Board of Directors

Matthew Healy - Board President

Dr. Matt Healy has a B.S. in Chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Harvard University, and an MBA from University of Chicago Graduate School of Business. He began his career as a post-doctoral scientist at the DOE Los Alamos National Laboratory. He was formerly Vice President of Product Management at Pixelligent Technologies, LLC and previously Director of Business Development of Digital Lumens and GE Lighting Division, and Product Line Director at ATMI. As a Business Segment Manager at Kurt J. Lesker Company, Matt led their efforts in materials processing and applications. The Lesker Company is a global scientific equipment manufacturer supplying materials and tools for vacuum-enabled innovation. Matt served as Chief Technology Officer at Pentagon Technologies. He is currently a Senior Fellow with the University of Akron Research Foundation and a Senior Consultant with Nitride Global in Wichita, KS and Bert Thin Films in Louisville, KY. Matt has authored 40 publications (h-index = 16) and is a co-author of a series of books on Vacuum Technology that will be published by Elsevier over the next several years; the first (Fundamentals of Vacuum Science and System Design for High and Ultra-High Vacuum, Volume 1: Introduction to Vacuum and Systems) is due out in Summer 2024.

Sheila Bailey - Board Vice-President

Dr. Sheila Bailey received the B.S. degree in physics from Duke University, Durham, NC, USA, the M.S. degree in physics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA, and the Ph.D. degree in condensed matter physics from the University of Manchester, Manchester, UK. She spent a postdoctoral year at the Royal Military College (part of the Univ. of New South Wales) in Canberra, Australia. She was a Senior Physicist of Photovoltaics with the NASA Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, OH, USA, for 35 years until her recent retirement and has authored over 150 journal and conference publications, 8 book chapters and two patents. Her ResearchGate profile lists over 17,000 reads and 3400 citations (h-index = 20). She also taught at Baldwin Wallace College (now University) for 25 years as well as Oberlin College, UNC Charlotte and the International Space University. She was the co-chair of the Space Systems Analysis and Design Department at the International Space University in Thailand in 1999 and Chile in 2000. Sheila is on the Editorial Board of Progress in Photovoltaics, a member of the American Physical Society, and a past speaker for the American Institute of Physics Visiting Scientist Program. Recently, Dr. Bailey was a co-editor of Photovoltaics for Space: Key Issues, Missions and Alternative Technologies, published by Elsevier in October 2023. She is a member of AIAA Aerospace Power Systems technical committee and has served on the executive committee of the IEEE Photovoltaic Specialist Conference (PVSC) since 1987. She was the Technical Program chair for the 25th PVSC in Washington DC and the U.S. General Chair for the 2nd World Conference in Photovoltaic Energy Conversion in Vienna, Austria in 1998. Sheila is the recipient of the faculty excellence award from Baldwin Wallace College, of the Federal Women's Program award, and is an Ohio Academy of Science “Exemplar.” She was awarded the NASA Exceptional Service Medal for her work in space photovoltaics in 1999 and was inducted into the Ohio Women’s Hall of Fame in 2003.

Dee Gilson - Secretary-Treasurer of the Board

Ms. Gilson is a highly experienced information technology professional who had a long and successful career with IBM and Standard Oil of Ohio (Later British Petroleum). Like Dr. Sheila Bailey, Dee was a trailblazer who was one of the very few women in senior leadership at BP. She is currently working with the Diocese of Cleveland in IT.

Tony Colozza

Mr. Colozza is a Senior Research Engineer with HX5 at the NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, OH; he has worked at the NASA Glenn Research Center as a support service contractor for over 30 years on a variety of projects in aerodynamics, power and propulsion systems, solar concentrators, aircraft design and heat transfer. Tony earned a BS and MS in Aerospace Engineering from Pennsylvania State University. Tony has published 125 papers, studies, and reports in the archival and technical literature. His publications are listed on ResearchGate with 92,000 reads and 1254 citations (h-index = 12). His work mainly involves research engineering for both space based and terrestrial systems. This included analysis, design, experimentation and project management. The work has mainly focused on power and propulsion systems. Most recently the work has involved modeling the thermal and environmental conditions for various types of science spacecraft as part of the COMPASS team at NASA Glenn. Other recent work has included fuel cell thermal analysis, heat removal system design and experimentation, solar concentrator design and its application to lunar in-situ resource utilization. The design and construction of a 1 kw mobile PV power system which was utilized under NASA’s Desert RATS program. Providing the test plan and procedures for the testing of a mock-up of a thrust vector control system and the design and operation of the power system for the Deep Space Habitat operational mockup at Johnson Space Center.

Prashant N. Kumta

Dr. Prashant Kumta holds the Edward R. Weidlein Endowed Chair Professor with Tenure at the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering and School of Dental Medicine and is a professor in the Departments of BioEngineering, Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, and Oral Biology.  He was also the Engineering Director of the Center for Craniofacial Regeneration (CCR) and is the Founding Director of the Center for Complex Engineered Multi-Functional Materials (CCEMM), both at the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Kumta joined the University in 2007, coming from Carnegie Mellon University where he spent 17 years in the Biomedical and Materials Science and Engineering Departments and is credited with initiating new programs in ceramics and electrochemically active systems as well as the tissue engineering initiative which led to the Bone Tissue Engineering Center (BTEC) and ultimately, the Biomedical Engineering Department. He obtained his MS in Materials Science and Engineering in 1987 and his PhD in 1990, both from the University of Arizona. Dr. Kumta is the recipient of the Research Initiation Award from the National Science Foundation in 1993, Fellow of the American Ceramic Society and the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineers and has been continuously listed in Who’s Who in Science and Engineering and Who’s Who in America among other prestigious publications.  He is the author or co-author of more than 333 refereed journal publications with a Google h-index of 70 and was the editor-in-chief of Materials Science and Engineering B Advanced Solid-State Functional Materials, an Elsevier journal.  Recently, Dr. Kumta was a co-editor of two battery technology books, published by Elsevier: Photovoltaics for Space: Key Issues, Missions and Alternative Technologies, published by Elsevier in October 2023. Professor Kumta’s research interests include:

  • Novel synthesis and characterization of advanced nano-structured materials

  • Novel non-oxide sol-gel synthesis, colloidal processing, high-energy mechanical milling, mechanochemical synthesis, microstructure, and properties of novel electronic and electrochemically active materials

  • Novel low temperature physiologically compatible and additive manufacturing bio-printing approaches to bioceramic, biocomposites and biologic biomaterials for tissue engineering, gene delivery, and biomineralization

  • Novel low temperature approaches to smart functionalized biofunctional and bioresorbable bone cements and polymer-ceramic hybrid structures for craniofacial and orthopedic applications

  • Innovative processing of nanostructured ceramics, metals, semiconductors and biomaterials, structure-property relationships for electronic, electrochemical, bone tissue engineering, drugs/antibiotics, and plasmid gene delivery applications

  • Novel nano-structured materials for Li-ion batteries, direct methanol fuel cells, hydrogen fuel cells, water electrolysis, photoelectrocatalysis, and supercapacitors

  • Nanostructured catalysts and supports for acid mediated water electrolysis

  • Novel biodegradable metals for cardiovascular, tracheal, craniofacial, and orthopedic applications

  • Engineering natural polymers and membrane architectures for ESC differentiation pathway assessment

  • Novel impedimetric biosensors for detection of cardiovascular, traumatic brain injury, mitochondrial disease conditions and immunosuppression agents for vascular composite allotransplant recipients