SPEAKER PANELS
Speaker Stage
Tentative Times | Subject to Change
Droid Building: From Hobby to Career
10:45 - 11:30 a.m.
Speaker: Mike Senna, Head of the Droid Department (Skeleton Crew)
Host: Amy Senna
Learn about how Mike Senna turned a hobby—building a remote-controlled R2-D2 in 2003—into a remarkable career. After gaining attention through charity events, he partnered with Lucasfilm in 2005, launching a 20-year journey creating droids for major TV shows, commercials, and live events for Lucasfilm and Disney.
Discover how he went on to build more than 16 droids, including WALL-E, EVE, BB-8, and Chopper, and learn about career highlights such as a 2013 Bloomberg Businessweek cover alongside Bob Iger, Kathleen Kennedy, and Mickey Mouse, as well as appearances at the Academy Awards.
Hear how his work on Obi-Wan Kenobi led to leading droid development for Skeleton Crew, and how he now runs Senna Creative Works—continuing to collaborate with Disney while inspiring audiences at schools and companies like Blizzard Entertainment.
STEM Power: Women Driving Discovery and Change
12 - 12:50 p.m. | Speaker Stage
Panelists:
- Host: Jenny Buccos is a multi-award-winning director and producer. She is the founder and Head of Content of EXPLR Media, a multimedia education strategist, and an agent for global citizenship.
Listen to women who are breaking barriers and changing the world—plus tips for your own STEM journey!
Q&A with American Astronaut Sirisha Bandla
1:10 - 1:40 p.m.
Speaker Stage
Sirisha Bandla was part of the first-ever fully crewed commercial spaceflight on July 11, 2021, joining Sir Richard Branson and fellow Purdue AAE alum Beth Moses on Virgin Galactic’s Unity 22 mission.
Growing up in Houston, Bandla became fascinated with astronauts like Neil Armstrong and the NASA engineers at nearby Johnson Space Center who helped those astronauts reach the moon. She decided she wanted to become an astronaut and engineer, too, and applied to only one university – Purdue – because of its close connection to the space program.
During the Unity 22 flight, Bandla tested out Virgin Galactic’s cabin experience and conducted a zero-G experiment from the University of Florida to evaluate future human-tended research experiences. Bandla’s presence on Unity 22 made her the third Indian woman to go to space. She was Purdue’s second commercial astronaut, following Moses, who made her first journey to suborbital space in 2019.
From Lab to Reality: Human–Machine Interaction in Action
1:50 - 2:35 p.m. | Speaker Stage
Panelists:
- Maria Kyrarini, Lead, Human-Machine Interaction & Innovation (HMI²) Research Group, Santa Clara University
- Oana Ignat, Assistant Professor, Department of Computer Engineering, Santa Clara University
- Amit Sandhu, Senior Design Engineer, THINK Surgical, Inc.
- Nicholas Smith, New Product Introduction (NPI) Operations Supervisor for Intuitive Surgical
Host: Kajal Awasthi, PhD Student Santa Clara University
How does research move from a university lab into the real world? This panel explores how human–machine interaction, artificial intelligence, and emerging technologies are designed, tested, and translated into practical applications. Panelists will share perspectives from academia and industry, highlighting real-world use cases across healthcare, accessibility, education, and industrial settings, and examining the pathways—and challenges—of turning research into real-world impact.
The STEM Behind the Sports Careers Panel
2:55 - 3:40 p.m. | Speaker Stage
Panelists: STEM professionals in Local Sports Teams & Sutter Health Sports Medicine MD
- Sam Delfino from Bay FC Senior Associate of Business Analytic & Insights
- Tara Deane, San Jose Sharks SVP of Business Analytics & Technology
- Hillary Phu, 49ers Senior Analyst, Revenue Insights, 49ers
- Richard Gayle, M.D. of Sutter Health, Orthopedic Surgery and Sports Medicine, Head Team Physician, Bay FC
- Host: Mo Lichaa, SCU Sports Host, MC and DJ
Go behind the scenes of professional sports and discover the STEM careers that make game day happen—off the field. Panelists share how technology, data, and sports medicine and engineering drive the sports industry.
