About Us
George E. Gorospe Jr. Co-Founder & Chief Engineer
When George is not working on autonomous robotics for the NMAIA he is a Senior Research Engineer at NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, CA. At NASA, George manages the Systems Health Analytics, Resilience, and Physics modeling (SHARP) laboratory in the Intelligent Systems Division, and he is the Technical Lead for the Autonomous Systems Discipline where he drives autonomy technology advancement in the field of aeronautics. George is a New Mexico native and graduate of the Santa Fe Indian School, Dartmouth College, and the University of New Mexico. In his spare time, he is also pursuing a master’s degree in Robotics and Mechatronics from Santa Clara University. George credits his New Mexican heritage for his work ethic, humility, and taste for life.
Ford Davis, NMAIA Director
Currently a facilitator at nex+Gen Academy, a project-based high school in the Albuquerque Public Schools in New Mexico. He holds a master’s degree in Science and Education and has taught for over 30 years in private and public education in New Mexico. Active in robotics since 2007, he teaches “Introduction to AI Robotics,” started four years ago through a program led by George Gorospe, NASA Senior Research Engineer and native of New Mexico. As director Ford coordinates the NMAIA project, leading the NMAIA Pathfinders, a pilot group of high school student mentors, with experience in AI Robotics and the Jetracer robot. He also is leading the Soujourners, a pilot Middle School AI project beginning students in AI concepts, Python, and techniques using the Jetbot AI robot.