David Tovani is helping to build an exciting company, Accion Systems Inc., starting as employee number one. Located in Boston, MA, Accion is aiming to print advanced electric propulsion systems for the small satellite industry on an enormous scale. Mr. Tovani has designed and tested their first power processing electronics which control their proprietary ion thrusters. Previously he worked for Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company where he designed large vehicle checkout systems for the Orion spacecraft including life support and propulsion. He also worked on spacecraft defense programs as well as commercial satellites such as GOES-R. Mr. Tovani holds a B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Colorado at Boulder and an M.S. degree in Mechatronic Systems Engineering from the University of Denver. Before college, David grew up in Oakland, CA. His work then took him from Colorado to Houston, Philadelphia and finally Boston. STEM remains a focal point within David’s passion for spaceflight – he advocates the pursuit of space largely to inspire people to do great things.