Together in Innovation: Inner space and outer space

Mackenzie Andrews is a device design engineer who earned her master’s degree in bioengineering with a focus on technology commercialization from the University of Washington. She is passionate about designing and commercializing solutions to address current healthcare problems, especially to help close health equity gaps.

At Nanodropper, Andrews oversees marketing, sales, and customer relations. She is focused on expanding Nanodropper’s partner clinic network, which, in less than 18 months, has grown to nearly 500 eyecare clinics across 45 states, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Elias Baker is a mechanical engineer specializing in design and prototyping. He earned his Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from Seattle University in 2016. His background includes projects with SpaceX, Spacelabs Healthcare, Kestra Medical Technologies, and McKinstry. His passion is in product design and prototyping, and he has made advances in medical devices. Baker led the design and prototyping process of the Nanodropper adaptor, which is now patented.

He oversees the production and supply chain of Nanodropper with the company’s U.S.-based contract manufacturers, and ensures that every process and specification meets proper regulatory requirements, along with operations.

Jenny Steger completed her Ph.D in pharmacology at the University of Washington, and she has a decade of scientific research experience at top academic institutions, including her alma mater Brown University, Harvard Medical School, and the University of Washington. She is the author of eight peer-reviewed researching publications on various topics spanning pharmacology, neurobiology, and endocrinology.

Steger grew up in the shadow of Silicon Valley in Half Moon Bay, California, and comes from a family of entrepreneurs. She is one of Nanodropper's four co-founders and leads all research-related pursuits for the company, including securing grants and spearheading clinical trials evaluating the safety and efficacy of the Nanodropper adaptor relative to standard-of-care treatments.

Dr. Proctor is a geoscientist, explorer, space artist, and astronaut. She is the mission pilot for the Inspiration4 all-civilian orbital mission to space. She is also one of The Explorer’s Club 50: Fifty People Changing the World. Her motto is "Space2inspire," and she encourages people to use their unique, one-of-a-kind strengths and passion to inspire those within their reach and beyond. She believes that we need to actively strive for a J.E.D.I. space: a just, equitable, diverse, and inclusive space as we advance human spaceflight.

She uses her afrofuturism space art to encourage conversations about women of color in the space industry. She’s also an analog astronaut and has completed four analog missions, including the all-female SENSORIA Mars 2020 mission at the Hawai’i Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (HI-SEAS) Habitat, the NASA-funded four-month Mars mission at HI-SEAS, a two-week Mars mission at the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS), and a two-week Moon mission in the LunAres Habitat. She believes that when we solve issues for space, we also solve issues on Earth. She promotes sustainable food practices used in space exploration as a way to reduce food waste on Earth. She has a TEDx talk called Eat Like a Martian and published the Meals for Mars Cookbook.

Dr. Proctor was a finalist for the 2009 NASA Astronaut Program and got down to the Yes/No phone call, which came from Astronaut Sunita Williams. She is an international speaker who enjoys engaging in educational outreach. She is a continuing NASA Solar System Ambassador and serves on the Explore Mars Board of Directors, JustSpace Alliance Advisory Board, the Science in the Wild Advisory Board, the SEDS USA Advisory Board, and the National Science Teaching Association’s Aerospace Advisory Board. In 2019, she was the science communication outreach officer on the JOIDES Resolution Expedition 383 and spent two months at sea with researchers investigating the Dynamics of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. She also participated in the two-week faculty development seminar, Exploring Urban Sustainability, in India. She was a 2017 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Teacher at Sea, a 2016 Astronomy in Chile Educator Ambassador (ACEAP), and a 2014 PolarTREC Teacher investigating climate change in Barrow, Alaska. She is a Major in the Civil Air Patrol and serves as an Arizona Wing Aerospace Education Officer.

Dr. Proctor spent 21 years as a professor teaching geology, sustainability, and planetary science at South Mountain Community College in Phoenix, Arizona. She is currently the Open Educations Resource Coordinator for the Maricopa Community College District. She has a B.S. in environmental science, an M.S. in geology, and a Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction: science education. She recently finished a sabbatical at Arizona State University’s Center for Education Through Exploration, creating virtual field trips. She did her 2012-13 sabbatical at the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Emergency Management Institute, developing their Science of Disasters curriculum. She has appeared in multiple international science shows and is currently on A World Without NASA and Strange Evidence.

Chris Sembroski grew up with a natural curiosity about outer space. Stargazing late at night on the roof of his high school and launching high-powered model rockets in college cemented this passion. As a U.S. Space Camp counselor, he conducted simulated space shuttle missions and supported STEM-based education designed to inspire young minds to be curious, explore, and find their passions. As a college student, Sembroski volunteered with ProSpace, a grassroots lobbying effort that promoted legislation in Washington, D.C., to help open space travel and allow companies like SpaceX to exist. He then served in the U.S. Air Force, maintaining a fleet of Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles and deploying for service in Iraq before leaving active duty in 2007. Following his education from the Air Force, Sembroski earned a B.S. in professional aeronautics from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. In his career, Sembroski has sought innovative, industry-disrupting methods to monitor and maintain mechanical equipment, making everything from data centers to hospitals more efficient. He now resides in Seattle, Washington, and works in the aerospace industry.

NaThanya Ferguson serves as the manager of the USPTO’s Office of Innovation Outreach, which focuses on outreach to independent inventors, small businesses, entrepreneurs, and underrepresented communities of innovators across America.

Ferguson joined the USPTO in 1989. During her 33-year tenure at the agency, she has worked as a contracting officer representative, lead patent analyst for the Patent Process Reengineering initiative, strategic planning project manager for the Office of the Commissioner for Patents, and project manager for the National Council for Expanding American Innovation (NCEAI).

Ferguson has received numerous awards, including a Department of Commerce Gold Medal in 2015 for her contribution to the innovative and collaborative implementation of the First Inventor to File statutory provisions of the America Invents Act, a Department of Commerce Distinguished Career Award in 2011 for continued outstanding service, and a Silver Medal Award in 1999 for her contribution to the development and implementation of the Patent Process Reengineering initiative.

Ferguson holds a Bachelor of Science degree in business and management from Johns Hopkins University and a Master’s Certificate in project management from Management Concepts and Regis University.

Mary McManmon is a Supervisory Patent Examiner (SPE) at the USPTO.  She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Pittsburgh in 2005 and joined the USPTO in the same year.  At the USPTO, she has worked in a wide range of technology areas, including radiant energy, illumination, valves, and fluid handling. She has also served on a career development detail to the Department of Energy as a Senior Advisor for Technology Transfer. 

In her spare time, Mary enjoys spending time outside and going on adventures with her husband and three children.   

Matt Palumbo conducts marketing, outreach, and communications for the programs of the Office of Innovation Outreach. He joined the USPTO’s Office of the Chief Communications Officer in 2014, where his duties have included serving as editor of the USPTO Weekly, promoting special awards, including the National Medal of Technology and Innovation and Patents for Humanity, and writing or editing speeches, scripts, and lyrics for special projects.

In addition to promoting events for underserved communities, Palumbo has been part of the USPTO’s Combined Federal Campaign teams for three years, helping raise millions of dollars for those in need worldwide.

Palumbo earned his B.A. in history from Tufts University and his MBA from American University’s Kogod School of Business. He is a member of the Beta Gamma Sigma business honors society.