2011 MDRS CapCom Biography Information

Name Speciality

V. A. Cant CapCom Coordinator

Jean Hunter CapCom (Sunday)

Andy Chen CapCom (Monday)

MIguel Cooper CapCom (Tuesday)

Geoff Delage CapCom (Wednesday)

Dennis Creamer CapCom (Thursday)

Steve Foss CapCom (Friday)

Darrel Robertson CapCom (Saturday)

Eric Boethin CapCom (Floating)

Jack Cackler CapCom (Floating)

Tahir Merali CapCom (Floating)

Stacy Sklar CapCom (Floating)

Josh Yakas CapCom (Floating)

V. A. Cant (The CapCom coordinator position is currently vacant)

Jean Hunter has been working since 1995 on aspects of life support engineering for long term space missions, particularly food supply, water recycling, and solid waste management. Her university training is in chemical engineering and her work experience in food engineering, biotechnology, and teaching. Her work has been funded by NASA research and SBIR/STTR grants and has been presented at COSPAR (2000), IAF (2010) and ICES (1996-2001, 2003-2004 and 2006-2010). She also co-chairs the annual ICES technical session on outreach and education. She is a co-investigator with Kim Binsted on the MDRS food study and served on Crew 96, the 2010/2011 opening/refit crew.

Jean's other interests include cooking, gardening, the Folding@Home distributed computing project, and playing the violin.

Andy Chen is a Mechanical Engineering student at the University of Toronto graduating in 2013, member of Students for the Exploration and Development of Space: Canada, and a space enthusiast who sees space exploration as a common goal for mankind. His passions for science and space have accompanied him for a decade, growing from a youth spent staring at the night's sky in fascination. Andy is a member of the U of T Formula SAE Team and VP Operations for the U of T Space Design Contest (www.utspace.com). In his spare time, Andy enjoys stargazing, astrophotography, soccer, cycling, running and swimming (these last three being especially important in the quest to be an astronaut!).

Andy's involvement with SEDS-Canada is a chance happening stemming from an internet search in grade nine, after which he quickly became a member. Since then, Andy has set up a SEDS chapter at his high school (Richmond Hill High School) and has been working with SEDS on a variety of projects. In registering the RHHS Aeronautics and Space Association (RASA) as a chapter of SEDS, he wishes to restore interest in space among elementary and high school students. This passion and dedication is impressive, to say the least. In high school, Andy worked with Ottawa-Carleton Educational Space Simulation(OCESS) to bring the Canadian Space Challenge to high schools in Canada.

Andy's participation as a CapCom and Mission Supporter was referred by Mike Jensen, president of SEDS-Canada. Expedition 73 was his first supported mission and he is thrilled to assist the simulation missions again in 2011. He hopes that his experience with Mission Support will benefit his own missions later as well as future manned spaceflights. His biggest wish is to watch a manned space mission launch live.

Miguel Cooper has over thirty four years of experience in the information technology area, in roles from programmer to system analyst, from technical support to operations manager. These many roles include knowledge of the operating system data communications, computer room design and security Implementation program. He has been responsible for definition, investigation, presentation and execution of many projects as process automatization, frame relay migration, design of a security system and a word processor for DEC equipments. His experience goes in different aspects of computing and communications, as a need arises to look for the better solution keeping in mind the ROI and the risk of operation. Miguel also has experience in designing presentations to different levels to "sell" a project, organization of events and establishing contact with overseas vendors. He is willing to find challenging positions and know and apply the advantages of the new technology where needed. Hobbies: The Space Program, as a spectator and creator of ideas. Miguel lives in Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, Mexico.

CONFERENCES GIVEN AND ARTICLES PUBLISHED

Publication in the OCTOBER 1990 Issue of the "Journal of Aerospace Engineering" of the ASCE an article titled "The Concept of Adaptability in Space Modules"

Participation in the “2 Encuentro internacional del Mar” (second international encounter of the sea) organized by the Government of Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz with the theme “ Towards Space”

Participation in the “3 Encuentro Internacional del Mar” )Third International encounter of the Sea) Organized by the Government of Coatzacoalcos Veracruz with the Topic “ En end of the Shuttle program and beyond 2010”.

