Alec Engell, Principal Scientist, leads data science and machine learning efforts and supports growth strategy relating R&D solutions to government and commercial marketplaces. Alec is a solution architect and leads technical writing for NextGen’s R&D division, with capabilities including machine-learned soil moisture mapping for the Air Force and Army and machine-learned forecasts of solar radiation events for the Air Force and NASA. He serves on the American Commercial Space Weather Association (ACSWA) Executive Committee and is Chair of the American Meteorological Society’s Space Weather Conference. He also co-leads NextGen’s Mentor-Intern program that supports over 30 college interns. Alec has his degree in Earth and Planetary Science from Harvard College and is an FAA licensed UAS pilot.