Senior Fellow, Potomac Institute for Policy Studies

Gerold Yonas, PhD has had a long and distinguished scientific and managerial career. He worked as a staff scientist at JPL from 1962 to 1967 and was Manager of Electron Beam Research at Phys Intl from 1967 to 1972. He worked at the Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) from 1972 to 2009 where he initiated the pulsed power fusion program, served as vice president of Systems, Science and Technology, and later became SNL’s principal scientist. He also served from 1984 to 1986 as the acting deputy director and chief scientist of the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI). 

He joined the University of New Mexico’s (UNM’s) Mind Research Network in 2009 as the director of neurosystems engineering. There he dedicated himself to develop this new field, linking advances in neuroscience with systems engineering through interdisciplinary teams that focused on the development of solutions to complex system problems. 

He has also served on several defense boards and is a Senior Fellow at the Potomac institute for Policy Studies. He has also taught in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at UNM, and has published extensively in the fields of intense particle beams, inertial confinement fusion, strategic defense technologies, technology transfer, and “wicked engineering.” He has authored the mostly-fictional novels “The Dragon’s CLAW” and “The Dragon’s Brain,” and the non-fiction book “Death Rays and Delusions” (with Jill Gibson). Dr. Yonas received his PhD in engineering science and physics at the California Institute of Technology and bachelor’s degree at Cornell University.

Rosalie Loewen

Research Economist, Potomac Institute for Policy Studies

Rosalie Loewen works as a Research Economist for the Potomac Institute. Ms. Loewen has broad experience in economic and policy research and analysis with a focus on quantitative methodologies. In the research arena, Ms. Loewen’s experience includes work in British Columbia measuring and predicting the effects of new genomics technology uptake. Within the public sphere, Ms. Loewen was privileged to serve two overseas tours with the US government as a diplomatic officer. Ms. Loewen spent her early career in the private sector, in finance, as a mergers & acquisitions analyst with a focus on modelling net present value. Ms. Loewen holds a master’s degree in Economics from the University of British Columbia, a master’s degree in International Relations from Johns Hopkins’ SAIS, and a bachelor’s degree from Harvard College.

Alden V. Munson, Jr.

Senior Fellow, Member Board of Regents Potomac Institute for Policy Studies

Mr. Munson is a Senior Fellow and Member, Board of Regents at Potomac Institute for Policy Studies. He is an advisor to the US intelligence and defense agencies and to industry, and is a member of the Board of SMA, a competition management and consulting company. He is an active member of the Intelligence and National Security Alliance (INSA) and the US GEOINT Foundation (USGIF). He served on the Defense Science Board and contributed to studies in cloud computing, cyber resiliency, electronic warfare, space resiliency and long-range strike, among others, and has participated in Air Force Studies Board activities on digitization of the Air Force. He was the Deputy Director of National Intelligence for Acquisition and Technology from May 2007 until July 2009. Previously he was a consultant in defense, space, and intelligence and was associated with the investment banking firm Windsor Group. He was Senior Vice President and Group Executive of the Litton Information Systems Group, leading information technology, command and control, and intelligence businesses for defense, intelligence, civil, commercial, and international customers. Mr. Munson was Vice President at TRW, in the System Integration Group, the Space and Electronics Group, and the Information Systems Group (the former TRW Credit Business). In these assignments, he led numerous space, intelligence, and information technology organizations and activities. He began his career at the Aerospace Corporation, where he provided system engineering support to many space and intelligence programs. Mr. Munson received a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from San Jose State University and a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley. The National Reconnaissance Office named Mr. Munson as a Pioneer of National Reconnaissance, and received the National Intelligence Distinguished Service Medal in 2009. 

Carrie Zuckerman

Research Associate, Potomac Institute for Policy Studies

Carrie Zuckerman served as a Research Associate at the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies when the essay in this issue was researched and written. At the Institute, Carrie focused on space policy issues for customers including NASA and Space Force. Prior to joining the Institute, she received a bachelor’s degree in political science and a minor in astrophysics at the University of California Berkeley. While at Berkeley, she contributed to astrophysics research focused on improving ground-based exoplanet imaging. Carrie currently works as the Science, Solutions, and Policy Associate for The Climate Reality Project.

Kayla Dunn

Intern, Potomac Institute for Policy Studies

Kayla Dunn is a senior at Georgetown University where she is majoring in Science, Technology and International Affairs with a focus in Business, Growth and Development. In 2024, she completed the Potomac Institute S&T Internship program, where she investigated algorithmic targeting on social media platforms. Motivated by an interest in science policy, Kayla plans to pursue a Masters Degree after graduation in Data Science and Applied Analytics, where she hopes to leverage her understanding of the data systems and data analytics to strengthen her advocacy and research efforts.

Senior Partner, Madrona Venture Group, and Senior Fellow,
Potomac Institute for Policy Studies

Dr. Patrick Ennis is a Senior Fellow at the Potomac Institute and has spent a career in science, technology commercialization, and venture capital. Patrick is also a Venture Partner at Madrona Venture Group where he helps build startup companies in a wide variety of technologies. 

Prior to Madrona, Patrick was at Intellectual Ventures for more than a decade, running startup incubation and technology commercialization with a focus on Asian markets. His investments included Evolv Technology (Nasdaq: EVLV), of which he was a founding board member. Patrick was also the founding CTO of Xinova, a startup that pioneered an international open-innovation market network.

Previously Patrick was a Managing Director of ARCH Venture Partners, where he built early-stage startups for ten years. His investments included Impinj (Nasdaq: PI), Innovalight (acquired by DuPont), and Kotura (acquired by Mellanox/NVIDIA).

Before joining the venture capital industry as a Kauffman Fellow in 1998, Patrick worked at AT&T and Bell Labs, leading projects in software development, speech recognition, and network design. He also worked as a product manager in optical networking and a marketing manager for consumer services.

Before joining Bell Labs, Patrick researched nuclear physics at government labs in North America and Europe. During this time, he published many articles in scientific journals, including The Physical Review, Zeitschrift für Physik, and Nuclear Instruments and Methods.

Patrick has served on the boards of more than 25 private and public companies and educational organizations. In the last two decades, Patrick has spent more than 1,000 days abroad conducting business in 31 countries and developing relationships with technology, corporate, and academic leaders. Patrick holds a Ph.D., MS, and MPhil in physics from Yale, an MBA in finance from Wharton, and a BS in mathematics and physics from William and Mary, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.