Participation in the “13th International Mars Society Conference” august 2010 Organized by the Mars Society with the paper name “ A Mars Manned Mission Conceptual design”

Geoffrey Delage is a computer engineer whose full time work includes writing low level software for environmental control systems. His interests include Astrobiology, Human Space Flight (requirements and challenges involved in day to day life in space), Space Architecture (how to design habitats for space stations and in space vehicles such as those needed to journey to Mars), Earth to LEO transportation (how to build a system that cheaply, reliably and safely can transport people and goods to low earth orbit for transfer to a space station or space vehicle, while being environmentally benign) and Celestial Physics (the study of extra solar objects such as Pulsars, Quasars, Black Holes and Neutron Stars). He is the founder of the University of New Brunswick Space Society, is an alumni member of the Ottawa Board of Education Space Simulation, participated in an exchange with a Space Simulation in South Carolina in 1999, and has attended the US Advanced Space Academy. This is his second year on Mission Support.

Dennis Creamer is a veteran of MDRS Crews 25 and 42, and was also on the MDRS Mod 3 refit crew. He attended the University of South Florida, and Florida State University, and is a retired biologist, with about 30 years with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, mostly in the Ecological Services Branch. He has been on Mission Support for several years.

Steve Foss is a lifetime member of the Mars Society since the Washington D.C. conference. Retired from nursing, mostly in long-term care settings, he currently volunteers at his local radio station in Bisbee, AZ as a reporter and producer of occasional news or music specials. He also play drums with local groups every now and then and is a landlord in his "day job".

Darrel Robertson was the engineer for MDRS crew 89 and looks forward to being a capcom for the 2011 season. He has been interested in space exploration from a young age and attended the European Space School and Star City Space Camp before studying for a Bachelors degree in Physics with Space Science and Technology at Leicester University. He worked as an intern for two summers at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory investigating the Shoemaker-Levy comet crash with Jupiter and the Galileo Huygens Probe entry into Jupiter's atmosphere. He completed a Ph.D. at M.I.T. in Aeronautics and Astronautics with his thesis research devoted to electric spacecraft propulsion. He then completed Post-docs at the European Space Agency (ESTEC) and then the University of Stuttgart's Institute for Space Systems. He has since worked on aerospace fire and explosion and commercial space launch vehicles. He recently moved to Dayton, Ohio where he is now designing a robotic bird from remote reconnaissance. In his spare time he enjoys any kind of adventure sport such as whitewater kayaking, caving, scuba diving, mountaineering, and skiing. His adventures have taken him to places such Iceland, Canada, Kuwait, Hawaii, and Dominica.

Eric Boethin has had an interest in space exploration since early childhood, and as an adult has been involved in the space activist community, starting with the National Space Society in 1991. At that time he joined Denver-based chapter of the NSS, the Front Range L5 chapter. Five years later, he was elected as an officer of the chapter, and alternatively served in different elected positions since then, and was elected its president in 2005.

But Eric is also a member of The Mars Society, having attended its Boulder conferences in 2002 and 2005, and in 2006 in Washington, D.C., where he took part in the ‘Mars Blitz’ initiative to lobby Congress for the Vision for Space Exploration. He also spoke on the need for Heavy Lift Launch vehicles and alternatives available for them at the 2005 and 2006 conferences, and has done so as well at other space conferences and groups and science fiction conventions.

He was involved with Mission Support for one of the first FMARS missions in 2002, and has maintained an interest in Mars analog simulations since then. He decided to become more involved in 2006 by coming to MDRS as part of the Engineering Refit Mod3 team, where he did construction in the engineering area and work related to getting the hab ready for the season. Afterwards, stayed on at the hab with the first crew of the season, MDRS crew 51 for the first half of their rotation as a "Guest Explorer."

Eric has an associate’s degree in electronics, as well as three academic and three industry computer certifications. In this capacity he’s immersed in computer consulting, tutoring, repair and maintenance of computers and networks. His future plans are to get mechanical and aerospace engineering science degrees, and work to make space travel for the masses a reality.

Jack Cackler (We don't have Jack's bio information yet)

Tahir Merali Tahir Merali worked at the European Space Agency (ESA) European Astronaut Centre in Cologne, Germany training astronaut crews and ground support personnel on systems of the European Columbus Laboratory aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Past MDRS experience includes Mission Support and CapCom for both MDRS FS7 & FMARS-XI LDM - the longest space analogue mission conducted prior to ESA's Mars500. His professional experience includes internships in the space, automotive and petroleum industries. Tahir also worked with the ISU/Canadian Space Agency "Image Reversal In Space" (IRIS) educational life science experiment conducted by Canadian Astronaut Dr. Robert Thirsk during ISS Expedition 20/21. Tahir has 31 parabolas under his belt during ESA parabolic flight testing of Iris in May 2009. He holds a Masters of Science in Space Management from the International Space University (ISU) (SSP08+, MSM09) and a Bachelor of Applied Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Toronto. Past space-related investigations include space marketing and the perceptions of space in television advertising (2009), the commercial viability of spaceports (2008) and a sun-synchronous lunar vehicle design (2007). He is an ex-officio board director of the Foundation for International Space Education (USA) and is an active member of the global space community in awareness and advocacy capacities. Tahir seeks to work in spaceflight mission operations. Aside from space, he enjoys SCUBA, traveling, squash and is always up for a game of ball hockey.

