Nicholas Welly

Mr. Welly is a first-year student at The University of Mississippi School of Law. Before attending law school he spent seven years in the United States Air Force, serving first as a satellite operator for the NATO III/NATO IV and Skynet IV constellations, later as the executive officer to the commander of the 3rd Space Operations Squadron, and completing his active-duty service as an instructor and curriculum developer for the USAF Space Operations schoolhouse. He continues to serve as a Captain in the Air National Guard. Mr. Welly is a graduate of Air University’s Aerospace Basic Course, where he was recognized as an exceptional performer, and Squadron Office School, where he earned Top 1/3 Graduate and Outstanding Contributor accolades. He was commissioned in 2000 through The Ohio State University ROTC program. Mr. Welly earned his undergraduate degree at Ohio Wesleyan University where he was a four-year member of the varsity swim team, president and recording secretary of the Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity and president of the Sigma Gamma Epsilon Earth Sciences Honor Society. He completed his Master of Science degree in 2005. His capstone project, presented to the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (COEDIT), proposed an Aerospace Control Center model to operate within the design of the Federal Aviation Administration Office of Commercial Space Transportation (FAA/AST) National Airspace System (NAS) Concept of Operations. Next year, Mr. Welly will complete a legal research project entitled Expanding the Use of U.S. Spy Satellites for Domestic Law Enforcement. Sponsored by the National Center for Remote Sensing, Air and Space Law (NCRSASL) at Ole Miss, the project will explore the legal and policy considerations surrounding the establishment of a National Applications Office within the Department of Homeland Security to facilitate access to national intelligence satellite surveillance data by U.S. law-enforcement officials.