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View of the Destiny laboratory module on the International Space Station, showing the interior research rack equipment used for experiments in microgravity.

Symposium Speakers

Meet the speakers of the 2026 North Carolina Space Symposium!

Plenary Speaker

Christopher Chung

  • Chief Executive Officer, Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina

Christopher Chung is currently the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina. Chung has worked in similar partnerships in other states including Missouri and Ohio. He has a BA in Economics and Japanese from Ohio State University.

As CEO of Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina since 2015, Chung brings 30 years of state-level economic development experience spanning three different states. As a public-private partnership funded by both the State of North Carolina and more than 80 companies and organizations statewide, the EDPNC is responsible for a number of economic development functions on behalf of the State of North Carolina, including new business attraction, existing business support, international trade and export assistance, small business start-up counseling, tourism marketing, film and TV production recruitment, and industrial site development. Since 2015, the EDPNC has helped North Carolina win more than 1,400 corporate location and expansion projects, resulting in more than 220,000 announced new jobs and $100 billion in announced new investment statewide.

Chung has been awarded Business North Carolina Economic Development Executive of the Year (2024), Raleigh News & Observer Tar Heel of the Month (2022), and Triangle Business Journal CEOs of the Year (2018).

Luncheon Speaker

Debbie Wells

  • Vice President of Exploration, Environment and Earth Intelligence Services, Leidos

Debbie Wells is a Louisiana Tech biomedical engineer with an MBA from the University of Florida who has 25 years of space industry experience and over a decade in venture capital.  Since 1988, she has contributed to over 100 space shuttle and ISS missions and the experiments aboard those flights expanding the knowledge base that helps keep today’s astronauts healthy. Her work has inspired the next generation of research aboard the International Space Station and the ISS National Lab.  She was the Kennedy Space Center’s Life Sciences Services Contract lead for the development of KSC and Edwards AFB facilities for astronaut research as well as for the design, construction and start-up of the 100,000 sq ft Space Life Sciences Lab – the first facility in Space Florida’s Exploration Park.

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After completing her MBA in 2006, Debbie joined a Florida venture capital firm to evaluate new business opportunities and recommend investment strategies.  Her expertise in business, life sciences, and engineering led to her appointment as Director of Product Development at a renewable energy start-up with responsibility for recommending and implementing both manufacturing and business strategies for products in animal feed, fertilizer, fuels, and human food. She continued her entrepreneurial leadership as VP of Process Development for a separate start-up until returning to her passion for space working at Kennedy Space Center in 2017.  

Debbie has also served as Deputy Program Manager for Amentum Services, Inc. managing research and operational laboratories at Kennedy Space Center.  She focused on acquiring new research funding, establishing collaborations and commercial partnerships for pushing the boundaries to prepare for the new economy of space.  

In 2022, Debbie transitioned to Johnson Space Center to lead the Human Spaceflight Technical Integration Contract’s support for the Orion Program, and most recently, she joined Leidos, Inc., an innovation leader in health, engineering and science where she oversees Leidos’ Space, Environment and Earth Intelligence portfolio where she and her team are enabling the future of space exploration, global resilience, and sustainability.

Close-up of a BioServe Space Technologies device with a patch reading ‘WF Institute for Regenerative Medicine, 1st Printed Solid Tissues,’ next to a transparent bag filled with pink liquid and bubbles.

Research Spotlight

Space: The Next-Generation of Regenerative Medicine Technology

Timothy Dobroski 

  • PhD Candidate, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine 

Timothy Dobroski is a PhD candidate in Biomedical Engineering at the Virginia Tech-Wake Forest University School of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences. Based at the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine (WFIRM), Timothy specializes in the biofabrication of vascularized tissue constructs for kidney and liver regeneration. His doctoral research, supported by the NC KUH-TRIO U2C/TL1 traineeship, bridges the gap between benchtop tissue engineering and in-space manufacturing through collaborations with NASA, Axiom Space, BioServe Space Technologies, and Redwire Space. A graduate of Louisiana State University and a recipient of the LSU Distinguished Communicator Award, Timothy is dedicated to advancing regenerative medicine both on Earth and in microgravity environments.

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Student Lightning Talk Presenters

Details coming soon