Stacy Sklar is currently transferring to Arizona State University studying Geology with an emphasis in Paleontology. Stacy has been an active member of the Mars Society since the second convention in Denver (1999). She was apart of the scouting group looking for Mars analog sites for MDRS in the American Southwest. Stacy scouted locations in Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah in 2000/2001. She has served as a MDRS crew member on the shakedown crew during the Christmas break 2001, Crew 3, 36, 46, and 59. She also served as an FMARS 10 crew member in 2005. Stacy also served as a member of the RST and CapCom for various crews over the last five years.

Stacy's other interest include archeology, rock climbing, hiking, and spending time with her family and friends. Stacy is also a Star Trek and Harry Potter fan and in her spare time enjoys reading and writing and is attempting to write her first science fiction novel.

Josh Yakas (We don't have Josh's bio information yet)

Gerry Williams is a San Diego CA-based corporate/industrial filmmaker with 16 feature films to his credit as Director of Photography. He has a B.S. in Physics (nuclear engineering) and has filmed inside the General Atomics DIII-D Tokamak fusion reactor. Williams has been doing MDRS Mission Support since MDRS Crew 1b in 2002, and spent three days filming the adventures of MDRS Crew 2 (footage of which appeared on the History Channel's "The Universe: Colonizing Space"). He has also participated in two off-season maintenance missions to the MDRS Habitat in 2003 and 2004. He would love to participate on a crew. Williams is a human spaceflight advocate and a founding member of The Mars Society - San Diego. He publishes the MarsMovieGuide.com and hosts a monthly Mars Movie Night.

Name		Speciality
V. A. Cant		CapCom Coordinator
Jean Hunter		CapCom (Sunday)
Andy Chen		CapCom (Monday)
MIguel Cooper		CapCom (Tuesday)
Geoff Delage		CapCom (Wednesday)
Dennis Creamer		CapCom (Thursday)
Steve Foss		CapCom (Friday)
Darrel Robertson		CapCom (Saturday)
Eric Boethin		CapCom (Floating)
Jack Cackler		CapCom (Floating)
Tahir Merali		CapCom (Floating)
Stacy Sklar		CapCom (Floating)
Josh Yakas		CapCom (Floating)

	V. A. Cant (The CapCom coordinator position is currently vacant)

	Jean Hunter has been working since 1995 on aspects of life support engineering for long term space missions, particularly food supply, water recycling, and solid waste management. Her university training is in chemical engineering and her work experience in food engineering, biotechnology, and teaching. Her work has been funded by NASA research and SBIR/STTR grants and has been presented at COSPAR (2000), IAF (2010) and ICES (1996-2001, 2003-2004 and 2006-2010). She also co-chairs the annual ICES technical session on outreach and education. She is a co-investigator with Kim Binsted on the MDRS food study and served on Crew 96, the 2010/2011 opening/refit crew. Jean's other interests include cooking, gardening, the Folding@Home distributed computing project, and playing the violin.

	Andy Chen is a Mechanical Engineering student at the University of Toronto graduating in 2013, member of Students for the Exploration and Development of Space: Canada, and a space enthusiast who sees space exploration as a common goal for mankind. His passions for science and space have accompanied him for a decade, growing from a youth spent staring at the night's sky in fascination. Andy is a member of the U of T Formula SAE Team and VP Operations for the U of T Space Design Contest (www.utspace.com). In his spare time, Andy enjoys stargazing, astrophotography, soccer, cycling, running and swimming (these last three being especially important in the quest to be an astronaut!). Andy's involvement with SEDS-Canada is a chance happening stemming from an internet search in grade nine, after which he quickly became a member. Since then, Andy has set up a SEDS chapter at his high school (Richmond Hill High School) and has been working with SEDS on a variety of projects. In registering the RHHS Aeronautics and Space Association (RASA) as a chapter of SEDS, he wishes to restore interest in space among elementary and high school students. This passion and dedication is impressive, to say the least. In high school, Andy worked with Ottawa-Carleton Educational Space Simulation(OCESS) to bring the Canadian Space Challenge to high schools in Canada. Andy's participation as a CapCom and Mission Supporter was referred by Mike Jensen, president of SEDS-Canada. Expedition 73 was his first supported mission and he is thrilled to assist the simulation missions again in 2011. He hopes that his experience with Mission Support will benefit his own missions later as well as future manned spaceflights. His biggest wish is to watch a manned space mission launch live.

