
External Advisory Committee
The External Advisory Committee (EAC) consists of industry and government professionals who hold responsible engineering positions in industry or government laboratories.
One of the most useful functions of the advisory committee is to provide dialogue between students and practitioners of the profession. The committee structure provides a means for faculty to learn about technical, business and philosophical trends taking place in industry. Similarly, the committee provides a format in which the department can inform industry about current thinking in academia.
EAC meetings are held on campus twice each year.
Current Members
Payam Banazadeh
CEO and FounderCapella Space
Juan M. de Bedout
Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Technology and Global EngineeringRTX
Jack Brazzel
Deputy Division Chief (Acting), Aeroscience and Flight Mechanics DivisionNASA Johnson Space Center
Andrea Chavez
Manager, Engineering Talent Management TeamBell Textron
Bruce C. Chesley
Chief Scientist OfficerQuantum Corridor
Tim P. Crain
Chief Growth Officer and Co-founderIntuitive Machines
George Davis
Vice President, Software EngineeringYork Space Systems, Inc.
Daniel Deans
President and Chief Operating OfficerMORI Associates
Adam Hamilton, P.E.
CEO and Chief Financial OfficerSouthwest Research Institute
San Antonio, TX
William “Bill” Hollister
PresidentAegis Aerospace
Justin Kerr
Chief Engineer, Mark 1 Lunar Lander and Orbital ReefBlue Origin
David J. Korsmeyer
Deputy Center DirectorNASA Ames Research Center
Todd McGall
Systems Architect Sr. Manager, Missiles and Fire ControlLockheed Martin Corporation
Scott D. Papka
Laboratory Operations ManagerExxonMobil Upstream Research Company
Leslie Phinney
Manager, Thermal Sciences and Engineering DepartmentSandia National Laboratories
Thomas “Tommy” Power
PrincipalStress Engineering Services, Inc.
Steven Villareal
New Product Technology ManagerSLB – Global Well Construction Drilling
Michael Wharton
Vice President of EngineeringKUNGFU.AI
Emeritus Members
Jack Shannon
Emeritus EAC MemberRobert D. M. Tachau
Emeritus EAC MemberSandia National Laboratories (Retired)