– The Space Industry –

– The Space Industry –

Virtual Conference Sessions of The Vice-Consulate of Hungary in Houston

Overview:

Did you ever think about what the space industry really is? The 3rd episode of the Virtual Conference Sessions of The Vice-Consulate of Hungary in Houston we will give you insights about what space, space exploration and the space industry is all about these days. Today the space industry became the strongest driver for high tech innovation, start-ups, R&D, commerce and investments in this planet, attracting the best brains and capital available. The importance of this sector only can be compared to the internet about 30 years ago, when no one could even imagine how the garage companies of Silicon Valley would reshape our world. This sector is spinning off at high pace in Houston. Our next session will give you a unique opportunity to jump on this train in time and be part of the future.

Agenda:

Tuesday, September 29, 2020

04:00 p.m. Central Eurpoean Time (CET), Hungary

09:00 a.m. Central Daylight Time (CDT), Texas

Link to the event: Join Microsoft Teams Meeting

Detailed agenda (US CDT):

09:00 – 09:05    Welcome remarks by Gábor Markocsány, Consul

09:05 – 09:15    Dr. Orsolya Ferencz, Ministerial Commissioner for Space Research

09:15 – 09:25    Carlos Westhelle, Center Chief Technologist, NASA Johnson Space Center

09:25 – 09:35    Josh Davis, MBA, Senior Director, Global Aerospace & Aviation GHP

09:35 – 09:45    David Alexander, Professor, Physics and Astronomy, Rice Space Institute

09:45 – 09:55    Mr. János Solymosi, President of the Hungarian Aerospace Technology Platform

09:55 – 10:05    Dr. Levente Dudás, System and Communication Engineer of SMOG-1 PocketQube

10:05 – 10:15    Q&A

Details:

Dr. Orsolya Ferencz, Ministerial Commissioner for Space Research

Dr. Orsolya Ferencz Ministerial Commissioner for Space Research at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Hungarian Head of Delegation to European Space Agency since 2018. Her roles includes arranging contracts in connection with space exploration, implementing space research strategies, further develop policies for space exploration, and also to represent the government in domestic and international space organizations. With an extensive background in the field of Space, Dr. Orsolya Ferencz was research fellow at the Hungarian Academy Of Sciences, Research Centre for Astronomy and Earth Sciences, Geodetic and Geophysical Institute and Eötvös Loránd University, Department of Geophysics and Space Science, Budapest.

Carlos Westhelle, Center Chief Technologist, NASA Johnson Space Center

Mr. Westhelle is the JSC Chief Technologist and Manager of the Exploration Technology Office, he focuses on technology development and partnerships engagement on NASA’s mission of human exploration. In this role, Mr. Westhelle will combine the Chief Technologist responsibilities with the resources of XT to work with stakeholders across the Center, NASA Headquarters, industry, and academia to develop opportunities that advance our Artemis and Mars mission capabilities. Mr. Westhelle has 17 years of NASA experience.  He has served in key roles in the Engineering Directorate as Chief of the Thermal Design Branch and as a Technical Assistant to the Director. He has also worked in in areas such as Strategic Integration, Advanced Exploration Systems, and the Office of Chief Technologist project development as well as previously supported the International Space Station Program, Solar Dynamics Observatory, Orion, Orbital Space Plane, Space Launch Initiative, and X-38. He earned his Bachelor of Science in aeronautical and astronautical engineering from the University of Illinois and a master’s degree in business administration from the Naval Postgraduate School.

Josh Davis, MBA, Senior Director, Global Aerospace & Aviation, Greater Houston Partnership

Mr. Davis supports the Greater Houston Partnership’s Economic Development Division in attracting aerospace entities to Houston globally (internationally and domestically) and by supporting home-grown startups and major Aerospace companies. He engages the vast ecosystem of Aerospace-related institutions such as universities, airports, and other economic development organizations. He has collaborated with the Houston Airport System in various capacities to grow Houston’s global connectivity. He also led a successful bid with the U.S. Commercial Service for HOUSTON Space City to host an official 2021 Select USA Spinoff program focused on Aerospace around NASA and the Houston Spaceport. Prior to joining the Partnership, he served three years in the Taipei Economic & Cultural Office in Houston where he cultivated initiatives between the Southern U.S. and Taiwan. Mr. Davis earned an MBA from National Sun Yat-sen University in Taiwan. His Aerospace experience goes back to 2007 where he engaged the industry both in the U.S. and internationally as a mayoral appointee. His undergraduate degree was earned at the University of Oklahoma at Norman and Karl-Franzens Universität Graz, Austria. Mr. Davis has travelled to over 30 countries including Hungary and looks forward to visiting Hungary again to explore its growing Space sector.

Dr. David Alexander OBE, Director of the Rice Space Institute

Dr. Alexander is the director of the Rice Space Institute where he is responsible for providing vision, direction, and leadership, managing the various institute programs, identifying and fostering research opportunities for our faculty, and interacting with government and the space industry. He is also a professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, where his primary areas of research are solar physics, exoplanetary physics and earth remote sensing. Professor Alexander joined the faculty at Rice in 2003, coming from the Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Center in Palo Alto, California where he was a Staff Physicist working on the development of advanced space missions for solar physics. Professor Alexander was recently named an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) by Queen Elizabeth II in the Birthday Honours List of June 2018 for services to the space industry at home and abroad and to higher education. Professor Alexander received a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers in 2004 and was appointed a Kavli Frontiers Fellow by the National Academy of Sciences in 2006. He is former Chair of the Solar Physics Division of the American Astronomical Society and former Chair of the Solar Heliospheric Interplanetary Environment (SHINE) program. Professor Alexander has served on many national and professional committees including the NASA Advisory Council’s Heliophysics Subcommittee, the NASA Solar Heliospheric Management and Operations Working Group (SH-MOWG), ESA/NASA Solar Orbiter Payload Committee and the Science Advisory Board of the High Altitude Observatory Coronal Solar Magnetism Observatory.

János Solymosi, President of the Hungarian Aerospace Technology Platform

Mr. Solymosi is the president of the Hungarian Aerospace Technology Platform. He is was the President of the Hungarian Astonautical Society between 2009 and 2018, he is also a member of the Hungarian Space Board. Mr Solymosi is active in the private sector, he is the Director for Aerospace and Defense at BHE Bonn Hungary Electronics Ltd., a 100% Hungarian-owned company founded in 1991 to develop and manufacture high performance, competitively priced RF and Microwave systems and solutions. BHE is present in close to 30 countries worldwide, and its export is growing rapidly. Among the main references there are the mobile service providers, Indian and Western European aerospace and defence industry companies. By its technology BHE offers complex civil safety solutions too, which ranges from the unmanned vehicles system to many areas of modern telecommunications.

Levente Dudás PhD, System and Communication Engineer of SMOG-1 PocketQube

With a PhD in Radar and Satellite Applications of Radio and Antenna Systems, Dr. Dudás received his education in Budapest University of Technology and Economics. Specializing in Electrical Engineering, broadband info communication systems and robotics, he also holds qualifications in Radar research. Today he is a lecturer in the same university, also an electrical engineer in Quini Ltd. He begin his works with qubesats in 2007, he took key roles in building the first Hungarian Pico Satellite, the MaSat-1, especially in the development and implementation of the communications system and the ground segment. He is also the system and communications engineer of SMOG-1, the spectrum monitoring PocketQube class student satellite project since 2013.