Matt Richards, PhDDr. Matt Richards is Senior Manager of Advanced Missions and Programs for Boeing Network & Space Systems. He is responsible for product development and business development for a billion-dollar satellite division.
Prior to joining Boeing, Dr. Richards served as a civilian employee of the U.S. Department of Defense. From 2012-14, he led a $40M division of 170 physicists, computer scientists, engineers, and mathematicians conducting rapid prototyping and technology insertion across eight laboratories. From 2011-12, he led an interagency campaign that integrated the operations of ten organizations, built a virtual community of interest of hundreds of analysts, and raised over $60M in funding. Earlier assignments include the acquisition of a satellite command and data handling subsystem, Mars rover mission design at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and systems engineering for two autonomous vehicle programs at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. Dr. Richards received his Ph.D. in Engineering Systems from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 2009 while serving as a Fellow of the National Science Foundation. His dissertation, “Multi-Attribute Tradespace Exploration for Survivability,” introduced a system analysis method for evaluating the resilience of satellite constellations. From MIT, Dr. Richards also received B.S and M.S. degrees in Aeronautics and Astronautics and an M.S. in Technology and Policy. His Master’s thesis, “On-Orbit Serviceability of Space System Architectures,” examined the technical and economic feasibility of refueling or upgrading satellites. He has over 40 publications at AIAA, IEEE, INCOSE, and SPIE conferences as well as in the Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets, Defense Acquisition Review, Space Policy, Energy Policy, and Management Decision. Dr. Richards lives with his wife in Los Angeles, CA. |