Category: Science Guest (Page 1 of 2)

Jim Beall

April 2, 2026 / ravenchair

Jim Beall (BS-Math, MBA, PE) has been a nuclear engineer for fifty years, beginning as a nuclear engineering officer in the US Navy. Civilian experience includes design, construction, inspection, enforcement, and assessment with a nuclear utility, an architect engineering firm, and the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (USNRC). Assignments included on-site health physics support, piping design stress analyses, reactor licensing, reactor startup testing (Canadian Point Lepreau heavy water reactor), research reactor inspections, and an assist mission to the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine in Kiev. USNRC positions included reactor site construction senior resident inspector (SRI), reactor operations SRI, inspection team leader, safety analyst, senior enforcement specialist, and reactor policy assistant to three different Presidential-appointed USNRC Commissioners while earning the agency’s Meritorious and Distinguished Service awards.

Duties of those policy-level posts included research into alternative and speculative energy sources, as well as energy forecasts and transmission technologies. Energy sources included coal, oil, hydro, geothermal, tidal, solar, wind, fracking, space-based, heavy water reactors, breeder reactors, fusion, and even anti-matter.

Publications:

Interstellar Research Group:
“Water, Water, Everywhere, but Which Drops Can We Drink?”

Journal of the British Interplanetary Society (JBIS):

“Ecological Engineering Considerations for ISU’s Worldship Project” (Coauthor)

Elsevier:

“Interstellar Travel: Purpose and Motivations” (Coauthor)

Baen Books:

“Our Worldship Broke!”
“Case Studies in Handwavium”
“From Corvus to Keyhole — Shipyards: Past, Present, and Science Fiction”
“Radium Girls of Science and Science Fiction”
“Grid Wars: Innovation, Feuds, Rivalry, and Revenge in the Never-ending Battle to Electrify America and the Planet”
“Atomic Follies”
“Warships of Sea and Space – Part 1”
“Warships of Sea and Space – Part 2”
“Recycling: From Stars to Starships”
“Borders: From the First Sumerians to the Last Starfighter”
“Artificial Intelligence: Myth, Fiction, and Future”

Ed Bishop

April 2, 2026 / ravenchair

Ed Bishop is a full-time electrical, computer and systems engineer, software engineer, and data scientist. He is also a part-time researcher in theoretical and experimental particle physics participating in the CMS Experiment of the Large Hadron Collider project (applying his physics and data science expertise). His recent theoretical physics research includes joining a collaboration to study Einstein’s Teleparallel Equivalent of General Relativity (TPEGR), an alternative but mathematically equivalent formulation of General Relativity created by Albert Einstein in the late 1920s, and its applications to precision cosmology (in particular how it can help explain phenomena related to dark matter, dark energy, galaxy formation, cosmic inflation and the formation of the large-scale structure of the universe) and to explore the emerging “Unified Gauge Gravity Model,” which unifies TPEGR with the Standard Model of Particle Physics into a renormalizable quantum gravity theory which is a promising candidate for a “theory of everything.” He was also co-editor of hometheaterinfo.com (site now defunct) with his late brother Doug and has written or edited over 5,000 film, television and streaming media reviews which have been syndicated on sites including rottentomatoes.com and metacritic.com. Ed also has an active interest in history and folklore.

Blue Cheese Robotics

April 2, 2026 / ravenchair

Blue Cheese Robotics (FRC Team 1086) is a student-run high school robotics team from Henrico County, VA founded in 2003. They are part of the FIRST Robotics Competition program, designing and building 100+ pound industrial robots to compete in exciting, fast-paced games with teams from around the world.

Blue Cheese Robotics strives to “brie the best they can brie,” working to inspire the next generation of STEM students through outreach and advocacy initiatives. They accrue thousands of volunteer hours yearly in hosting community and school demonstrations and festivals. Their outreach focuses on making STEM accessible and fun for all ages.

At RavenCon, Blue Cheese will be teaching attendees how to play CIAS award-winning multiplayer cybersecurity card games. Using a familiar tabletop CTG play mechanism, the games are designed to introduce players to real world cybersecurity concepts and tools. Players will build networks, implement security controls and attack their opponent, leveraging hacking and exploiting weaknesses to breach their defenses for victory.

Blue Cheese will also be demoing one of their robots. Attendees can get close-up and hands-on, learning directly from the students about the mechanical and technical design that goes into building it.

Blue Cheese Robotics is excited to bring their robot and hands-on educational STEM fun to RavenCon this year.

Andrew Caballero

April 1, 2026 / ravenchair

Andrew Caballero brings over fifteen years of experience in science, engineering and technology for Department of Defense (DoD) customers like the U.S. Army, Air Force, and Navy through companies such as Textron Systems, Northrop Grumman, and Peraton Labs. Specializing in electro-optics and solid state physics, he routinely propagates lasers through various materials to induce specific effects. He has worked on systems ranging from underwater autonomous vehicles and acoustical tracking to space based optical imaging and ad hoc wireless networks as everything from a technician to a chief systems engineer. Growing up an Air Force brat, having been all over the world with hobbies including marksmanship, American history, scuba diving, sailing, computers, electronics, and the Fallout universe, he brings a peculiar perspective to his activities. Always looking to slay super mutants and demons (See the Blood War urban fantasy series by Doug Burbey and Mel Todd at badashpublishing.com).

