Major Jefferson D. Mitchell

Major Jefferson D. Mitchell is Chief, Innovation Division for Space Delta 13, 13th Delta Operations Squadron at Maxwell AFB, AL. Space Delta 13 leads the U.S. Space Force’s premier educational operating units to include the National Security Space Institute, USAFA Det 1, ROTC and OTS programs at Maxwell AFB, and the newly established Det 3 at Johns Hopkins University. As the Chief Innovation Officer, Maj Mitchell leads the Delta’s Combat Development Team, Strategic Communications Team, monthly innovation syncs on AI and emerging trends, and validates new innovative tools and methods to educate all Guardians to include empowering them with an innovative mindset.

Major Mitchell entered the Air Force through the ROTC program in 2013 where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Technology from Iowa State University. He has commanded nuclear missile flights at the Minot AFB alternate command post, led acquisitions teams within two intelligence community agencies, and fostered commercial and international space partnerships for U.S. Space Command.

Bradley Warner, Ph.D.

Bradley Warner, PhD, is Professor of Applied Statistics and Director of the Data Science Program at the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA).  He led the team to create and became the program director for the USAFA Bachelor of Science in Data Science program. He received his undergraduate degree in Geophysical Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines.  In 1996 he received his Ph.D. in Biometrics from the University of Colorado, Health Sciences Center.  He also holds a Master of Science degree from the Colorado School of Mines in Mathematical and Computer Sciences.  His research interests include machine learning, neural networks, and statistical pedagogy.  He has been on the faculty of the United Air Force Academy since 1996.  He has held many leadership roles in the Department of Mathematical Sciences to include Engineering Division Chief, Operations Research Division Chief, Deputy Department Head for Academics, Director of Innovation, and Department Head.  Prior to his work at the Air Force Academy, he was a submarine qualified naval officer and then a product development engineer for Siecor, a leading manufacturer of fiber optic cables.  He holds a United States patent.

Nathan Gaw, Ph.D.

Dr. Nathan Gaw is an Assistant Professor of Data Science in the Department of Operational Sciences at Air Force Institute of Technology, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, USA. His research develops new statistical machine learning algorithms to optimally fuse high-dimensional, multi-modal data sources to support decision making in military, healthcare and remote sensing. He received his B.S.E. and M.S. in biomedical engineering and a Ph.D. in industrial engineering from Arizona State University (ASU), Tempe, AZ, USA, in 2013, 2014, and 2019, respectively. Dr. Gaw was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the ASU-Mayo Clinic Center for Innovative Imaging (AMCII), Tempe, AZ, USA, from 2019-2020, and a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the School of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISyE) at Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA, from 2020-2021. He has also served as chair of the INFORMS Data Mining Society, and a member of IISE and IEEE.

Maria-Elena Sisneroz

Maria currently works in the test and evaluation field as an Electronic Warfare Engineer for the Air Force at Edwards AFB. She previously worked as a physical therapist for 7 years and has done work in device design for neurologic physical therapy applications. Her interests include spending time with family, board games, hiking, and fiddling with/designing electronics. Maria has a B.S. in Biology from University of California, San Diego, a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Arizona State University, a Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Northwestern University, and is currently working on a MEng in Electrical Engineering with an emphasis on Electronic Warfare from Naval Postgraduate School.

Neil Ranly, Ph.D.

Dr. Ranly is a data scientist specializing in software engineering, information management operations, and portfolio decision analysis methods. He has over 20 years of experience in developing software solutions with internet and database technology. He has approximately 15 years of experience in researching and developing solutions for information management problems. 

Education

Doctorate, Air Force Institute of Technology, 2018 

Major: Operations Research

Master of Science, University of Dayton, 2009 

Major: Management Science 

Bachelor of Science, University of Dayton, 2004 

Major: Computer Science 

Magna Cum Laude Graduation Honor 

Addison-Wesley Senior Book Award for Excellence in Computer Science

2d Lt James Wang

2d Lt James Wang is a flight test engineer at Edwards AFB. Lt Wang specializes in autonomy/AI test and edge-computing. He leads AI instruction at USAF Test Pilot School and hardware integration for Project FOX at 461 FLTS. He was also a Cohort 8 Phantom AI fellow with the AIA and is excited to come back to help instruct!