Region III Director in AIAA. I've also been very involved in my local Northern Ohio Section holding Chair and various other positions.
My full-time position is Manager of the Electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing (eVTOL) Propulsion Subproject and GRC Liaison, Revolutionary Vertical Lift Technology (RVLT) Project under the NASA Aeronautics Advanced Air Vehicles Program (AAVP).
With their unique ability to take off and land from any spot, as well as hover in place, vertical lift vehicles are increasingly being contemplated for use in new ways that go far beyond those considered when thinking of traditional helicopters. NASA’s Revolutionary Vertical Lift Technology (RVLT) project is working with partners in government, industry, and academia to develop critical technologies that enable revolutionary new air travel options, especially those associated with Advanced Air Mobility such as large cargo-carrying vehicles and passenger-carrying air taxis.
These new markets are forecast to rapidly grow during the next ten years, and the vertical lift industry’s ability to safely develop and certify innovative new technologies, lower operating costs, and meet acceptable community noise standards will be critical in opening these new markets.
The RVLT project invests in development of cutting-edge technology and tools to:
• Enable current and future vertical lift vehicles to operate safely and reliably.
• Reduce environmental impacts and minimize intrusion – especially by noise – when in close proximity to people and property.
• Increase access to sustainable transportation and services which creates a broad economic benefit.
While the project has historically conducted research for traditional rotary wing vehicles, such as helicopters, RVLT is currently focusing on specific vehicle technology for new concept vertical lift vehicles across a range of sizes and missions in support of Advanced Air Mobility (AAM).
Advanced future vertical lift vehicles of all classes and sizes will require higher speed flight capability and improved operational efficiency. RVLT is focused on enabling the next generation of vehicles to use electric propulsion systems and is targeting propulsion system reliability and standards, system failure modes, and power quality standards for electric propulsion architectures.
Other new areas of investment include modeling thermal management and power systems for electric architectures, electric motor design for reliability, and trade studies of electric propulsion architectures for vehicles of different size classes. RVLT also continues to pursue powertrain technology to benefit electric and hybrid-electric propulsion systems.