David Thomas

Summary

David is dedicated to creating communities of innovators around the world who advance resilience and human flourishing. He brings 30 years of applied research and development across the U.S. defense sector, academia, and commerce, spanning lasers and optics, terahertz systems, nanotechnology, and advanced instrumentation. As founding Executive Director of the Milo Space Science Institute, the world's first university-led space agency, he has engaged more than 150 organizations across 40 countries and established the legal and policy frameworks that enable sustained international collaboration. He is the architect of Milo's Mission-Based Learning and Frontier Entrepreneurship methodologies, and an award-winning ASU faculty member (2025 Outstanding Faculty Award).

Graduate Degree courses:

• Global Space Entrepreneurship
• Space Diplomacy: Global States and Markets
• Professional Leadership Development
• Space for Global Future Leaders
• Space in the Age of AI

Executive Certificate (non-degree) programs:

• Space Leadership, Business and Policy, Washington DC, October 2024, May 2025, November 2025
• Space Leadership and Diplomacy, Ecuador, October 2025, January 2026

Workshops and Webinars

• Space Diplomacy: a principled approach to soft power that supports socio-economic stability
• Space for Earth: Using constellations for terrestrial applications and markets
• Space Power and Security
• Space + AI: mastering the convergence of transformational domains
• Agile Space Leadership: how to lead in the presence of uncertain end states and resources
• Space Leadership Alumni Series: Engaging in Space Diplomacy in Latin America
• Space Leadership Alumni Series: Infrastructure as a Service, the next strategic leap in space commerce
• Space Leadership Alumni Series: A unified, export compliant space resource marketplace supporting the U.S. military and its close allies
• Space Technology and Innovation at the Edge
• Space Leadership in the Age Transformational Technologies (Space + AI + Quantum)
• The Intersection of Space Policy and Industry, and the crucible created by real-time technological disruption

Capacity Building: David has architected a business model to deploy capacity building programming globally. The workforce development is offered in two themes: Lunar Exploration and Climate Action.

• The Milo Innovation Challenge uses the grand challenge model to bring together participants in teams to develop innovative solutions to challenges of our time.
• The Milo Space Frontier program trains participants to leverage space-enabled data to transform their business models and advance space commerce.
• The Milo Lunar Challenge provides hands-on learning and insight into lunar exploration, preparing a pipeline of talent for upcoming missions.

Key components include: (1) integration of Technical Proficiency and Durable Skills in an innovation workflow that provides participants with applied learning experiences, and (2) The programs invite students from previous cohorts to mentor international teams, giving them invaluable leadership experience.

Milo Space Science Institute, School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, 2018 – Present

• Leads the university-based space consortium operating as a non-governmental space agency, enabling organizations worldwide to participate directly in space missions otherwise too costly or complex to pursue alone.
• Built a global network based on trust, engaging 150+ organizations across 40 countries and establishing the legal and policy frameworks for sustained international collaboration, spanning the Americas, Indo-Pacific, Europe/UK, MENA, and Africa.
• Created a dedicated Space Diplomacy practice and international Ambassador Corps aligned with the U.S. Strategic Framework for Space Diplomacy, producing over 20 agreements and projects, and hundreds of engagements.

ASU Research Enterprise (ASURE), Arizona State University, 2019 – 2021

• Led a research enterprise focused on transitioning technology from the laboratory into the marketplace
• Launched a grand-challenge–style innovation program with 40% of teams earning follow-on funding and projects with government, national labs, and industry.

CFD Research Corporation, 2014 – 2018

• Grew annual contract awards 300% and doubled proposal win rate; launched a startup accelerator commercializing technologies from government R&D and led multidisciplinary teams across advanced energy, materials, and semiconductor technologies.

Aegis Technologies Group, 2005 – 2014

Launched an R&D division with full P&L accountability, securing $10M+ in government contracts and leading teams in nanotechnology, energy, nanophotonics, and terahertz technologies.

See CV for more detail.