Lance Gharavi is Executive Director of CAE. He is a Phoenix-based artist, scholar, and Associate Professor in the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts at Arizona State University. His work focuses on points of intersection between performance, technology, science, and religion. An early pioneer in the integration of digital media and performance, Gharavi specializes in collaborating with transdisciplinary teams of artists, scientists, designers, and engineers to create original, innovative, and media-rich live experiences. He is Affiliated Faculty with the School of Earth and Space Exploration (SESE) and the Center for Human, Artificial Intelligence and Robotic Teaming (CHART) where he pursues creative research into geoscience, space exploration, and the future of robotics and AI.  

Tanya Harrison is a planetary scientist and science communicator whose background lies primarily in mission operations and surface processes on Mars. She is also an advocate for better inclusion and accessibility for women and people with disabilities in STEM. Tanya holds a Ph.D. in Geology from the University of Western Ontario, a Master’s in Earth and Environmental Science from Wesleyan University, and a B.Sc. in Astronomy and Physics from the University of Washington. She now works for a satellite imaging company, and thinks a lot about the future of our planet. 

Erin Chiou is Assistant Professor at Arizona State University where she directs the Automation Design Advancing People and Technology (ADAPT) Laboratory, focusing on human-agent teaming in complex systems, resilience engineering, human-computer interaction, and trust in automation. Recent projects have been supported by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Department of Defense, the National Science Foundation, and include applications in security, manufacturing, and healthcare. Chiou is currently serving on the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Panel on Human Factors Science at the Army Research Laboratory. She is co-editor of Advancing Diversity, Inclusion, and Social Justice Through Human Systems Engineering.

Christy Till is a geologist and Assistant Professor in the School of Earth and Space Exploration at Arizona State University who leads a multidisciplinary research program that studies the role of magma in the formation and evolution of planets, known as the EPIC lab. Her research and that of the EPIC lab includes determining the timescales and triggers for eruptions at active volcanoes in the US, including Yellowstone, growing minerals and magma in high pressure and temperature laboratory experiments, and studying likely compositions of magma and crusts on exoplanets.  Dr. Till also has deep interests in improving science communication, and broadening the participation of underrepresented communities in the sciences.  

Patrick Young is an Associate Professor of Astrophysics and Astrobiology in the School of Earth and Space Exploration at Arizona State University. He conducts research on the lives and deaths of stars, especially the violent ends of the most massive. This involves the study of high energy physics and the synthesis and distribution of chemical elements in supernovae. He is also heavily focused on astrobiology and planetary habitability. He approaches the search for life in the universe with a particular focus on the many factors that make a planet uninhabitable.