The 1st International Online Conference on Aerospace

Robert J. Vlasic Dean of Engineering, University of Michigan, USA;
Karen A. Thole is the Robert J. Vlasic Dean of Engineering at the University of Michigan. An expert in heat transfer and cooling of gas turbine airfoils, Thole’s detailed experimental and analytical work has influenced the way that gas turbines are designed - both for propulsion and power generation. Before joining Michigan, she spent 18 years at Pennsylvania State University, where she served as a Distinguished Professor and head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering. There, she founded and served as director of the Steady Thermal Aero Research Turbine Lab, one of the world’s most sophisticated research turbine facilities. In 2009, she co-founded the Engineering Ambassador Program and the national Engineering Ambassador Network, now spanning 40 programs across the U.S. and Puerto Rico, providing STEM outreach and professional development for students. Prof. Thole has been a member of several National Academy of Engineering studies, of NASA advisory committees, and of the U. S. Department of Air Force’s Scientific Advisory Board. She earned her Ph.D. in mechanical engineering in 1992 from the University of Texas, Austin. She is an advocate for mentorship of students and faculty, and passionate about developing future leaders in engineering and STEM.

Department of Mechanical Engineering, Koc University, Turkey;
Prof. Dr. Arif Karabeyoğlu is currently a faculty member at Koc University in Istanbul, Turkiye, and also serves as a board member for the Turkish Space Agency. He has co-founded and managed several rocket propulsion and green energy companies including Space Propulsion Group Inc. (SPG) in California/USA and DeltaV Space in Istanbul/Türkiye. He also served as the CTO for Fergani space between 2022-2024, a company developing navigation constellations and orbital transfer vehicles (OTV). The hybrid rocket-based OTV has been successfully operated in space for an orbit raising mission. His research focuses on rocket propulsion and green energy systems, covering both theoretical studies and practical propulsion/combustion testing. In addition, Dr. Karabeyoglu has years of experience as an instructor at Stanford University, Koc University and other organizations over a wide range of subjects including Thermodynamics, Space Systems Engineering, Rocket Propulsion and Experimental Aeronautics and Astronautics. He has also served as the Program Manager and Principal Investigator for many programs that focused on the development and testing of hybrid rockets, green in-space propulsion systems and green fuels for terrestrial applications. He has authored numerous journal articles, conference papers, and obtained patents in rocket propulsion and green energy. He was the chairman of the AIAA's Hybrid Technical Committee during 2009-2011 and served on the Expert Advisory Board that oversaw the development of the SpaceShipTwo propulsion system developed for Virgin Galactic. He is currently serving as the co-chair for IAC 2026, one of the world’s largest space conferences. Dr. Karabeyoglu is an associate fellow of AIAA.

Department of Aerospace Science & Technology, National & Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece; School of Aerospace, Transport and Manufacturing, Cranfield University, UK;
Professor V. Lappas graduated with a B. Eng in Aerospace Engineering at Ryerson University (Toronto, Canada), his MSc in Space Technology at NASA (Goddard Space Flight Centre) through the International Space University (France) and his PhD in Space Vehicle Control at the University of Surrey (UK). He has led various significant research grants on satellite technology, space missions, space debris, funded by the United States Air Force, NASA, Airbus, European Space Agency, European Commission. He has managed substantial research grants including the EU funded QB50, RemoveDEBRIS space missions and the European Defence Agency EuroSWARM project which is one of Europe’s first Defence R&D pilot projects. He is currently Professor of Aerospace Systems and Department Head at the Department of Aerospace Science & Technology of the University of Athens (Greece) and a Consulting Professor in Aerospace Systems at Cranfield University (UK). His current research includes development of unmanned vehicles for defence applications, satellite/space systems, launch vehicle design, small satellites funded by the EU, United States Air Force and European Space Agency. He also teaches Flight Controls, Dynamics and Satellite Communications at Cranfield University and supervises MSc student projects and PhD researchers for the MSc in Astronautics/Space and Autonomous systems (AVDC). He currently is the PI of the ERMIS nanosatellite constellation, a constellation of 3 small cubesats to be launched in January 2026 focused on hyperspectral imaging, laser optical links and IoT communications funded by the Greek Ministry of Digital Governance and the European Space Agency. He is a world authority in small satellites, UAVs, autonomous systems and is in “Stanford’s World’s Top 2% Scientists List” for the subject of Aerospace.

Cho Chun Shik Postgraduate School of Mobility, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Republic of Korea;
Professor Hyo-Sang Shin, received an MSc on flight dynamics, guidance and control in Aerospace Engineering from KAIST and gained a PhD on cooperative missile guidance from Cranfield University. He is a Lecturer on Guidance, Control and Navigation Systems in Autonomous and Intelligent Systems Group at Cranfield University since 2010. He participated in the 3rd Korea Robot Aircraft Competition with Team Highest winning the Silver (2004) and Most Popular Team award (2004). Professor Hyo-Sang Shin is extensively involved in teaching and research. He has published book chapter and journal and conference papers. He has been invited to lecture at other universities, research institutes and to industry. His current research interests include cooperative guidance and control for multiple vehicles, coordinated heath monitoring and management, and information-driven sensing.

Department of Mechanical Engineering, York University, Toronto, Canada;
Dr. George Zhu is a Professor and Tier 1 York Research Chair in Space Robotics and AI in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at York University in Toronto, Canada. He served as the inaugural Academic Director of Research Commons (2019-2022) in the Office of Vice-President of Research and Innovation. His research includes the spacecraft dynamics and control, tethered space systems, autonomous space robotics, computational control methodologies, and in-space additive manufacturing. Currently, he is an elected Academician of the International Academy of Astronautics; College Member of the Royal Society of Canada; Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Canada; Fellow of the Engineering Institute of Canada, Canadian Society of Mechanical Engineering, and Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers; and Associate fellow of American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Dr. Zhu is the Editor-in-Chief of Acta Astronautica and the receipt of 2024 Solid Mechanics Medal and 2021 Robert W. Angus Medal of the Canadian Society for Mechanical Engineering, the 2024 Gold Medal and 2019 Engineering R&D Medal of Ontario Professional Engineers Awards, Canada and the 2021 York University President’s Research Excellence Award.