Robert S. Katz has proudly continued to serve as space strategist, pioneering protector, influential innovationist, tactical technologist, foreshadowing futurist, solution strategist, and ecosystem engineer in the national security and space communities for nearly 40 years. He toiled tirelessly, both domestically and internationally, nearly exclusively behind the scenes within the Defense and Intelligence Communities to help quietly and humbly empower the victorious battles to win the Cold War.  He continues empowering peace-through-strength to protect our freedoms by protecting our cyber-space, outer-space, and neural-space…ensuring strong communities around the corner, strong states around the country, and our strong allies around the continents.

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A: GAME-CHANGER

 

Even as just a young scientist and engineer, Robert conceived, designed, and deployed many of our most game-changing space connectivity capabilities. Most citizens likely take his breakthroughs for granted as being ubiquitously omnipresent today. These include the world’s first global email system, the world’s first GPS tracker, and the world’s first remote monitoring system, to name a few.

 

B: EARLY-STARTER

 

A four-decade veteran of space sector success, Robert pioneered pivotal programs for, among other firsts, email messaging, personnel location tracking, geospatial search-and-rescuing, climate change mapping, Hubble Space Telescope imaging, and automobile auto-navigating. Besides his two amazing kids, Robert brags most about being a rocket-scientist foot-soldier and leader in the Reagan Revolution. His leadership in President Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) Star Wars Missile Defense Program forced the evil Soviet Empire to “tear down this wall,” defeating Communism and crushing the Iron Curtain–without even firing a shot. Little did anyone realize then, but the Star Wars program was sowing the seeds of today’s Israeli Iron Dome and launched his long-time collaboration with Israel, and other major U.S. allies. Further, the security infrastructure he designed for the United States Air Force (USAF), as the lead MIT Pentagon detailee, to thwart network attacks unwittingly launched the practice of modern-day “cyber security.” This work encompassed information assurance, counter-jamming, and anti-spoofing for the Star Wars satellite sensors and missile interceptors. His tracking and monitoring systems ushered in the Internet of Things (IoT), which soon paved the way for what we now call Smart Cities.

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C: SPACE-STRATEGIST

 

Robert is proudly culminating his powerfully impactful four-decade space career with an even more impactful legacy initiative. To overcome both the motivation & inspiration challenges of our youth and the workforce & innovation challenges of our country, Robert seeks to simply bring them together. With the lure and ability to capture the imagination, the national north star that space creates, and its accompanying New Space Race, can unite our over-polarized society today, just as the original Space Race did under JFK. Robert has carefully conceived and launched a quad-collective of interconnected programs that he has unironically named the Strategic Earthshot Initiative. This critical imperative, for critical times, consists of four inter-connected action engines:

 

Engine 1 – Bridge:

 

To bridge all current technology efforts, the Executive Branch and President of the United States is implored to stand-up a U.S. Department of Technology (DTech). This new cabinet department will fill the critical national leadership void of technology orchestration, coordination, and innovation. The areas of technology will center primarily on securing and securing preeminence in cyber-space, outer-space, and neural-space. It will align the now disjoint and disparate, though well intended, small “science fair” level projects throughout the government into major coordinated programs of record.

 

Engine 2 – Bolster:

 

To bolster workforce talent, the government professionals within the Department of Technology and its private sector partners will, in part, be supported by a new cadre of talent through a new national service program committed to furthering space and its related domains, while re-uniting young American with pride in through country. The STAR Corps, modeled after the Peace Corps, will focus on enhancing and securing space to enhance and secure the United States. Participants will dedicate 1 to 2 years post-high school to explore and secure their potential career and educational options, while they explore and secure space. Beyond the life-changing invaluable skills, opportunities, and connections, participant Corps members will be incentivized and rewarded with free college or trade school upon successful program completion. This will help bolster our capabilities-pipeline by bolstering our people-pipeline. The national call to service initiative challenges and mobilizes our mission-seeking next-generation workers, thinkers, and innovators with the workforce-seeking mission of space protection and exploration. After all, talent serves as the real rocket fuel for our rockets.