	Miguel Cooper has over thirty four years of experience in the information technology area, in roles from programmer to system analyst, from technical support to operations manager. These many roles include knowledge of the operating system data communications, computer room design and security Implementation program. He has been responsible for definition, investigation, presentation and execution of many projects as process automatization, frame relay migration, design of a security system and a word processor for DEC equipments. His experience goes in different aspects of computing and communications, as a need arises to look for the better solution keeping in mind the ROI and the risk of operation. Miguel also has experience in designing presentations to different levels to "sell" a project, organization of events and establishing contact with overseas vendors. He is willing to find challenging positions and know and apply the advantages of the new technology where needed. Hobbies: The Space Program, as a spectator and creator of ideas. Miguel lives in Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, Mexico. CONFERENCES GIVEN AND ARTICLES PUBLISHED Publication in the OCTOBER 1990 Issue of the "Journal of Aerospace Engineering" of the ASCE an article titled "The Concept of Adaptability in Space Modules" Participation in the “2 Encuentro internacional del Mar” (second international encounter of the sea) organized by the Government of Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz with the theme “ Towards Space” Participation in the “3 Encuentro Internacional del Mar” )Third International encounter of the Sea) Organized by the Government of Coatzacoalcos Veracruz with the Topic “ En end of the Shuttle program and beyond 2010”. Participation in the “13th International Mars Society Conference” august 2010 Organized by the Mars Society with the paper name “ A Mars Manned Mission Conceptual design”

	Geoffrey Delage is a computer engineer whose full time work includes writing low level software for environmental control systems. His interests include Astrobiology, Human Space Flight (requirements and challenges involved in day to day life in space), Space Architecture (how to design habitats for space stations and in space vehicles such as those needed to journey to Mars), Earth to LEO transportation (how to build a system that cheaply, reliably and safely can transport people and goods to low earth orbit for transfer to a space station or space vehicle, while being environmentally benign) and Celestial Physics (the study of extra solar objects such as Pulsars, Quasars, Black Holes and Neutron Stars). He is the founder of the University of New Brunswick Space Society, is an alumni member of the Ottawa Board of Education Space Simulation, participated in an exchange with a Space Simulation in South Carolina in 1999, and has attended the US Advanced Space Academy. This is his second year on Mission Support.

	Dennis Creamer is a veteran of MDRS Crews 25 and 42, and was also on the MDRS Mod 3 refit crew. He attended the University of South Florida, and Florida State University, and is a retired biologist, with about 30 years with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, mostly in the Ecological Services Branch. He has been on Mission Support for several years.

	Steve Foss is a lifetime member of the Mars Society since the Washington D.C. conference. Retired from nursing, mostly in long-term care settings, he currently volunteers at his local radio station in Bisbee, AZ as a reporter and producer of occasional news or music specials. He also play drums with local groups every now and then and is a landlord in his "day job".

	Darrel Robertson was the engineer for MDRS crew 89 and looks forward to being a capcom for the 2011 season. He has been interested in space exploration from a young age and attended the European Space School and Star City Space Camp before studying for a Bachelors degree in Physics with Space Science and Technology at Leicester University. He worked as an intern for two summers at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory investigating the Shoemaker-Levy comet crash with Jupiter and the Galileo Huygens Probe entry into Jupiter's atmosphere. He completed a Ph.D. at M.I.T. in Aeronautics and Astronautics with his thesis research devoted to electric spacecraft propulsion. He then completed Post-docs at the European Space Agency (ESTEC) and then the University of Stuttgart's Institute for Space Systems. He has since worked on aerospace fire and explosion and commercial space launch vehicles. He recently moved to Dayton, Ohio where he is now designing a robotic bird from remote reconnaissance. In his spare time he enjoys any kind of adventure sport such as whitewater kayaking, caving, scuba diving, mountaineering, and skiing. His adventures have taken him to places such Iceland, Canada, Kuwait, Hawaii, and Dominica.

