The Team Behind Stellar Guard

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Dr. Sanjoy Paul is a recognized leader in innovation, technology, and entrepreneurship,

currently serving as the Associate Vice President of Technology Incubation & 

Commercialization at Rice University’s Office of Innovation and as Executive Director of

Rice Nexus - Rice University’s flagship innovation hub accelerating research translation

and venture creation. He is also Co-founder of Houston AI, a nonprofit driving AI

innovation and collaboration.

Dr. Paul teaches graduate-level computer science at Rice University and is an Adjunct

Faculty at the Baylor College of Medicine. Over a distinguished corporate career, he

held senior leadership roles at Accenture (as Managing Director and Global Head of

Systems & Platforms R&D), Wipro, Infosys, Bell Labs, and AT&T. There, he pioneered

advanced platforms in Generative AI, Robotics, 5G, IoT, and Digital Twins to transform

global industries.

As an AI strategist, Dr. Paul has developed pioneering solutions in multimodal

generative AI, computer vision, and digital platforms that have saved enterprises

hundreds of millions of dollars. His work in medical AI includes building the world’s first

economically viable and scalable AI-based Rheumatic Heart Disease screening system

in collaboration with the Cardiological Society of India. He continues to play a leadership

role in MedTech initiatives that use AI, computer vision, and biomechanics to improve

healthcare delivery and diagnostics.

An accomplished entrepreneur, he has founded and led startups across AI, EdTech,

AdTech, and Content Distribution. Through Rice Nexus, he mentors the next generation

of entrepreneurs, guiding them in product development, venture building, and

transforming research into real-world ventures.

Dr. Paul is a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI), a Fellow of the

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), holder of 96 granted U.S.

patents, and author of three books. His many awards include the IIT Kharagpur

Distinguished Alumnus Award and the Thomas Alva Edison Patent Award, and he was

featured in the Wall Street Journal as a 2025 Distinguished Leader. He holds a Ph.D. in

Electrical Engineering from the University of Maryland, a B. Tech from IIT Kharagpur,

and an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Miguel Á. López Medina has established himself as a global reference at the convergence of Artificial Intelligence and aerospace engineering. He holds a Ph.D. (Cum Laude, International Mention) and advanced specializations at MIT and Rice University, and has achieved key milestones including collaboration within environments linked to the NASA Johnson Space Center and contributions to advanced AI ecosystems in Microsoft’s Redmond environment. He has also been recognized as a Spanish global technology leader (“Valor Directivo de España en el Mundo”).

Dr. López-Medina is the Founder and CEO of America Data Science New York and an AI Researcher at Rice University, specializing in artificial intelligence for autonomous systems, telemetry intelligence, and mission-critical infrastructures, with a focus on anomaly detection, multi-agent telemetry fusion, and autonomous decision-making in complex, high-reliability environments.

He is the co-inventor of Stellar Guard, an AI-driven telemetry intelligence platform designed for autonomous space operations, cyber-physical resilience, and digital twin–based validation, aligned with the operational needs of next-generation missions in orbit, lunar environments, and deep space. His work emphasizes edge AI, resilient architectures, and latency-aware systems capable of operating with minimal dependence on ground control.

His research career includes multiple peer-reviewed scientific publications in international journals and conferences, covering topics such as smart environments, sensor data fusion, human activity recognition, and intelligent systems using fuzzy logic. This strong academic foundation in data fusion and adaptive AI directly informs his current work on telemetry intelligence and autonomous decision-making for critical space systems.

Throughout his career, he has led and contributed to high-impact initiatives in AI for aerospace, autonomous platforms, and intelligent mission software, collaborating with leading academic, institutional, and industry ecosystems.

Combining scientific excellence, strategic vision, and technological leadership, Dr. López-Medina represents a new generation of AI innovators shaping the future of autonomous space operations and intelligent infrastructure, positioning Stellar Guard as a high-value, defensible technology for the emerging space economy and institutional partners.

 Gina Lewis (...) 

Dr. Martin Heyne is a technology executive, entrepreneur, and AI systems architect with more

than 20 years of experience building and scaling autonomy, artificial intelligence, and safety-

critical software systems. His career spans aerospace, robotics, and advanced AI platforms, with

a consistent focus on translating complex engineering into commercially viable products.

Martin began his career in the NASA ecosystem, where he worked on sensor fusion, fault

detection, decision logic, validation, and safety-critical autonomy systems. This foundation

shaped his expertise in high-reliability architectures and mission-critical AI, systems that must

operate safely in uncertain, real-world environments.

He is the Founder and Applied AI Systems Architect of HEYNE AI, where he develops

advanced AI and autonomy solutions bridging cloud-scale compute, edge deployment, and

embedded systems. His work sits at the intersection of engineering depth and executive strategy,

helping organizations move from research prototypes and impressive demos to scalable, revenue-

generating platforms.

Martin is particularly interested in humanoid robotics and next-generation autonomous

platforms, approaching them through the lens of autonomy architecture, governance, validation,

and product strategy. He is known for bridging engineers and executives, aligning technical

roadmaps, AI strategy, and commercialization to deliver measurable impact in complex, high-

stakes environments.