Mark is a geek, research scientist, business leader, program manager, and firefighter passionate about innovation and pushing the leading edge of advanced robotics. He has operated robots in space, disasters, and extreme environments worldwide.
Mark combines his passion for real-world experiences with a deep and highly active technical background. He loves to “get dirty” to understand problems, and this tendency has catalysed technological advancements in the breadth of domains he has explored. He embraces the hacker mindset, regularly breaks things, and has been active in the cyber-security community for over 30 years.
For 20 years, he demonstrated his commitment to developing solutions to mitigate social challenges through his training and involvement as a search and rescue specialist. He was formerly the Head of Robotics for NASA Ames Research Centre and moved to Australia in 2019. He is now leading one of the design teams for Australia’s first lunar rover, tentatively scheduled to launch in 2027.
