Vice President, Texas A&M University Michael E. Fossum '80 currently serves as a Vice President of Texas A&M University, the Chief Operating Officer of the Galveston Campus, and the Superintendent of the Texas A&M Maritime Academy. Fossum joined Texas A&M following his retirement from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) – Johnson Space Center in 2017. Fossum is a veteran of three space flights with more than 194 days in space and more than 48 hours in seven spacewalks during his 19 years as an astronaut. During his last mission in 2011, Fossum served as the Commander of the International Space Station. He has logged over 2,000 hours in 35 different aircraft throughout the course of his career. Fossum earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Texas A&M University and was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Air Force in 1980. He is also a graduate of the US Air Force Test Pilot School and has earned Master of Science degrees in Systems Engineering and Physical Science/Space Science. Fossum was born in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and grew up in McAllen, Texas. He is married to his Aggie sweetheart, the former Melanie J. London '80. They have four children and seven grandchildren. He enjoys family and outdoor activities. Fossum has been a lifelong supporter and volunteer in the Scouting program.
Principal Investigator, Black Music Research Unit, University of Westminster Mykaell S. Riley began his career in the late seventies as a performer with pioneering Reggae outfit 'Steel Pulse' who went on to achieve a Grammy. In the nineties he founded the Reggae Philharmonic Orchestra, who represent the most visibly black/multicultural collection of classically trained musicians in the UK. He has been a professional writer/producer and performer for over 25 years. Over this period he has achieved Silver, Gold and Platinum awards and contributed to four number 1 singles and seven number 1 albums via his production and writing work.He works as a music industry consultant and a content developer for music related educational programmes. He is a subject specialist (music/production) for the Open University, University of West London validation panels. and is a fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts. His current research involves developing the subject area of British black music, and creating a national archive of related content. He is the director of the Black Music Research Unit and his key objectives are to promote workshops, seminars, guest lectures and collaborative research projects, as well as to encourage networking of media scholars, practitioners, policy-makers and students of Caribbean music. His first AHRC project, entitled 'Bass Culture', aims to highlight Black British popular music heritage. Additional ongoing projects include the development of a large scale exhibition and film festival on the impact and legacy of Black British Music. Past research includes: The Value of Jazz in Britain Report - the first national mapping of UK jazz - The creation of BBMX an interactive educational DVD exploring the history of black music in the UK - Dub Sweat & Tears, a major photographic exhibition, reflecting 60yrs of Black British music.
Assistant Professor of History, Mary Immaculate College Miriam joined the History faculty of Mary Immaculate College in 2024. Having completed her PhD in History at the European University Institute in Florence, she spent a decade and a half at New York University where she taught undergraduate and graduate courses and was Associate Director of NYU’s Glucksman Ireland House, Director of the MA in Irish Studies, NYU’s Global Coordinator for Irish Studies, Co-director of the Archives of Irish America Oral History Collection and both an advisory and editorial board member.A founding board member of the non-profit organisation African American Irish Diaspora Network, Miriam is also the originator of the innovative Black, Brown and Green Voices program which is an ongoing public humanities initiative with African American Irish Diaspora Network, New York Public Library Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, NYU and the Department of Foreign Affairs. She was the inaugural Associate Editor of the NYU Press Glucksman Irish Diaspora Series and is a regular co-editor of the American Journal of Irish Studies. She is the author of 'Are You Still Below?' The Ford Marina Plant, Cork, 1917-1984 (Collins Press, 2007); the editor of Ireland's Allies: America and the 1916 Easter Rising (UCD Press, 2016) and the co-editor of Forged in America: How Irish-Jewish Encounters Shaped a Nation (NYU Press, 2023). She has extensive experience in public humanities both in the US and in Ireland and she has undertaken projects with the Royal Irish Academy, the National Archives (Ireland), the Department of Foreign Affairs, and the Department of Education. Her curatorial projects have been exhibited at the National Library of Ireland, the Linen Hall Library, NYU and the Consulate of Ireland (New York). From 2014 to 2023 she was host and producer of This Irish American Life, a weekly radio hour on public radio in New York City. She is a member of the Royal Irish Academy's Working Group on Culture and Heritage. Her current research agenda is animated by the intersections of race, ethnicity and imperial legacies in the Irish diasporic experience, with a special interest in the United States and the Caribbean.
Policy Manager (Energy), Climateworks Centre Matthew provides expert policy advice designed to accelerate Australia’s transition to clean energy. He informs and supports Cliamteworks system teams and external stakeholders as they work to decarbonise the grid and implement net-zero industries, transport and buildings. His experience in government, working on consumer energy resources, energy innovation and providing precise and practical policy guidance, means he is well placed to advise decision makers on the renewables transformation. Previously, Matthew was Head of Social Innovation at the Foundation for Young Australians where he built the capacity and capabilities of young people leading social and environmental impact enterprises. He was also CEO of the Human Rights Arts and Film Festival and Director of Fundraising and Development at Ovarian Cancer Australia. Matthew graduated from Curtin University with a Master of Environment and Climate Emergency (with Distinction) and holds a Bachelor of Commerce and a Bachelor of Behavioural Science from Griffith University.
Lecturer, Macquarie University Mathias-Felipe de-Lima-Santos (Ph.D.) is a Lecturer (aka Assistant Professor) at Macquarie University. He is also a research associate in the Digital Media and Society Observatory (DMSO) at the Federal University of São Paulo (Unifesp), Brazil. Previously, he was a postdoctoral researcher in the Human(e) AI and AI4Media projects at the University of Amsterdam, Netherlands and a researcher at the University of Navarra, Spain, under the JOLT project, a Marie Skłodowska-Curie European Training Network funded by the European Commission’s Horizon 2020. He was also a Visiting Researcher at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in Brisbane, Australia. Mathias-Felipe is co-editor of the book “Journalism, Data and Technology in Latin America” and the two-volume book “Fact-Checking in the Global South” both published by Palgrave Macmillan. Mathias-Felipe is currently part of the editorial board of Digital Journalism. His research interests include the changing nature of communications driven by technological innovations, particularly in journalism, media, and online social networks.
Professor of Sociology and Director of the Center for Insecurity and Inequality Research, Oklahoma State University Michael Long is Professor of Sociology and Director of the Center for Insecurity and Inequality Research (CIIR) at OSU. He is the author/co-author of seven books and over 100 journal articles and book chapters primarily in the areas of environmental sociology, green criminology, sustainability, food insecurity, public health, and quantitative methodology. Michael has received funding from the National Science Foundation, US Department of Agriculture, the British Academy, among others for his research. Michael is co-editor (with Andrew Fullerton, Kelley Sittner, and Rachel Schmitz) of Social Problems. He is a former co-editor of The Sociological Quarterly and the lead co-editor of the Handbook on Inequality and the Environment (2023, Edward Elgar).
