Homer Hickam Jr., NASA Engineer and Best Selling Author [website]
Founders
Marc Boucher, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Marc Boucher is an entrepreneur, technologist, explorer and bon vivant. He began work on his first Internet technology company in 1991 and is the founder of Hyperix Search, Inc., aTerra Technologies, co-founder of SpaceRef Interactive, the Mars Institute and MoonViews LLC.
Since 1991 has been on leading edge of Internet trends and has been described as an Internet visionary. Products he's launched include SportsWorld (1992), @Canadas.net (1995), Maple Square (1996) and SpaceRef (1999).
In 2002 he co-founded the Mars Institute a not for profit research institute focusing on science and exploration of Earth's outward neighbors the moon, Mars and its moons and the asteroid belt. The Mars Institute through the HMP Research Station in the Canadian high arctic brings together participants on a yearly basis to perform science and exploration research from notable organizations as the Canadian Space Agency, NASA, academia and industry.
In 2005 Boucher and his partner Keith Cowing at SpaceRef Interactive were approached by Dennis Wingo about a new venture and MoonViews LLC was created to provide imagery and data for lunar exploration. MoonViews first project is the Lunar Orbiter Image Recovery Project working in conjunction with NASA.
In 2007 Boucher along with several other people co-founded the Canadian Space Commerce Association for which he serves on the board.
Also in 2007 Boucher founded Hyperix Search which has developed a vertical search platform and business intelligent unit building on existing technologies previously developed at Maple Square combined with new innovations.
Boucher lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, home of the 2010 Winter Olympics. When not working he spends time enjoying life with my fiancee Sylvia and relaxes by reading, hiking, cycling and adding to his modest collection of Japanese woodblock prints and collecting watches.
Marc Boucher's Blog: Nano2Sol
Keith Cowing, Co-Founder and President
Keith Cowing is trained as a biologist (M.A. and B.A. degrees) and has a
multidisciplinary background with experience and expertise that ranges
from spacecraft payload integration and biomedical peer review to freelance
writing and web site authoring.
In recent years Cowing has been the Editor and Webmaster of several highly
popular Web sites including the Astrobiology Web and the
Whole Mars Catalog - both of which
have been integrated into SpaceRef. Cowing is also the force behind
NASA Watch - a website that has earned
a world wide reputation for reporting breaking space stories first.
Science magazine credited NASA Watch for breaking the news of recent
discovery of water near the surface of Mars. NASA Watch has also been
cited multiple times in Congressional hearings for its reporting on the
International Space Station.
Cowing is also webmaster for "Genomics:
A Global Resource" sponsored by PhRMA, the Pharmaceutical Research and
Manufacturers of America. Cowing has been invited to speak on Internet
issues at the annual convention of the American Society for Human Genetics;
serves on several advisory committees for GROW - Genetic Resources On the
Web - an organization founded by the NIH National Human Genome Research
Institute; and serves on the Internet Advisory Panel of the Genetic
Alliance.
Between 1990 and 1993, Keith was a NASA civil servant and served as Manager
of Pressurized Payload Accommodations at the Space Station Freedom Program
Office (SSFPO). As part of his prime responsibilities, Keith served as the
Payload Accommodations Manager for the 2.5 Meter Centrifuge Facility, the
Gas-Grain Simulation Facility, the Gravitational Biology Facility, and the
CELSS Test Facility. Keith also participated in all SSF design reviews held
during 1990-93, representing the interests of the scientific payload
community. Keith was also the SSFPO lead on biospecimen containment and was
a NASA representative to the NRC Committee on Toxicology's subcommittee on
Spacecraft Maximum Allowable Concentrations.
Prior to his work at NASA, Keith worked for the American Institute of
Biological Sciences (AIBS) on NASA Life Sciences Division Peer review and
for the Universities Space Research Association (USRA) where he managed a
subcontract in support of the NASA Life Sciences Strategic Planning Study
Committee (a.k.a. the Robbins Committee). Keith is also a former member of
the governing board of the American Society for Gravitational and Space
Biology (ASGSB).
