A distinguished panel of world-class researcher, innovators, scientists, communication experts and industry pioneers committed to nurturing young talent and bold ideas. Each expert brings decades of global experience, deep domain knowledge, and a passion for innovation. Together, they evaluate every entry with integrity, insight, and vision ensuring that every idea is judged fairly and every young innovator is guided toward shaping a better tomorrow.
Dr. Hashima Hasan is the NuSTAR, IXPE and W.M. Keck Observatory (WMKO) Program Scientist and the Education and Public Outreach Lead for Astrophysics at NASA.
In her role as Program Scientist, Dr. Hasan works on monitoring and managing the science program for NuSTAR, IXPE, NASA partnership on WMKO. She makes sure that their missions remain possible and true to NASA strategic objectives. Dr. Hasan has been the program scientist for many of NASA missions, such as the James Webb Space Telescope, Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Gravity and Extreme Magnetism SMEX (GEMS), Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, Hubble Space Telescope, Explorer Program and more.
From 2001-2006, Dr. Hasan also served as the Lead for Astronomy and Physics Research and Analysis (R&A) programs. She was responsible for setting the policy for all R&A programs, overseeing the entire R&A budget and reorganizing research programs to align them with NASA’s strategic needs.
In 1976 Dr. Hasan received a doctorate from the University from Oxford, U.K., in Theoretical Nuclear Physics. Till 1985 Dr. Hasan conducted post-doctoral research and held teaching positions in the areas of Theoretical Nuclear Physics, and in Environmental Science.
She was the Optical Telescope Assembly Scientist at Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, till 1994, when she joined NASA Headquarters. She received certification as Senior Executive Fellow of Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University in 2003.
Dr. Hasan has published articles in various peer reviewed journals, such as the Astrophysical Journal, Icarus, Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific and other top aerospace and astrophysics research journals. She has been honored with prestigious awards and fellowships throughout her outstanding career. For instance, the NASA HQ Exceptional Performance Award in 2008, National Research Council Resident Research Associate from 1981-1983, Commonwealth Fellowship from 1973-1976 and received a gold medal for Physics and merit award as a student.
Dr. Peter Guida is a NASA-based molecular biologist who specializes in the field of radiation biology. He graduated from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in 1999 with a Ph.D. in developmental and molecular biology. He then completed a 3-year post-doctoral fellowship at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) in New York in the field of accelerator-based radiation biology.
In 2003 he joined the scientific staff at BNL and is currently a Full Scientist running a laboratory that investigates the effects of radiation on human neuronal cells. In addition, he serves as NASA’s Liaison Biologist for the NASA Space Radiation Laboratory Program, which examines the potential health risks to astronauts from exposure to the charged particle radiation that is found in space. He has published many research papers and is a peer-reviewer for numerous journals in the radiation and neuroscience fields. Dr. Guida brings extensive knowledge of molecular signaling pathways and DNA repair to DiscoverSTEM.
Dr. Zisis Kozlakidis is the Head of Laboratory Services and Biobanking at the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), part of the World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations. A highly accomplished senior healthcare professional, he brings decades of experience in biomedical research, innovation strategy, and global health consulting. With a unique blend of scientific expertise and business acumen, he has led international projects focused on the integration of cutting-edge technologies into healthcare systems, fostering collaborations with major global players like Intel and Illumina.
Dr. Kozlakidis has served as President of the International Society for Biological and Environmental Repositories (ISBER) from 2017 to 2018 and co-founded the Cass Health Innovation Club at Cass Business School, promoting interdisciplinary innovation in life sciences and medicine. His contributions span virology, biobanking, and digital health, earning him numerous international awards.
He is a Fellow of the Linnean Society of London and serves on several high-level international boards and committees that shape policy on medical ethics, innovation, and healthcare startup strategy.
With work experience across the UK, US, China, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Greece, Dr. Kozlakidis continues to drive global impact by advising on the implementation and scalability of healthcare solutions, while mentoring the next generation of scientific leaders.
Over the past three decades, Omar has been involved with helping large organizations such as NASA, Yahoo, and Zynga build scalable, fault-tolerant, distributed systems for mission-critical applications.
He worked at the Research Analysis Center of NASA Glenn Research Center to assist principle investigators in acquiring high speed, multi-channel data and developing custom software to post process large volumes of data. Helped introduce web technologies to the center, responsible for various web services and developed various Intranet web applications. Recipient of the Donald C. Braun Full Lecture.
Omar has also been involved with several startups, including the first ever matrimonial website and the first stock sentiment analysis website. In early 2016, he started Unblocked Inc., a blockchain consultancy company.
In 2017 he organized the Shardus project to build a linearly scalable blockchain to provide horizontal scaling of compute and storage to allow millions of on-chain transactions per second and exabytes of state storage using a peer-to-peer network of inexpensive servers. Since then the team has been making steady progress on creating the Shardus framework which will make it easy for developers to create any application specific chain.
Omar holds a B.S. and M.S. from Case Western Reserve University with a specialization in Artificial Intelligence. Omar, along with his son, Aamir invented the strategy board game Arimaa and offered the Arimaa Challenge Prize to promote breakthrough research in AI.
Omar’s long-term vision is a world where everyone receives an unconditional basic income based on a stable cryptocurrency so that poverty and hunger are eliminated.
First Lieutenant Sage J. Phoenix (USAF) as the one most just call “Chief”—a title earned leading combat missions as Mission Crew Commander and rated Navigator, and revived in her role as the Chief Strategic Initiatives Officer at DiscoverSTEM—because no matter where she goes, everyone knows Chief is the one in charge of executing missions successfully.
As one of the rare female flight officers in the military, Chief commanded 30+ combat missions and flew 250+ combat hours aboard the EC-130H COMPASS CALL, earning an Air Medal for meritorious service. Chief also graduated #1 from Joint Specialized Undergraduate Navigator Training (JSUNT), earning both academic awards in a class of 60+ students.
After the military, Chief earned two Master’s degrees and spent 20+ years scaling startups and enterprise operations. Her track record includes 8-figure transformations within 24 months, teams scaled from 100 to 500 with industry-leading retention, and automation strategies generating $50M+ in new revenue.
Chief is that exceptional operator who synchronizes strategic vision and tactical execution with military precision, turning innovative ideas into operational reality. Now, as Chief Strategic Initiatives Officer at DiscoverSTEM, she does what she’s always done best: meticulously plans complex missions, leads cross-functional teams, executes with zero-defect discipline, and translates the mission into targets acquired and objectives secured.
Ben Gold is a corporate AI Strategist who helps organizations navigate the complex landscape of AI adoption and implementation, bridging the gap between technical concepts and business objectives. He has spent 20+ years in technology sales and business development, helping organizations—from startups to Fortune 500 companies—adopt new tools. When AI hit the mainstream, he saw the same pattern repeat: executives knew AI mattered, but their teams had no idea where to start. Generic courses gathered dust. Workshops created excitement that faded in a week.
Ben is passionate about demystifying AI and making it accessible to everyone. As a thought leader and speaker, Ben brings a fresh, real-world approach to leveraging AI for everyday success. After training 30+ organizations and thousands of professionals, Ben built something different. AI Academy for All takes a practical approach: on-demand courses, live group coaching, and personalized game plans designed for real results—not just awareness.
