Burke O. Fort, Director
Burke Fort is the Director of the 8th Continent Project, bringing to the initiative over 30 years of experience in university aerospace research, technology development, public policy, STEM education and aerospace branding and public outreach.
Mr. Fort is also the Executive Director of the Foundation for Space Exploration (FSX), a tax-exempt, non-profit philanthropic foundation dedicated to "weaving space into the fabric of everyday life on Earth." FSX programs include philanthropic support for professorships, student travel to professional conferences and the formation of clubs comprised of alumni of various NASA-funded student programs.
Mr. Fort has served as Program Manager for Planning and Development in the Center for Space Research at The University of Texas at Austin. In this capacity, he designed, directed and supervised education and outreach activities for the Center's space science research programs. Mr. Fort also managed a Center laboratory to study processes of "customer engagement" for human space exploration programs.
At the University of Texas, Mr. Fort has also served as Special Projects Manager of the Texas Space Grant Consortium, where he directed education programs in microgravity research, Mars mission planning and design, NASA customer engagement, remote sensing and space policy.
NASA and other organizations have recognized Mr. Fort's accomplishments. In 2000, he was awarded the NASA Public Service Medal for creating and directing the NASA Reduced Gravity Student Flight Campaigns. His contributions to this program were also acknowledged in the Rotary Stellar National Award for Space Achievement (Team Award) given in 2000 to the Johnson Space Center. The American Astronautical Society recognized his work when it presented its Outstanding Achievements Award in 1996 to the Texas Space Grant Consortium for the Texas SURF (Students Understanding Reduced-Gravity Flight) Program. In 1996, Mr. Fort was designated National Space Grant Fellow in the NASA Space Grant College and Fellowship Program.
Mr. Fort serves as an appointed member of the Colorado Governor's Small Business Council and represents the Colorado School of Mines in the Colorado Space Coalition. He is also an Associate Fellow of the American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics. Mr. Fort's record of professional service also includes membership on the Protectors Task Force of the Space Policy Summit 2002/World Space Congress, held at the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy at Rice University. He was a special invitee to the 4e Symposium International Vols paraboliques, which was held in conjunction with the 1999 Paris Air Show. Mr. Fort also served as Chair of the Space Colonization Governmental, Political and Legal Issues Session, and Co-Chair of the Space Tourism Session, of the First Symposium on Space Colonization, which was held at the 2003 Space Technology and Applications International Forum.
Prior to joining the space program, Mr. Fort was an environmental litigation attorney in the Austin, Texas office of the Fulbright & Jaworski law firm. He holds the Juris Doctor degree, the Master of Arts (Sociology) and the Bachelor of Arts (Urban Studies), all from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. He has served on the board of the Association for Neurologically Impaired Children, a professional services non-profit organization benefiting children with Tourette's Syndrome, Asperger's Syndrome, bi-polar disorder and some forms of autism.
Angel Abbud-Madrid, Chief Scientist and Technology Officer
Dr. Angel Abbud-Madrid is the Director of the Center for Space Resources (CSR) at the Colorado School of Mines (CSM), where he is also an Associate Research Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering. He has been part of CSM and CSR since 1998.
Dr. Abbud-Madrid has more than 18 years of experience in space related projects, including conducting experiments in a variety of NASA's low-gravity facilities, such as drop towers, parabolic-flight aircraft and orbiting spacecraft. As a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Colorado, he was a co-investigator in a study on the combustion of metals for rocket propulsion and for planetary resource utilization. Dr. Abbud-Madrid was member of the science operations ground team that performed combustion experiments flown on the STS-83 and STS-94 Space Shuttle missions in 1997. As Project Scientist in CSR, he was the lead scientist and project manager of the Water Mist Fire Suppression project (Mist) that flew on the STS-107 mission of the Space Shuttle Columbia in 2003. In 2004, Dr. Abbud-Madrid received the prestigious NASA Astronauts' Personal Achievement Award given by NASA's astronaut corps for his outstanding contributions to the success of human space flight missions.
Dr. Abbud-Madrid earned a B.S.E. degree in 1983 in Mechanical and Electrical Engineering at the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM), in Monterrey, Mexico. From 1984 to 1986 he worked as project engineer with Ponderosa Industrial, a Mexican industrial holding with wood, pulp and paper, chemical and mining plants across the country. He then received a M.S.E. degree in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from Princeton University in 1990 and a Ph.D. degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1996. He is a member of several societies in the aerospace profession and belongs to the Board of Directors of the Colorado Math, Science and Technology Education Coalition (COMSTEC). Dr. Abbud-Madrid also holds a private pilot license for single-engine-land airplanes.
Javier Díaz, Chief Operating Officer
Javier Díaz is the 8th Continent Project's Chief Operating Officer. He joined the Colorado School of Mines Center for Space Resources in 2002 and has since then worked with several NASA centers, DARPA, Lockheed Martin, and other organizations in the development of space science and technology. Mr. Diaz has published articles in numerous national and international journals and has collaborated in the authoring of several books.
Mr. Díaz received his bachelor's and master's degrees in engineering from the Madrid Polytechnic University, in Spain, during which time he also served at the Prader-Willi non-profit organization to help families and patients affected by Prader-Willi syndrome. Mr. Díaz also received a master's in engineering and technology management from the Colorado School of Mines.
Mr. Díaz started his professional career in environmental and mining engineering at Madrid School of Mines, where he joined a project for the European Union and developed computer software for monitoring and control of pollutants, modeling of engineering activities, and engineering economics. He then continued into the field of computer science at Oracle Iberica S.A.U.
Mr. Díaz's passion for the air and space fields brought him to his Center for Space Resources appointment. He has since made significant contributions towards solving the technology and economic challenges associated with space exploration, with principal foci on refueling in space from materials extracted from the space environment, energy generation in space, and commercialization and business opportunities for space related industries. Mr. Díaz has also developed original software tools for the analysis of space missions.
Mr. Díaz is a member of the Epsilon Mu chapter of Phi Beta Delta. He is a marathon runner and hockey player.
John Metzger, Chief Communications Officer
John Metzger leads the 8th Continent Project's public relations initiatives. Prior to founding the award-wining PR firm Metzger Associates, Mr. Metzger was a journalist for a variety of magazines and news agencies, and went on to serve as senior account executive and media relations director at a large national public relations and investor relations firm.
Mr. Metzger previously served as president of the Rockies Venture Club, the International Association of Business Communicators, and currently sits on the boards of CTEK Venture Centers, the University of Colorado Technology Transfer Office, and the Governor's Commission on Science & Technology. He has worked within Colorado state government for the last nine years, and currently is a member of the Colorado Branding Team, providing strategic counsel and national media representation to the Colorado Office of Economic Development & International Trade. He has handled public relations for a wide variety of military, aerospace and defense contractors such as United Technologies, LSI Logic, Simula Inc. and IHS Engineering.
Mr. Metzger received his education at the University of Colorado.
