An education nonprofit. We're starting with engineering. We expect to grow.
Founded in Georgia · Based in Los Angeles, CA · 501(c)(3) · EIN 88-1261179
§ 01 · Mission
Definity Education is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to ambitious,
hands-on education — the kind that prepares students to do serious work.
We trust them early, treat them seriously, and give them problems
worth solving.
Today, that work is in engineering. Our flagship is the Lander
Challenge, a global competition asking collegiate teams to design,
build, and fly self-landing rockets. We recently released hundreds of
thousands in collegiate aerospace grants. And this summer, we're
launching the Definity Engineering Summer Camp — a six-week
program in Los Angeles for high schoolers.
The vision is to grow to meet the needs of students across
industries.
§ 02 · How We Work
01
The work itself, not exercises.
We give students hard problems and genuine opportunities to find the solutions.
02
Practitioners teach.
Our mentors are engineers, founders, and researchers actively doing the work. Students learn from the field as it is today.
03
We trust people early.
We don't tell students to wait for the "real world" to let them work. We ask them: how can we help?
Head of Space Ventures at AeroVironment, overseeing the team behind the Ingenuity Mars helicopter; co-founder of the Brooke Owens Fellowship and the Patti Grace Smith Fellowship.
Michael Mealing
General Partner at Starbridge Venture Capital; former CFO and VP of Business Development at Masten Space Systems.
Tom Marotta
Founder and CEO of The Spaceport Company; former FAA commercial space Policy Program Manager and Astra Principal Launch Licensing Manager.
Zenia Tata
Former Chief Impact Officer at XPRIZE, leading global expansion and designing innovation prizes including the Water Abundance and Women's Safety XPRIZEs; currently SVP of Strategic Ventures at Entrokey Labs.
Colin Ake
Former VP of Strategy and Business Development at Masten Space Systems; currently Executive Director of Incubation and Commercialization at Kennesaw State University.
Joe Barnard
Founder of BPS.space, pioneering DIY thrust vector control and self-landing model rockets.
Mark Holthaus
Retired Boeing aerospace safety engineer with 42 years across Hughes Aircraft, Rockwell International, and Boeing, specializing in flight termination systems and failure analysis for programs including the Space Shuttle, X-37, and X-51A.
Rahul Saxena
Director of CREATE-X at Georgia Tech, leading the university's startup accelerator and entrepreneurship programs.
Angad Daryani
Founder & CEO of Praan, building filterless outdoor air purification systems using AI and computer vision; serial entrepreneur who founded his first company at age 13.
Safety Council
Mark Holthaus
Retired Boeing aerospace safety engineer with 42 years across Hughes Aircraft, Rockwell International, and Boeing, specializing in flight termination systems and failure analysis for programs including the Space Shuttle, X-37, and X-51A.
Adam Trumpour
Concept Designer at Pratt & Whitney Canada and Founder & President of the Launch Canada Rocket Innovation Challenge, advancing experimental liquid-propellant rocketry.
Madison Telles
Senior Mission Assurance Engineer at Millennium Space Systems; formerly Systems Engineer, Safety & Mission Assurance at Virgin Orbit.
Rick Wills
Aerospace safety professional and member of the Lander Challenge safety council.
