Synergies at S&T

David Borrok, Dean, College of Engineering, Missouri S&T
Mahrzad Boroujerdi, Dean, College of Arts, Sciences, and Education, Missouri S&T
Jim Sterling, Dean, Kummer College of Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Economic Development, Missouri S&T

6:15 - 7:30: Evening Reception

Havener Center

St. Pats Ballroom 1346 North Bishop Ave.

7:30 - 8:30: Registration and Poster Set Up

8:30 - 8:45: Welcome and Housekeeping

8:45 - 9:45: Keynote

• Sandra Magnus, PhD
  Former Executive Director, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics

9:50 - 11:10: Faculty Theme Talks -- Session A

• Sunjeev Phull, PhD
  NextGen Precision Health Fellow, Missouri S&T, Chemical and Biochemical Engineering
  Flash Talk
• Anthony Convertine, PhD
  Roberta and G. Robert Couch Assistant Professor, Missouri S&T, Materials Science and Engineering
  “PISA Printing: A New Platform for Programmable Biomaterials and Precision Tissue Models”
• Jill Delston, PhD
  Assistant Professor and Director of Graduate Studies, Philosophy, UMSL College of Arts and Sciences
  “Precision Health Ethics”
• Scott Rector, PhD
  Curators’ Distinguished Professor, Nutrition and Exercise Physiology, Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Mizzou School of Medicine
  “Bioenergetic Failure in Liver Disease: Rebooting the Mitochondrial Engine”
• Karl Kador, PhD
  Assistant Professor, Biomedical Sciences and Ophthalmology, UMKC School of Medicine
  “Using Tissue Engineering and 3D Bioprinting to Direct Retinal Growth”
• Tareq Nabhan, OD
  Assistant Clinical Professor, UMSL College of Optometry
  “Scalable Emerging Eyecare Solutions (SEES)”

11:10 - 12:15: Break/Poster Session A

12:15 - 1:15: Lunch/Networking

1:15 - 2:35: Faculty Theme Talks -- Session B

• Sandy Saunders, PhD
  NextGen Precision Health Fellow, Mizzou Pathobiology and Integrative Biomedical Sciences
  Flash Talk
• Gina Yosten, PhD
  Professor and Kummer Endowed Chair of Biological Sciences, Missouri S&T College of Arts, Sciences, and Education
  “Spatial Molecular Imaging of the Human Pancreas: Implications for Understanding the Etiology of Diabetes”
• Bret Ulery, PhD
  Associate Professor, Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, Mizzou College of Engineering
  “Biomodulatory Materials”
• Badri Adhikari, PhD
  Associate Professor, Computer Science, UMSL College of Arts and Sciences
  “Explainable AI Across Scales of Health: From Proteins to Patients”
• Hillary McGraw, PhD
  Associate Professor, Biological and Biomedical Systems, UMKC School of Science and Engineering
  “Zebrafish as a Model to Study Cellular Development and Regeneration”
• Ryan Gilbert, PhD
  Professor and Linda and Bipin Doshi Endowed Chair, Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Missouri S&T College of Engineering and Computing
  “Polymerized Curcumin for the Treatment of Neurological Injury”

2:35 - 3:45: Break/Poster Session B

3:45 - 4:00: Break

4:00: Poster Presentation Awards and Closing