Jeff Krukin

Jeff's space career began with boyhood evenings in the back yard gazing at the Moon and stars. This early passion for space led to a multi-faceted career, including IBM Systems Engineer at NASA's Johnson Space Center, Executive Director of the Space Frontier Foundation, grant-funded economic development work, and now a NewSpace Business Development practice. Jeff has fought the front-line battles to open the space frontier. He brings space down to Earth with talks about The Human-Space Connection , government space programs, and the emerging entrepreneurial space industry (NewSpace) and its impact on society as hundreds and then thousands of people travel into space. He even has some ideas about Woody Allen's question, "If the Universe is expanding, why is it so hard to find a parking place?"

Jeff has spoken at conferences across the United States and Europe, and in Canada, Australia, Singapore and Hong Kong. He has been interviewed by newspapers, magazines, radio, and television from Los Angeles to Houston to West Palm Beach, as well as in Europe and Asia.

His most frequently requested topics include:
The NewSpace industry, its sectors and companies, and jobs being created by entrepreneurs
The challenges of being an entrepreneur... in any industry... and how to overcome them and succeed (Hint: having money is not enough)
Commercial space vehicles, orbiting hotels and gas stations (yes!), and more
Should the Moon and asteroids be commercially developed?
What can business leaders learn from President Kennedy's lunar landing declaration?
NASA has hindered the human migration into space. What happened after Apollo?
Is it legal to own land on the Moon, or an entire asteroid? How will this be regulated?
How is space essential to our prosperity?
Who enforces what laws in space?

He is also a writer, with his first space article published in 1981. His articles and Op-Ed's have appeared on numerous websites and in publications such as Space News, the Houston Chronicle, the Raleigh News & Observer, Ad Astra, the Houston Business Journal, and Journal for Space Development. His first book essays were published in Spring 2005 in "Tackling Tomorrow Today: Moving Along, Far Ahead," part of a book series written for high school students.

Jeff is an award-winning leader, having received the ProSpace Activist of the Year award in 1998, Attachmate Corp. North America Systems Engineer of the Year award in 1999, and others during his Information Technology career. NASA and the US Dept. of Commerce's Office of Space Commercialization have requested his participation in their strategic planning efforts.

He serves on the Steering Committee of the International Association of Space Entrepreneurs, is the NewSpace Advisor to the North Carolina Aerospace Alliance, has conducted extensive grant-funded space economic development work, consulted for companies as diverse as Caterpillar, SpaceWorks Engineering, Presence Displays VOF, and Third Millenium Publishing LLC, and is an expert at TechCast: A Virtual Think Tank Tracking the Technology Revolution.

When not working to transform the exploration, settlement, and development of the solar system (definitely not a 9-5 job), he is COO of Syntiant, Inc. an IT and digital communication/media/entertainment startup.

His belief in the importance of space for global peace and prosperity is the foundation of his work. With his broad space experience and Master's Degree in Studies of the Future, Jeff brings a unique and insightful perspective on human activity in space and what it means for humanity and you.