Ralph L. Mcnutt

Michael Paul is a space exploration engineer at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory. As the Deputy Mission System Engineer on MESSENGER, he contributed to multiple flybys of Venus and Mercury, including the spacecraft's first encounter with the innermost planet in 2008, an event that convinced him that space exploration was critical work for humanity to continue and accelerate. Michael founded and led the Lunar Lion team at Penn State, a team of students assisted by researcher factually to pursue the Google Lunar XPRIZE, and is proud of the impact that those students have had across the space industry. Michael likes to work on old motorcycles, build new spacecraft, and canoe down rapids with his family, but not all at the same time. Michael holds an MS in Applied Physics from Johns Hopkins University, a BS in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Notre Dame, and BA in Liberal Arts from Stonehill College.