The TARSEC Executive Committee, comprised of representatives from higher education institutions and industry leaders across Texas, drives our initiatives. TARSEC collaborates closely with the Texas Space Commission (TSC) to provide funding recommendations, research priorities, and strategic initiatives aimed at bolstering Texas’s aerospace capabilities. TARSEC serves as a critical research and advisory arm of the TSC, working to advance the state’s aerospace and space capabilities and integrate these industries into the Texas economy.
Stephanie Murphy
Stephanie Murphy (TARSEC Executive Committee Chair) is the CEO and executive chairman of Aegis Aerospace, Inc. She is a board member of Space Center Houston and the Greater Houston Women’s Chamber of Commerce and member of the Women in Aerospace and Texas A&M Engineering Advisory Council. She is a board member and past president of the Aggie Women Network, former board member of the Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership, and former member of SBA Small Business Development Center Advisory Board at the University of Houston. Murphy received a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Business and an MBA from Texas A&M University, and an executive development program certificate from Dartmouth University.
Matt Ondler
Matt Ondler is the chief strategy officer of Aegis Aerospace, Inc. He has nearly 40 years of aerospace and technology experience, including over 28 years serving at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. His leadership and program management experience spans government, industry, and venture backed start-ups across a range of technologies including aerosciences, biomedical, software, and robotics. He is chairman of the Industry Advisory Board of the Texas A&M Multi-Disciplinary Engineering program and invited speaker for the NASA Intern Programs. Previously, he served as a sponsor and advisor to FIRST Robotics, an international youth organization that operates robotics competitions. Ondler received a Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Colorado and an MBA from the University of Houston.
Jack “2fish” Fischer
Jack “2fish” Fischer (TARSEC Executive Committee Secretary) is vice president of production and operations at Intuitive Machines. He is a former NASA astronaut with over 130 days in space, including two spacewalks, and former vice commander for the United States Space Force. Additionally, he is a member of the Space Force Association and the United States Air Force Academy Association of Graduates and associate fellow for the Society of Experimental Test Pilots. Fisher earned a Bachelor of Science in Astronautical Engineering from the United States Air Force Academy and a Master of Science in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Jason Kim
Jason Kim is Chief Executive Officer at Firefly Aerospace. He has 25 years of experience in executive management of satellites, rockets, ground systems, and autonomous systems and has supported hundreds of missions for national security, NASA, and commercial customers.
Prior to joining Firefly, Kim served as CEO of Millennium Space Systems, where he led the company through a period of significant expansion and technology advancements. His extensive career also includes leadership roles at Raytheon Intelligence & Space, Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems, and the U.S. Air Force.
Kim also serves as a member of the Board of Directors for the Air Force Academy Foundation and a member of the Executive Committee for Space Workforce 2030. He is a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering. He also received a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology and a Master of Business Administration from the University of California at Los Angeles Anderson School of Management.
Brian Freedman
Brian Freedman (TARSEC Executive Committee Vice Chair) serves as the president of the Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership (BAHEP), where he leads regional economic development efforts, advocates for regional priorities, and directs a team of world-class economic development professionals. The Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership is a membership-driven organization dedicated to stimulating regional economic development and employment in the Houston – Bay Area region.
Prior to joining BAHEP, Freedman served as senior manager of State and Local Government Operations, Southwest Region, for The Boeing Company, and prior to that role, as the lead for Legislative Affairs at NASA’s Johnson Space Center (JSC).
Freedman holds a bachelor’s degree in management from Mississippi State University, an MBA with a graduate certificate in finance from Colorado State University, and an executive certificate in strategy and innovation from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Shey Sabripour
Shey Sabripour is the Founder and CEO of CesiumAstro, a global leader in space communications with 300+ employees across five locations serving commercial and U.S. national security customers. He spent 24 years at Lockheed Martin Space Systems, where he rose to Director of Spacecraft Design, leading 350 engineers in the development of 36 geostationary satellites. He also served as CTO of Firefly Space Systems, where he led development of the Alpha Rocket and secured NASA and DARPA contracts. Sabripour holds a B.S. in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from North Dakota State University, co-authored a spacecraft technology textbook, holds multiple U.S. patents, and is a member of IEEE and AIAA.
Robert Ambrose, Ph.D.
Robert Ambrose, Ph.D., is a professor of Mechanical Engineering at Texas A&M University and the Associate Director of the Texas A&M Space Institute. Previously, he worked for NASA for over 20 years, holding various positions such as the division chief for Johnson Space Center and the principal technologist for NASA Headquarters. He is vice president of Industrial Activities for the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Robotics and Automation Society. Dr. Ambrose earned a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Washington University in St. Louis, a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Washington University in St. Louis, and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from The University of Texas.
Lori A. Magruder, Ph.D.
Lori A. Magruder, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in the Aerospace Engineering Department at the University of Texas at Austin, holds the Myron L. Begeman Fellowship in Engineering and is the Director of the UT Center for Space Research, an organized research unit in the UT Cockrell School of Engineering. Dr. Magruder received her bachelor’s degree from The University of Southern California in Aerospace Engineering, her master’s degree from Princeton University in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and her Ph.D. from University of Texas at Austin in Aerospace. She has held research positions at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory and the UT Applied Research Laboratories prior to joining the UT faculty. Dr. Magruder leads many NASA research efforts in addition to supporting remote sensing programs through the Department of Defense with her expertise in space-based remote sensing and the unique link she brings between engineering and multi-disciplinary science applications. Dr. Magruder also serves on the Central Texas Spaceport Development Corporation Board of Directors.
David Alexander, Ph.D.
David Alexander, Ph.D., (TARSEC Executive Committee Treasurer), is a professor of physics and astronomy and director of the Rice Space Institute at Rice University. He is a member of the board of the American Astronomical Society, the Houston Spaceport Development Corporation, SpaceCom, Deep Space Industries, and the Sasakawa International Center for Space Architecture. Previously, he served on the NASA Advisory Council’s Heliophysics Subcommittee, the NASA Solar Heliospheric Management and Operations Working Group, the ESA/NASA Solar Orbiter Payload Committee, and the Science Advisory Board of the High-Altitude Observatory Coronal Solar Magnetism Observatory. Alexander earned a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics at the University of Glasgow, a Bachelor of Science in Natural Philosophy and Astronomy at the University of Glasgow, and a Ph.D., in Relativistic Cosmology at the University of Glasgow.
Resources
Please reach out to Jess Sailors at [email protected] for more information.