CASIS to Induct Four New Board of Director Members

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL. (January 6, 2014) – The Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS(Abbreviation: CASIS™) The nonprofit organization that manages the ISS National Lab, which receives at least 50 percent of the U.S. research allocation on the International Space Station to facilitate research that benefits humanity (NASA manages the other 50% and focuses on research for space exploration purposes).), the nonprofit organization promoting and managing research onboard the International Space Station (ISSInternational Space Station) U.S. National Laboratory, announced it will induct four new members to the organization’s Board of Directors.

In December 2012,CASIS named its original Board members, comprising seven distinguished scientists and/or academic administrators. The new members bring expertise and background in communication of science to the public, science especially well-suited to the ISS platform, or technology transfer and entrepreneurship. The latter are expected to leverage their background in commercialization to expand the user-base of the National Laboratory.

The following individuals will be inducted onto the CASIS Board of Directors (biographies attached with this release): 

Lt. General James A. Abrahamson (USAF Retired) is one of the most broadly experienced and successful military program managers of this generation. He served as a fighter pilot in Vietnam and later as an Air Force Test Pilot. He was selected to be an Astronaut on the Air Force Manned Orbiting Laboratory program (the program was later cancelled prior to flight assignment). He served in the Executive Office of the President of the United States, and in several key Air Force staff positions – and directed major, successful Air Force programs:   these included missiles and satellite programs, the development–international production–and deployment of the F-16, serving as NASANational Aeronautics and Space Administration Associate Administrator for Space Flight, running the early space shuttle program; and serving as the first Director for President Reagan’s  Strategic Defense Initiative (“Star Wars Program”).  Upon his retirement from the Air Force in 1989, Lt. General Abrahamson has served in a variety of executive and Board of Directors level positions within the aerospace and defense industries.  These included President of Hughes Aircraft Transportation Sector, Chairman of the Board of Oracle Corporation and Chairman of GeoEye Corporation, as well as including other director positions and major Advisory Committee responsibilities with NASA and the FAA.

Joseph Formichelli began his career at IBM Corporation, where he continually expanded his responsibilities to such heights as Vice President of Worldwide Systems Operations, and his final role with the organization as Vice President/General Manager of the ThinkPad line of notebooks. After his departure from IBM in 1996, Formichelli held multiple executive and leadership positions within prominent technology driven companies including Toshiba, Gateway and Radio Shack. He currently serves as Director/Supervisor, Celsia Technologies Taiwan, a US technology start-up company focused on next-generation cooling solutions for microelectronics. Formichelli holds a MBA from Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan School of Business and is also an adjunct professor at California State University – Fullerton.

Ioannis (Yannis) Miaoulis, Ph.D., has served as the President and Director, Museum of Science, Boston since 2003. The Museum of Science introduces about 1.5 million visitors each year to science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) concepts and programs and has been a nationally ranked museum by multiple publications over the years. Prior to his time with the Museum of Science, Miaoulis served with distinction at Tufts University as its Dean of the School of Engineering, Associate Provost and Interim Dean of the University’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. While at Tufts, he published over 100 research papers and holds two patents.

Philip Schein, M.D., is widely regarded as a leading international authority in the treatment of cancer. Dr. Schein has held multiple, high ranking positions within the field of Medical Oncology including Senior Investigator and Head of the Clinical Pharmacology section of the National Cancer Institute, Scientific Director of the Lombardi Cancer Research Center and as Founder and CEO of US Bioscience a publicly traded biotechnology company focused on cancer and HIV.  Some of his recent positions include President of the American Society of Clinical Oncology and he has chaired the Food and Drug Administration’s Oncological Drugs Advisory Committee. Dr. Schein has been a Board member on the American Board of Internal Medicine, where he chaired the Medical Oncology Committee, and as a White House appointed member of the National Cancer Advisory Board. Currently, Dr. Schein is the President of the Schein Group, which provides consultative serves in the areas of product development and regulatory submission,  and also serves  as a visiting professor in Cancer Pharmacology at the University of Oxford.

“With the announcement of these four highly decorated individuals, the the ISS National Lab Board of Directors will add leaders from the business and scientific community to complement its already world class collection of researchers and academics,” said the ISS National Lab President and Executive Director, Gregory H. Johnson. “With these Board members in place, the ISS National Lab will be better equipped to identify and ultimately create new opportunities to benefit our Nation’s only orbiting laboratory.”

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About the ISS National Lab: The Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (the ISS National Lab) was selected by NASA in July 2011 to maximize use of the International Space Station (ISS) U.S. National Laboratory through 2020. the ISS National Lab is dedicated to supporting and accelerating innovations and new discoveries that will enhance the health and wellbeing of people and our planet. For more information, visit stg-issnationallab-issnldevsite.kinsta.cloud. 

About the ISS National Laboratory: In 2005, Congress designated the U.S. portion of the International Space Station as the nation’s newest national laboratory to maximize its use for improving life on Earth, promoting collaboration among diverse users and advancing STEM education. This unique laboratory environment is available for use by other U.S. government agencies and by academic and private institutions, providing access to the permanent microgravityThe condition of perceived weightlessness created when an object is in free fall, for example when an object is in orbital motion. Microgravity alters many observable phenomena within the physical and life sciences, allowing scientists to study things in ways not possible on Earth. The International Space Station provides access to a persistent microgravity environment. setting, vantage point in low earth orbit(Abbreviation: LEO) The orbit around the Earth that extends up to an altitude of 2,000 km (1,200 miles) from Earth’s surface. The International Space Station’s orbit is in LEO, at an altitude of approximately 250 miles. and varied environments of space.

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