 

Engine 3 – Build:

 

To build resiliency, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has designated sixteen sectors as critical infrastructure.  However, the most critical of our critical infrastructure was noticeably missing. Even though many, if not all, of these sixteen rely on space for their functioning, the infrastructure of space itself was excluded. The third leg of the Strategic Earthshot Initiative will be devoted to reversing that egregious error as it will campaign for the Critical Infrastructure designation for Space. This will also focus on identifying, nurturing, and growing dual-use products and services to build our even better Space Industrial Base.

 

Engine 4 – Boost:

 

To boost our superiority in technology, and subsequently in space, we must continue our overall superiority in innovation. The final component of the Strategic Earthshot Initiative is the establishment of SPACE-BASE. This new integrated physical and virtual innovation ecosystem will plant, nurture, and harvest the best of ASTROpreneurship in all things SpaceTech. This includes recruiting promising dual-use commercial endeavors, tapping brilliance within academia, as well as leveraging the underutilized greatness within our national laboratories and FFRDCs.By bridging, bolstering, building, and then boosting, together these four Engines of the Strategic Earthshot Initiative will bring the much-needed “Whole-of-Society” all-hands-on-deck approach to space, and its supporters.

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D: HOMELAND-SECURER

 

As a homeland, national, and cyber security strategist, he counts CIA, NGA, FBI, DEA, DHS, NIST, NOAA, DoD, Justice, and Johns Hopkins as among his most noteworthy clients. His space leadership spanned Trident missiles, Patriot batteries, and an array of advanced communications, optical, and synthetic aperture radar packages on space-borne platforms for NASA, NOAA, Intelsat, Inmarsat, the Pentagon, and the IC. For each, his trademark SOLUTIONneering™ approach quelled complexity and conquered chaos, establishing a detailed roadmap to navigating their most pressing challenges.

 

E: ACCELERATOR-CREATOR

 

Among other eco-system building initiatives, Robert conceived and launched The International Cyber-Space Accelerator, linking private sector producers with their public sector consumers. He recently continued connecting U.S. problems with Israeli solutions by early planning and consulting with the Mayor of New York City to form cyber delegations to Israel. These eventually paved the way for two Israeli cyber start-up incubator accelerators in the Big Apple. Earlier work interconnecting technical development and workforce development with economic development brought him to advisory engagements with the Governors of Maryland, Virginia, and Michigan.

 

F: PROGRAM-DEVELOPER

 

Robert diligently creates, architects, and leads multi-disciplinary teams for complex commercial, intelligence, and military C6ISR programs in space. Some examples included the half-billion-dollar U.S. Cyber Command support activity, and the DHS $6 billion CDM.

 

G: DIASTER-RESCUER

 

Following its catastrophic 2010 earthquake, Robert organized the first U.S. rescue mission to Haiti, expanding upon his similar experiences during Katrina. To no one’s surprise, the Israeli team was already there on the ground in Haiti. Cooperation there sparked a new collaborative rescue relationship between Robert and his Israeli counterparts. This led eventually to cross-training in the U.S. and Israel to prepare for mutual aid, if ever needed. Regretfully, the 2014 Gaza Missile Attacks on Israel ignited this planning into an operational status sooner than ever expected. Robert helped organize and deploy a twelve-member U.S. firefighting team to Israel. For 3 weeks, members of his unit integrated with Israel firefighters in the most heavily targeted Israeli cities, usually juxtaposing the Gaza border. Not only did he protect Israelis from the ground, but the Iron Dome he helped create decades earlier simultaneously protected them from the sky.

 

H: ENTREPRENEURSHIP-AUTHOR

 

His SOLUTIONneering™ book series soon launches with its inaugural publication: Cyber Innovation Nation™: Repairing the Cyber World Thru Israeli’s Eyes. This first-of-its-kind investigation chronicles Israel’s unassuming behind-the-scenes transformation from regional cyber prey to rockstar cyber powerhouse. Each page serves-up select secrets for cyber success from silent family recipes–in heaping helpings. Cyber Innovation Nation™ will be followed by SOLUTIONneering™: The Robust & Rigorous Roadmap to Re-Innovate Innovation, Re-Start Start-Ups, and Re-Engineer Entrepreneurship. There, Robert reveals his lessons earned for propelling both seasoned and emerging leaders by crafting creative solutions through systematic problem-solving and people-power.