	Eric Boethin has had an interest in space exploration since early childhood, and as an adult has been involved in the space activist community, starting with the National Space Society in 1991. At that time he joined Denver-based chapter of the NSS, the Front Range L5 chapter. Five years later, he was elected as an officer of the chapter, and alternatively served in different elected positions since then, and was elected its president in 2005. But Eric is also a member of The Mars Society, having attended its Boulder conferences in 2002 and 2005, and in 2006 in Washington, D.C., where he took part in the ‘Mars Blitz’ initiative to lobby Congress for the Vision for Space Exploration. He also spoke on the need for Heavy Lift Launch vehicles and alternatives available for them at the 2005 and 2006 conferences, and has done so as well at other space conferences and groups and science fiction conventions. He was involved with Mission Support for one of the first FMARS missions in 2002, and has maintained an interest in Mars analog simulations since then. He decided to become more involved in 2006 by coming to MDRS as part of the Engineering Refit Mod3 team, where he did construction in the engineering area and work related to getting the hab ready for the season. Afterwards, stayed on at the hab with the first crew of the season, MDRS crew 51 for the first half of their rotation as a "Guest Explorer." Eric has an associate’s degree in electronics, as well as three academic and three industry computer certifications. In this capacity he’s immersed in computer consulting, tutoring, repair and maintenance of computers and networks. His future plans are to get mechanical and aerospace engineering science degrees, and work to make space travel for the masses a reality.

	Jack Cackler (We don't have Jack's bio information yet)

	Tahir Merali Tahir Merali worked at the European Space Agency (ESA) European Astronaut Centre in Cologne, Germany training astronaut crews and ground support personnel on systems of the European Columbus Laboratory aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Past MDRS experience includes Mission Support and CapCom for both MDRS FS7 & FMARS-XI LDM - the longest space analogue mission conducted prior to ESA's Mars500. His professional experience includes internships in the space, automotive and petroleum industries. Tahir also worked with the ISU/Canadian Space Agency "Image Reversal In Space" (IRIS) educational life science experiment conducted by Canadian Astronaut Dr. Robert Thirsk during ISS Expedition 20/21. Tahir has 31 parabolas under his belt during ESA parabolic flight testing of Iris in May 2009. He holds a Masters of Science in Space Management from the International Space University (ISU) (SSP08+, MSM09) and a Bachelor of Applied Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Toronto. Past space-related investigations include space marketing and the perceptions of space in television advertising (2009), the commercial viability of spaceports (2008) and a sun-synchronous lunar vehicle design (2007). He is an ex-officio board director of the Foundation for International Space Education (USA) and is an active member of the global space community in awareness and advocacy capacities. Tahir seeks to work in spaceflight mission operations. Aside from space, he enjoys SCUBA, traveling, squash and is always up for a game of ball hockey.

	Stacy Sklar is currently transferring to Arizona State University studying Geology with an emphasis in Paleontology. Stacy has been an active member of the Mars Society since the second convention in Denver (1999). She was apart of the scouting group looking for Mars analog sites for MDRS in the American Southwest. Stacy scouted locations in Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah in 2000/2001. She has served as a MDRS crew member on the shakedown crew during the Christmas break 2001, Crew 3, 36, 46, and 59. She also served as an FMARS 10 crew member in 2005. Stacy also served as a member of the RST and CapCom for various crews over the last five years. Stacy's other interest include archeology, rock climbing, hiking, and spending time with her family and friends. Stacy is also a Star Trek and Harry Potter fan and in her spare time enjoys reading and writing and is attempting to write her first science fiction novel.

	Josh Yakas (We don't have Josh's bio information yet)

	Gerry Williams is a San Diego CA-based corporate/industrial filmmaker with 16 feature films to his credit as Director of Photography. He has a B.S. in Physics (nuclear engineering) and has filmed inside the General Atomics DIII-D Tokamak fusion reactor. Williams has been doing MDRS Mission Support since MDRS Crew 1b in 2002, and spent three days filming the adventures of MDRS Crew 2 (footage of which appeared on the History Channel's "The Universe: Colonizing Space"). He has also participated in two off-season maintenance missions to the MDRS Habitat in 2003 and 2004. He would love to participate on a crew. Williams is a human spaceflight advocate and a founding member of The Mars Society - San Diego. He publishes the MarsMovieGuide.com and hosts a monthly Mars Movie Night.