Roberto De Mata

Roberto De Mata, M.A. serves as the Project Manager for the SpaceTech Scholars Program at Metropolitan State University of Denver.

Yishi Lee

Yishi Lee Ph.D. serves as associate professor of the Department of Engineering and Engineering Technology at Metropolitan State University of Denver.

Laura Braunschmidt

Laura Braunschmidt, B.S., is a lecturer in the Department of Aviation and Aerospace Science at Metropolitan State University of Denver. Her expertise spans various facets of the aviation industry, including corporate and cargo piloting, flight-training simulators and ground-school instruction, as well as multi engine training. Braunschmidt’s primary areas of interest center on the latest pilot- recruitment trends, emerging technological advancements in the aerospace sector, and effective strategies for promoting gender diversity in the aviation industry.  

With nearly a decade of professional experience, Braunschmidt has served as an educator and ground- school instructor, and holds a certification as a pilot. Her flight experience includes working as a commercial pilot for Air Wisconsin Airlines, and as a cargo and air- ambulance pilot for Kalitta Charters LLC. She is a certified ground instructor with a commercial single-engine seaplane rating and holds an airline- transport pilot certification. Braunschmidt’s teaching areas include flight/ground training, instrument flight simulation, and multiengine flight simulation.  

Aside from her teaching role, she is the faculty advisor for the collegiate chapter of Women in Aviation International. She previously served as the academic advisor for the National Society of Collegiate Scholars at MSU Denver. 

Braunschmidt received her bachelor’’s degree in Aviation Science/Professional Pilot from Utah Valley University.  

Richard C. Mac Namee

Richard Mac Namee is the director of the Cybersecurity Center at Metropolitan State University of Denver. His areas of expertise include counterterrorism, counterinsurgency, intelligence operations, covert operations, nuclear security and cybersecurity. He currently teaches Cybersecurity Capstone for senior students.

Prior to joining MSU Denver, Mac Namee worked as a British Army officer, whose service included the Household Division’s Scots Guards and being an operator and commander in the United Kingdom’s Special Forces. His service required him to deploy to numerous locations throughout the world commanding operations conducted in the interests of national security, including being seconded to the U.K.’s Security Service (MI5).

Following a recall to military service as a Special Operations commander from 2009 to 2011 as part of the U.S. surge into Afghanistan, Mac Namee was recruited by a Tier One research university in the U.S. and appointed as a professor of the Practice at the Bush School of Government and Public Service. There, he delivered graduate-level classes in Counter-Terrorism, Intelligence Operations and Covert Operations, as well as Technical and Cybersecurity Operations. Mac Namee returned to private practice in September 2018 to deliver Counter-U.A.S. technologies into Thailand as well as Artificial Intelligence Cybersolutions for a large Mexican bank.

Since retiring from the military, Mac Namee has successfully established and led several profitable commercial enterprises in the private sector in the fields of business intelligence, security and risk. He was awarded the Queen’s Commendation for Valuable Service for his services with Special Operations. He is the author of “The 5W’s of Terrorism,” which was published in the 5th International Symposium and Seminar on Global Nuclear Human Resource Development for Safety, Security and Safeguards in 2016.

;