Leadership & Board
INSTAR Lab Inc. is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit research organization governed by a Board of Directors and led by experienced research scientists and engineers. Our leadership brings together expertise in applied AI, condensed matter physics, federal R&D, and multi-cloud infrastructure to advance the Lab's interdisciplinary mission.
Leadership & Governance
INSTAR Lab is governed by a Board of Directors that provides strategic oversight, fiduciary stewardship, and direction for the organization's research mission. Scientific programs are led by principal investigators and research scientists whose credentials span computational physics, machine intelligence, MLOps, and secure enterprise architecture.
As an IRS-recognized 501(c)(3) public charity, INSTAR is accountable to the public interest. Our leadership team is responsible for maintaining the institutional integrity, research quality, and ethical standards that define the Lab's work.
OUR TEAM
Suzanne Conejos, M.Sc.
AI Lead Scientist · Board Member
Sean Hackney
Board Member · AI Researcher
Dr. Spoogmay Khan
Applied Scientist · Materials Physics
Maha Khan
Research Scientist
Suzanne Conejos, M.Sc.
AI Lead Scientist · Board Member
Suzanne Conejos leads INSTAR Lab's applied AI research as AI Lead Scientist and serves on its Board of Directors. A computational physicist with two M.S. degrees in Physics (Ohio University; Mindanao State University–IIT), she has spent more than a decade — from R&D leadership in Hong Kong to enterprise AI in the United States — building production AI systems, from generative AI and agentic architectures to MLOps and secure, compliant multi-cloud infrastructure. She has led STTR research initiatives and engineering teams, designed AI governance frameworks aligned to NIST, CMMC, and FedRAMP, advanced post-quantum cryptography readiness, and directed the build-out of INSTAR Lab's 20,000-square-foot research facility. Her scientific contributions earned U.S. government recognition for exceptional ability in the sciences.
Sean Hackney
Board Member · AI Researcher
Sean Hackney is a Board Member and AI Researcher at INSTAR Lab with more than 25 years in emerging technology and applied artificial intelligence. He has served as a principal AI and enterprise architect for Fortune-100 companies and U.S. federal agencies, and has been a principal investigator on federal R&D — including an STTR Phase II award and patented work in AI agent architectures and document intelligence. A former adjunct professor of Computer Science at the University of California, Santa Barbara, he has founded and led multiple AI ventures and advises on responsible, secure AI for the public sector.
Dr. Spoogmay Khan
Applied Scientist, Materials Physics
Dr. Spoogmay Khan is an Applied Scientist at INSTAR Lab, focused on materials physics and the physical sciences. She holds a Ph.D. in Condensed Matter Physics from Ohio University, where her research spanned thin-film growth and characterization — including thermal evaporation, sputtering, and small-angle X-ray scattering — and the effects of high-energy particle radiation on chalcogenide memory devices. A Gold Medalist in her undergraduate physics studies and a former American Physical Society Student Ambassador, she brings rigorous experimental and computational physics to INSTAR's research, applying machine intelligence to accelerate discovery in materials and the physical sciences.
Maha Khan
Research Scientist · Grant Strategy & STEM Education
Maha Khan is a Research Scientist at INSTAR Lab, where she supports the Lab's federal and global research proposals — contributing to grant strategy, technical documentation, and the coordination of research programs spanning aerospace resilience, transport phenomena, and cognitive engineering. She helps structure research milestones and compliance criteria for INSTAR's multidisciplinary teams and manages secure institutional data workflows. A science educator by training, she pairs hands-on STEM instruction with applied credentials in Microsoft Azure AI and cybersecurity, bringing clarity and rigor to the Lab's research operations.
Board of Directors
INSTAR Lab's Board of Directors provides independent governance and fiduciary oversight of the organization. Current Board Members are Suzanne Conejos, M.Sc. (AI Lead Scientist) and Sean Hackney (AI Researcher). The Board is responsible for ensuring the Lab operates consistent with its 501(c)(3) mission and public interest obligations.
Philanthropy & Grants
Fund Independent Science
INSTAR Lab is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Your tax-deductible contribution directly supports public-benefit research in AI, quantum science, health, energy, and the broad sciences.