Keynote

Jacob Matthews

From Incorruptible Cashiers to Nuclear Power on the Moon: Forging Ohio's Future in Space and Nuclear Engineering

Jacob Matthews

Principal System Architect,
Digital Transformation Center (DTC)

Jacob Matthews is a technology entrepreneur and U.S. Army veteran currently serving as the Founder and CEO of Potomac Database Systems and a Principal System Architect at the University of Dayton Research Institute (UDRI). Previously, he was the co-founder and CTO of Zeno Power Systems, where he developed and patented the first commercial radioisotope power systems for extreme environments. A graduate of West Point and Vanderbilt University, Jake specializes in bridging the gap between complex engineering and viable commercial products in the space, defense, and energy sectors.

As an entrepreneur developing space nuclear systems, Jacob kept finding himself drawn to the Midwest for talent, procurement, and engineering services. This experience spanned material science, aerospace engineering, and nuclear fuels. No matter which way he turned, all roads led to Ohio.

And it turns out, the Miami Valley's foundational role in American aerospace and space nuclear power is no historical accident. The establishment of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, NASA Glenn Research Center, and the University of Dayton Research Institute are the direct results of an unbroken, 150-year chain of local innovation. Beginning not with airplanes, but with a Dayton saloonkeeper's 1879 invention, and transforming it into a global engineering powerhouse that served as a "university" for a generation of innovators.

This unique local talent pool was secretly tapped by the Manhattan Project, a mission that was institutionalized at the Mound Laboratory, a location that could have served as the inspiration for the Hawkins Laboratory in Stranger Things. This forgotten lab, however, led directly to the development of the nuclear power systems that have explored our solar system from Voyager to Perserverance. This local ecosystem of talent, entrepreneurship, and "spin-offs", all built upon a foundation of Ohio's 19th-century industrial might, created the legacy that DESS conference attendees carry forward today.