 

I: SYSTEMS-INTEGRATOR

 

His hallmark multi-disciplinary, multi-domain, multi-system systems-of-systems approach emerged from his similar academic background. All within the standard four years, he earned three separate full undergraduate degrees in physics, mathematics, and computer science. He additionally secured full minors in both chemistry and Spanish. Though he ditched high school in his junior year to enter to college instead, he returned for one day to high school after two semesters of college just for his commencement ceremony, receiving his diploma as already having full standing as a college Junior.

 

J: ASTROPHYSICS-RESEARCHER

 

Before even high school, his studies of space began first with plastic scale model assembly, which led to lecturing entire school assemblies, as early as second grade. By his college Freshman year (his high school senior year), he landed a coveted internship to calibrate the Hubble Space Telescope for Johns Hopkins University, the National Bureau of Standards (now the National Institute of Standards and Technology), and NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. During his post-graduate doctoral Ph.D. studies, he foresaw this current cognitive era as his System Engineering research focus was not just Artificial Intelligence, but its application to autonomous vehicle navigation for the Universe’s first autonomous vehicle–the Mars rover.

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K: FIRST-RESPONDER

 

After hours, when not working to bolster national security, Robert supports community security, continuing to protect as a firefighter-paramedic responder and instructor-trainer. Besides being a line fire officer, he has served as Team Leader of this county Dive Rescue Team. Dive deployments included aiding the FBI’s anthrax investigation by searching frozen lake bottoms for its Evidence Response Team and Hostage Rescue Team. He is also a swift water rescuer, a Hazardous Material Technician, Confined-Space Rescue Technician, and a High-Angle Rescue Technician. As a Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosives (CBRNE) HAZMAT Operator and Paramedic, Robert served as an Assistant Lead on HHS/FEMA’s National Medical Response Team (NMRT). There, he supported the U.S. Secret Service and the U.S. Capital Police in protective details with the U.S. Marine Corps Chemical Biological Incident Response Force (CBIRF). Protected principals included the Pope and the President during select National Special Security Events, such as Inaugurations and Joint Sessions of Congress. He has delivered tactical medicine courses, lectures, and evaluations at institutions such as George Washington University Medical School, University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center, Johns Hopkins University, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, and even the U.S. Secret Service Academy.

 

L: NONPROFIT-BUILDER

 

Since emerging from strictly “behind the scenes” defense and intelligence operations and planning, the “Cone of Silence” is at last raised. He therefore accelerated his national and international strategy-level work. He is proudly approaching “ludicrous speed” with his national initiatives as the Founding CEO & Executive Director of the World Innovation Network (WIN). Originally founded in the late 1980s as the preeminent innovation think tank, WIN in recent years humbly received both non-profit 501(c)(3) status in the U.S. and NGO status internationally. These double endorsements brighten WIN’s laser-focus on heightening innovation to heighten national security.

 

M: SPACE-EXPLORER

 

Americans stand fortunate to be witnessing the reemergence, resurgence, and renaissance of space. Just as the original Space Race challenged our technical prowess against the threat of Soviet-Russian dominance, what Robert has dubbed the Second Space Race now tests our technical resilience and resolve yet again. This time we face an even more formidable “competitor” with an even more formidable head start. WIN similarly sees the Second Space Race as an impetus to drive a renewed focus on science and engineering studies to serve our country and community. This synthesis of critical focus into game-changing technology will enhance strategic partnerships both within our nation and with our international allies.

 

N: MEDIA-CONTRIBUTOR

 

Robert’s commentary appeared on national and international news outlets. These contributions span diverse areas of innovation and technology practice and policy, as well as their international geo-political implications. The largest include Newsweek, Yahoo Finance, Chicago Daily Herald, U.S. Cybersecurity Magazine, Firefighter, Herald Tribune, International Business News, and Fox News.

