The Innovators-Leaving DreamLand

Greg Gillis-Smith started working for NASA when he was a sophomore in high school. He graduated in Engineering from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and continued working as a mechanisms engineer for JPL/NASA, on missions that went to Mars, Saturn, comets, and Earth-orbit. Moving out of aerospace, Greg became an engineering director for Capstone Microturbine where he worked with customers and contractors to understand how to install the unique generators. This experience outside with architects and contractors led to a world of working in the construction and redevelopment industry, where he also ran his own company for over 10 years as a project manager and engineering consultant. Greg had always wanted to find a way to share his experience and background by teaching engineering and had a passion to teach at the high school level to motivate and educate new engineers. This opportunity came out of the blue after speaking at a local high school. Many of the characters and conversations in this book were inspired by actual classroom experiences. He loves teaching, but he also sees a way to impact youth beyond the classroom by writing adventures that teach and inspire.