Ambassador Michael Gfoeller is a distinguished American diplomat, scholar, and innovative thinker with a 26-year Foreign Service career (1984?2010). Serving in Warsaw at the Cold War's end, as well as in Moscow, Riyadh, Manama, and as Deputy Chief of Mission in Saudi Arabia (2004?2008), he navigated complex political dynamics in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. As Senior Political Advisor to General David Petraeus at U.S. Central Command (2008?2010), Gfoeller shaped Middle East and Central Asia strategies. After his retirement from government service, Gfoeller advised ExxonMobil, consulted for Henry Kissinger, and lectured at Georgetown University. An accomplished scholar, he has authored books on the traditional architecture and antiquities of Armenia, where he has established an archeological foundation and museum. His recent books of mathematical philosophy include Consciousness is Curvature (2025), which models human and artificial intelligence as dynamic geometric curvature in informational spaces, inspired by relativity and quantum theory. He has also authored Faster Than Light (2025), which explores how recent advances in theoretical physics can enable feasible interstellar travel, inaugurating a new Age of Exploration that may never end.