Dr. Berhanu Bulcha is an internationally recognized Ethiopian-American space scientist and NASA Principal Investigator who bridges the gap between aerospace innovation and youth empowerment. Following his Ph.D. from the University of Virginia and a tenure as a staff scientist at MIT, he made groundbreaking contributions at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center by developing a compact terahertz laser designed to detect water on the Moon. Recognized as one of the Photonics 100 for his patented work in light-spectrum technologies, Dr. Bulcha remains deeply committed to his homeland's future. To help build that future, he co-founded the Shaggar Institute of Technology (SIT) in Ethiopia—a transformative university focused on hands-on STEM education, designed to equip the next generation of engineers with the practical skills needed to tackle real-world challenges and drive African technological advancement.