Dr. Al Hepp retired as a senior research scientist in the Photovoltaics and Electrochemical Systems Branch at NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) in Cleveland, OH at the end of December 2016 after a 33-year career that included time in industry (Polaroid Corp. & Think Tank/Defense Consulting (Center for Naval Analyses). He graduated from Carnegie Mellon University with a B.S. in Chemistry in 1978. He earned a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Organometallic Photochemistry in 1983 under Prof. Mark S. Wrighton, his committee included Prof. Richard R. Schrock (Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 2005). His research was in the areas of energy conversion and storage, precursors for spray pyrolysis of metal sulfides and carbon nanotubes, thin film and nanomaterials for photovoltaics and batteries, materials processing of local resources for exploration and colonization of the solar system, biomimicry, and flight experiments for Mars and small satellites. He has 200 publications in refereed journals, conference proceedings, technical publications, and book chapters. His ResearchGate profile lists over 17,000 reads and 4300 citations (h-index = 26). Dr. Hepp has co-edited 15 books or special journal issues in his career. Over the past three years, Elsevier has published seven books that he co-edited including: two books on batteries, two books on biomimicry, one book on advanced processing of nanomaterials using single-source precursors, and two books on photovoltaics. His six patents have resulted in the formation of two companies to utilize gallium arsenide passivation (Gallia, Inc. – Weston, MA) and low-temperature chemical vapor deposition of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (Nanotech Innovations, LLC – Oberlin, OH). He has held multiple academic appointments and has served on advisory boards, for research and teaching at: Harvard University, Kent State University, University of Tulsa, University of Texas, Arlington, University of Albany, Cleveland State University, and Baldwin Wallace University. He has been quite active in his career in support of diversity in educational programs and mentoring of students from diverse backgrounds. He was awarded a NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal in 1997 for work with Minority Serving Colleges and Universities and their students. Dr. Hepp managed two multi-institutional programs for NASA and the Department of Defense: CARET (Consortium for Advancing Renewable Energy Technologies, 1992-2002) and UNEEC (UNCFSP-NASA Energy and Environment Cluster, 2009-2012). He was elected to Sigma Xi in 1983, is a Sequoyah Fellow of the American Indian Science and Engineering Society, and is currently a member of the Materials Research Society. He is on the Editorial Advisory Board of Materials Science and Engineering B and Heliyon, both Elsevier journals. He was a consulting editor (2010-2011) and Editor-in-Chief of Materials Science in Semiconductor Processing (2012-2015); he is currently Editor-in-Chief Emeritus and Chair of the International Editorial Advisory Board. Finally, Dr. Hepp is a member of six advisory boards (including Education and Sustainability) of the Lifeboat Foundation.