 

O: ALLY-ADVOCATE

 

As an unapologetically unwavering advocate of America’s most devoted and top tactical international allies, Robert turbocharges tech triumphs as the currency of diplomacy. His valuable start-up mentorship, guidance, and insight often leverage his first-hand serial successes in entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship. Throughout the U.S., Europe, and Asia, Robert has driven the launch of entirely new businesses, for emerging companies, and completely new lines of businesses, for established companies.  He has an extensive network of relationships throughout the national and the world, and he enjoys helping U.S. and allied start-ups grow into what Robert was among the first to coin as “scale-ups.” He often accelerated this space, cyber, and IoT innovations into global successes through his trademarked, and ruthlessly detailed, Cradle-to-Commercialization™ Framework.

 

P: PARTNER-PROMULGATOR

 

With uniquely strong ties to elite cyber security and homeland security leaders throughout the U.S., Israel, and India, Robert has built a successful track record as a business strategist and company catalyst in the formation of global win-win-win public-private-academic partnerships. These collaborative relationships interconnect corporations, governments, laboratories, investors, universities, innovators, entrepreneurs, and next-generation developers. Recognized as an innovation ecosystem expert, Robert enjoys the privilege of unparalleled access throughout the global start-up communities. This is especially true in Israel, where his cyber relationships run both deep and wide. They span from the mainstream and emerging cyber companies, incubators, and government officials to deep inside the “guts” of the Israeli cyber innovation ecosystem, and within the halls of universities and skunk-work labs. Further, Robert’s network of boots-on-the-ground extends from the ranges of Beer Sheva to the accelerators of Herzliya. When a guest on ILTV, Israel’s leading international English television station, the host, Harvard Professor and Constitutional Scholar Alan Dershowitz, praised Robert by declaring that “…it’s a great honor to have you on our show–you have done so much for not only innovation technology to make the life of everybody better. He continued by proclaiming to Robert that “you have done so much for Israel and for the Israeli American relationship …I see you at the head…Thank you so much for doing everything you do…”

 

Q: INFRASTUCTURE-PROTECTOR

 

One of the common threads throughout Robert’s career, as diverse as defeating intercontinental missiles and supporting intercostal muscles, is his protection of populations by protection of its infrastructure. In additional to supporting specific commands on specific programs, like the Strategic Defense Initiative, J-STARS, Brilliant Pebbles, and Space Fence, Robert also supporting the Executive Office of the President, DHS, and FEMA for overall integrated infrastructure protection. He was the Program Manager tasked with overall establishment of the National Response System based upon the first National Response Framework. There he helped orchestrate how all government departments and agencies would coordinate and collaborate with the private sector and all community partners to protect people and property during any man-made or natural disaster. Robert has been helping to lead efforts on building and expanding the Space Industrial Base and reporting on this through the drafting of the latest State of the Space Industrial Base Report.

 

R: SCIENCE-FACTION FIXATOR

 

Robert sees the cyclical vortex of art imitating life and then life imitating art, again. This inspired his forthcoming book ScienceFACTion. There he explores how today’s science fiction becomes tomorrow’s science fact. He will chronicle many of the innumerable specific cases of how story imagination spurred stellar innovation, and vice versa. However, he goes beyond the “what” of simply listing the countless dreams that came true. Robert instead analyses the “how” and “why” storytellers, artists, and authors usually innovate ideas, foretell technology, and anticipate attacks better than scientists, engineers, and operators.

 

S: INNOVATION-IGNITER

 

Piggybacking on his earlier not-so-small steps, Robert is now launching his giant leap (for personkind). Robert will soon launch the Strategic Earthshot Initiative. Its four engines and hyper-eco-system innovation will connect already thriving standalone ecosystems throughout the U.S. into a silo-smashing hyper-accelerator system. This will smash silos and drive diversity to connect not just the dots, but to, more critically, connect-the-thoughts. This new boost in collaboration will allow the U.S. to re-gain its competitiveness against global “frenemies” with innovation as the fuel for re-establishing our technical, workforce, and economic preeminence in space, specifically, and therefore throughout all sectors, generally.

 

T: WORLD-REPAIRER

 

With his system-of-systems and ecosystem-of-ecosystems approaches from systems engineering, Robert will harness our untapped potential and drive national and international leadership. This renewed focus will allow the U.S. to help “repair” the world through its reemergence as the innovation and technological leader in the hyper-inter-connected tech triad spaces of cyber-space, outer-space, and neuro-space…and beyond. After all...

 

The Sky’s NOT the Limit...Anymore.