Regeneratively Speaking 44: Science in Space to Benefit Life on Earth with I.S.S.

Ramon “Ray” Lugo III
Chief Executive Officer and Principal Investigator for the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space, Inc. (CASIS), manager of the International Space Station (ISS) National Laboratory

Within this role, Lugo is responsible for implementing strategic objectives that enable space-based research through the ISS National Lab that brings value to our nation and builds a robust and sustainable market in low Earth orbit.

Lugo comes to CASIS with more than 35 years of experience within the space industry, including serving as director of NASA’s Glenn Research Center and as director of the Florida Space Institute at the University of Central Florida. Lugo is an ideal candidate to lead the organization in its pursuits to sponsor space-based research and technology development and enable a sustainable market in low Earth orbit.

Lugo served as the Director of UCF’s Florida Space Institute from 2013-2021. Prior to this appointment, he served as Director of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s John H. Glenn Research Center from 2010 to 2013. There he was responsible for planning, organizing and directing the activities required in accomplishing the missions assigned to the Center. Prior to this appointment, he served as Glenn’s Deputy Director from 2007 to 2010.

Prior to his positions at Glenn, Lugo served as the Deputy Program Manager of the Launch Services Program at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center and was principally responsible for managing, directing and evaluating the progress of all ongoing launch operations and activities including Expendable Launch Vehicles engineering and analysis, payload integration, launch site support and launch campaigns.

Lugo began his NASA career at Kennedy in 1975 as a cooperative education student. His first assignment was in the Construction and Modifications Branch as an engineer responsible for construction modifications to Launch Complex 39A in preparation for the first space shuttle launch.

Since becoming a member of the Senior Executive Service in 2001, he served as the executive director of the Cape Canaveral Spaceport Management Office. Other leadership positions include Director and Deputy Director of Expendable Launch Vehicle Services Program, Manager of Facilities and Support Equipment Division in the Space Station Project Office, and Chief of the Business Office of the Joint Performance Management Office.

Lugo has received numerous honors, including two NASA Exceptional Achievement Medals for contributions to the Galileo Mission and the Space Station Redesign, and three NASA Outstanding Leadership Medals for his instrumental role in the Expendable Launch Vehicle Program Transition.

Lugo earned a Bachelor of Science in engineering in 1979 from the University of Central Florida and a Master’s Degree in engineering management in 1982 from the Florida Institute of Technology.

Michael Roberts
Deputy Chief Scientist, International Space Station National Laboratory

Dr. Michael Roberts is Deputy Chief Scientist of the ISS National Lab where he works to imagine and enable science in space for life on Earth. Roberts has been with the ISS National Lab since 2012 and a space researcher since 1999, working as a microbial ecologist, molecular biologist, and principal investigator for ground-based research in the NASA Advanced Life Support program at the Kennedy Space Center and flight research on the shuttle and the International Space Station.

Roberts is a vice president at CASIS and acting chief scientist of the ISS National Laboratory. As manager of the ISS National Laboratory in partnership with NASA, CASIS is responsible for enabling access to the International Space Station for research, technology development, STEM education, and commercial innovation in space as a public service to foster a scalable and sustainable low Earth orbit economy.

Before joining CASIS in 2013, Roberts worked as a microbial ecologist, principal investigator, and research group lead in the NASA Advanced Life Support program at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC). Prior to arriving at NASA-KSC in 1999, he completed an undergraduate degree at Maryville College, a doctorate in microbiology at Wesleyan University, and postdoctoral research at the Center for Microbial Ecology at Michigan State University and the RIKEN Institute in Wako-shi, Japan