Les Carter

April 1, 2026 / ravenchair

Born into a Navy family in Washington, D.C., Leslie Roy Carter lived all over the United States, as well as in Argentia, Newfoundland, while growing up.
After receiving a B.S. in Physics from the College of William and Mary, he was commissioned as an Ensign in the U.S. Navy. While serving as a naval officer, he earned an M.S.E.E. from the Naval Postgraduate School. His career as a surface line officer took him to many ports such as Pearl Harbor, Long Beach, San Diego, and Charleston, culminating in command of the Oliver Hazard Perry Class Frigate, U.S.S. Reid. He then switched to the acquisitions specialty, eventually becoming a major program manager before his retirement in 2002 with the rank of Captain.
After retiring from the Navy, he worked for ten years as a defense contractor in the Washington area and turned his attention to writing. Holding a private pilot’s license, he also serves in the Maryland Wing of the Civil Air Patrol, with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

Lexi Cleveland

March 31, 2026 / ravenchair

Lexi Cleveland is the Executive Vice President at ARtGlass, a leading software technology company with headquarters in Richmond, VA, and Milan, Italy. With a passion for early American history and interactive programming. She holds a B.A. in History from the College of William & Mary, where she also earned a certificate in Early American History, Material Culture, and Museum Studies from the National Institute of American History and Democracy. Additionally, she furthered her academic pursuits by obtaining an M.A. in American Studies from Leiden University in the Netherlands.

Throughout her career, Lexi Cleveland has been actively involved in groundbreaking projects that aim to interpret and bring to life the experiences of enslaved Virginians. She has used her expertise to launch initiatives at renowned historical sites such as Colonial Williamsburg, George Washington’s Mount Vernon, James Monroe’s Highland, and Richmond’s Monument Avenue. By combining her extensive knowledge of early American history with her skill in interactive programming, Lexi has successfully fostered a deeper understanding of the lives and legacies of those who have shaped our nation’s past.

Lexi Cleveland’s unwavering commitment to historical preservation, coupled with her proficiency in software technology, has established her as a respected authority in the field. With her vast experience and notable contributions to the intersection of history and technology, she continues to make valuable strides in making the past accessible and engaging for audiences worldwide.

Rebecca Gibson

March 29, 2026 / ravenchair

Rebecca Gibson is an Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Virginia Commonwealth University, and recipient of the university’s Excellence in Pedagogical Innovation Award. Her published works include Desire in the Age of Robots and AI: An Investigation in Science Fiction and Fact (Palgrave Macmillan 2019); The Corseted Skeleton: A Bioarchaeology of Binding (Palgrave Macmillan 2020); and The Bad Corset: A Feminist Reimagining. She holds a PhD in Anthropology from American University, and when not writing or teaching can be found reading mystery novels amidst a pile of stuffed animals.

A.M. Giddings

March 29, 2026 / ravenchair

A.M. Giddings is a writer, scientist, cellist, independent filmmaker, and aspiring swamp hag from North Carolina. She has a PhD in Microbiology and has authored multiple scientific articles in virology, cell line design, and gene therapy. She enjoys writing stories that live within the murky boundaries between genres. She is the author of the futuristic dark fantasy series Dance of Ages, which begins with Shadow into Light and has short stories in various anthologies. She recently wrote and directed her first short horror film with Sick Chick Flicks. She is also the co-director of the Sick Chick Flicks Film Festival.

Sam Scheiner

March 12, 2026 / ravenchair

Sam Scheiner is a long-time fan and scientist. He grew up in the Pittsburgh area and got involved in fandom during college. At the University of Chicago, he reincarnated their science fiction club. He met his wife at Windycon in Chicago, and his child attended their first con at the age of 4 weeks, sleeping underneath a huckster table. He was the CFO for DisCon III and currently is involved in the Washington Science Fiction Association and is a past chair of the local convention—Capclave.

His scientific areas of expertise are ecology and evolution, and he has published 11 books, including The Ecology of Plants and The Theory of Ecology, and over 120 scientific papers. He also co-authored a book with SF author Phyllis Eisenstein on arthritis. He retired after working for 26 years as a Program Director at the U.S. National Science Foundation, having escaped just in time, but continues as an active researcher.

Sign Guy

March 9, 2026 / ravenchair

Your friendly neighborhood Sign Guy is a professional nerd from a family of professional nerds who occasionally convinces people he’s competent enough to present things at conventions. When not talking at crowds, he works with satellites, ships, and dives far deeper into pulp-era sci-fi than is medically advisable.