Joseph E. Meany, Ph.D. is a research scientist and popular science author. His work has appeared in Chemical and Engineering News, Nature Chemistry, and a science anthology by Baen Books. He is a coauthor of the 2018 novel Graphene, an economic, historical, and portentous profile of the carbon allotrope. Dr. Meany received his Ph.D. in Chemistry from The University of Alabama in 2016 where he synthesized a set of molecules that created the smallest recorded diodes. His research interests included integrating carbon-based molecules within nano-circuitry, and this interest continues. His passion for these nanomaterials is strongly founded in translating scientific discoveries into business opportunities and uses his communication skills coupled with technical expertise to bring scientists and business people to the same table.

Dr. Meaney will speak at the interstellar session at ISDC 2018 on Graphene Sail Technology, based on his collaborative works with Les Johnson, and on his continuing professional conversations on graphene-based materials as they relate to and enable spaceflight missions to Mars and beyond.