Thomas Matula, Ph.D., a Professor of Business in the Rio Grande College of Business at Sul Ross State University, was invited to present at the 2025 International Space Development Conference in Orlando in June.

Matula’s presentation on writing business plans for lunar industry was based on a lecture he gave at the University of Southern California in March. A pioneer in space commerce research, Matula, who is also the chair of the MBA program at SRSU, has been publishing on lunar development for over two decades.

“Teaching the Art of Developing Viable Lunar Business Plans” highlights the need for space entrepreneurs to learn how to build a solid business plan designed to address the challenges of the economy on the lunar frontier.

“The Moon is humanity’s new frontier, and its development is essential to the expansion of Earth’s economy into the Solar System,” he said. “The new MBA in Space Commerce at Sul Ross, the first in the U.S., was developed to train engineers and scientists to be the entrepreneurs of this new frontier.”

In addition to his presentation Matula participated on three panels discussing the history of lunar exploration, current lunar development plans and the future settlement of the Moon.

About the Rio Grande College of Business: The mission of Rio Grande College of Business (RGCOB) is to be a leading provider of experiential business education and serve students at Sul Ross State University and Sul Ross State University International, which spans four physical campuses in Alpine, Eagle Pass, Del Rio and Uvalde, as well as online and hybrid modalities. RGCOB maintains a high degree of focus on programmatic and pedagogical innovation, building a vibrant ecosystem for students and faculty and delivering outstanding student success. The College is supported largely by full time faculty (75 percent have terminal degrees in their respective disciplines) and is a full member of ACBSP (Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs).

Photo: Dr. Thomas Matula