Dr. Isaac Maya, PhD, PE (Nuclear), has over 25 years experience in executive management, strategic planning, and high technology academic and industrial research and development.
This includes practical experience in program and project management, product development and commercialization and fiscal responsibility, in both industrial/commercial and academic environments.  Dr. Maya has specialized in interdisciplinary research for the government, military and commercial sectors, ranging in scope from information technologies and systems to nuclear power reactor systems to start-up business management and operations.  The breadth of his refereed journal publications and conference proceedings and other technical reports span a broad spectrum of disciplines, including risk and decision analysis, economics assessment, social science, and intellectual property protection, as well as the technical subjects of nuclear engineering science, chemical engineering, and program/project management.
Prior to CREATE, at USC’s Integrated Media Systems Center (IMSC), Dr. Maya significantly increased technology transfer, licensing and commercialization of prototype technologies (achieving over 100 technology transfers and commercial licenses), instilled an entrepreneurial culture among faculty, increased awareness and appreciation for patent protection of intellectual property (with over 100 invention disclosures filed), and facilitated the creation of spin-off companies (8).
Dr. Maya is a recipient of an award from the DHS Science and Technology Directorate for his personal contributions to CREATE’s success, and co-recipient of a US Coast Guard Operational Excellence Award for his contribution to the implementation an advanced security boat patrol scheduling tool.
Dr. Maya is a Fellow in NASA’s Center for Program/Project Management, was an Astronaut Candidate Finalist in 1992, and is a member of the Association of Cuban Engineers. He has over 10 inventions in the chemical engineering, electronics, medical and nuclear fields, and over 100 total publications, including over 50 refereed journal and conference publications.