Bryant Cruse has been a pioneer in the application of AI technology to difficult real-world problems. He graduated from St. John’s College in Annapolis, Maryland where he acquired his lifelong interest in the philosophy of Epistemology or “how we know what we know.” After serving for eight years as a Naval Aviator he returned to school for an MS in Space Systems Engineering from Johns Hopkins. While on the Mission Operations team for the Hubble Telescope he found a personal mission to change the way spacecraft were operated by seeking a way to capture human knowledge in computers. This work led him to a six-month residency in AI (MS equivalent) at the Lockheed AI Center in Palo Alto. He went on to build two successful AI companies, both of which were ultimately acquired by public corporations. New Sapience is his third deep-tech company. The patented technology that comprises its “Cognitive Core” represents more than 15 years of development and a lifetime of thinking from first principles.

As a passionate mechanical engineer, Salam Abualhayjaa specializes in spacesuit design and advanced life-support systems for extreme environments. With a commitment to pushing the boundaries of space exploration, she has contributed to the development of 8 cutting-edge spacesuits for analog missions and real-world applications on Earth and beyond.

She also founded MENA, a non-profit woman-led organization for education and training in STEM and dedicated to inspiring the next generation of space explorers through analog missions, astronaut training, and STEM education initiatives.

As a Jordanian analog astronaut, she is dedicated to expanding opportunities for youth in space-related fields, advocating for diversity, and pioneering advancements that will shape humanity’s future in space.

When she's not designing spacesuits or leading projects, she's a public speaker, mentor, and advocate for STEM education, encouraging the next wave of engineers and astronauts to dream big and achieve the impossible.

Paul is the former Founder and Chief Story Architect of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab’s StoryLab. StoryLab is NASA’s first “story accelerator”: a strategic communications shop that brings expertise to the Lab in using the tools and language of storytelling to support JPL's impact on humanity.

With more than 20 years in strategic communications, Paul has a knack for “communicating complexity” and the “right kind of crazy”. He has successfully executed large scale ecosystem campaigns ranging from billion-dollar science missions like Mars Sample Return to unveiling the habitability of Venus to finding the biosignatures of life on other worlds. These campaigns involved creating and leading a strategic communications plan including executive, crisis, and internal communications, managing multi-stakeholder interests, and building emotional investment that drives impact, enrollment, and funding.

In addition to creating compelling messages through StoryLab, Paul co-created a “Credible Messenger” workshop with Caltech to identify and grow authentic, credible messengers to activate narratives around the future of our planet, resources on other worlds, and the technology to make it all real.

Paul has consulted or spoke on story strategy and the power of a kindred quest through a shared story with NASA HQ and other NASA centers, the UN, Boston Consulting Group, Google X, The Moonshot Factory, Caltech, CSUN, ASU, CalArts, Art Center, SXSW, C2 Montreal, Lululemon, California Science Center, Exploratorium, and several other Institutions across the globe.