Rensselaer - MOVE: 6 - Electric VTOL Panel Discussion

Panel Discussion: “Electric VTOL: Current Status and Technical Challenges”

Moderator:
– Mr. Elias Rigas, (RPI '91) Chief, Vehicle Applied Research Division, Vehicle Technology Directorate, U.S. Army Research Laboratory

Panelists:
– Mr. J. Scott Drennan, VP Innovation, Bell
– Mr. Chris Jaran (RPI ’78), CEO, Terrafugia
– Mr. Matt Ciuca, Director of Strategy, Commercial Programs, Aurora Flight Sciences
– Mr. Mike Duffy, Project Manager, Boeing Research and Technology
– Dr. Rajneesh Singh, Group Lead, Vehicle Applied Research Division
Vehicle Technology Directorate, U.S. Army Research Laboratory
– Dr. Inderjit Chopra, Alfred Gessow Professor, University of Maryland

Biographies:

Mr. Matt Ciuca
eVTOL Panelist
Mr. Ciuca joined Aurora Flight Sciences in 2016 from the corporate strategy consulting industry. At Aurora, he is responsible for developing analytics, recommendations, and strategy for business sector leaders with commercially focused programs. Mr. Ciuca has over 11 years of experience leading business transformation, market entry/adjacency, acquisition due diligences, and strategy projects within the aerospace and defense industry and broader industrial goods industry. He holds a B.S. in mechanical engineering from Clemson University and an MBA from the Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University.

Prof. Inderjit Chopra
eVTOL Panelist
Inderjit Chopra received his Sc.D. (Aero & Astro) from MIT in 1977. After 4 and a half years at the NASA Ames/Stanford University Joint Institute of Aeronautics & Acoustics, he joined the University of Maryland in 1981, where he is currently the Alfred Gessow Professor in Aerospace Engineering, Distinguished University Professor, and Director of the Alfred Gessow Rotorcraft Center.

Mr. J. Scott Drennan
eVTOL Panelist
Scott Drennan serves as vice president of Bell’s Innovation team. Scott joined Bell in 1993 after receiving a B.S. in aerospace engineering from the University of Maryland. He also holds a Masters of Liberal Arts from Southern Methodist University. Scott’s career focus on advanced VTOL technologies and configurations has included work on the V-22, and more recently, as chief engineer of the Bell 609 program and director of air vehicle integration. He is currently a member of the NASA Advisory Council Aeronautics Committee.

Mr. Mike Duffy
eVTOL Panelist,
Advisory Council Member Michael Duffy is currently a Senior Project Engineer working for Boeing Horizon X. His role is Propulsion Technology Lead for Boeing Cargo Air Vehicle. He has 15 years of experience at Boeing working in vertical lift technology. His expertise is in aerodynamics, propulsion, conceptual design, air vehicle performance, and unmanned vehicle test. He has an M.S. in aerospace engineering from Georgia Tech and a B.S. in aerospace engineering from PSU. He is also a part-time visiting scientist at Cornell University’s Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering.

Mr. Chris Jaran
eVTOL Panelist
Advisory Council Member Chris Jaran brings thirty years of experience in the technology and transport industries to his role as CEO of Terrafugia. Over the course of his extensive career, he has served in a number of roles with increasing responsibility, which have ranged from overseeing the development of major aircraft design to establishing and running operations for leading corporations in new markets. Most recently, Chris was Vice President and Managing Director at Bell Helicopters where he had overall responsibility for the company’s operations in China. Prior to this, he was Operations Implementation Team Lead at Virginia-based TetraTech AMT, where he was involved in the Federal Aviation Authority’s transition to integrated ground and space-based navigation systems and its modernization initiatives. Before joining TetraTech AMT, Chris spent more than twenty years at various subsidiaries of Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation in roles that included Chief Operations Officer, President, and General Manager.

Mr. Elias Rigas
eVTOL Panel Discussion Moderator
Mr. Elias Rigas serves as the U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL), Vehicle Technology Directorate (VTD) Chief of the Vehicle Applied Research Division. Mr. Rigas is responsible for helping to develop the tactical and strategic vision for the Vehicle Applied Research Division, VTD, ARL.

Dr. Rajneesh Singh
eVTOL Panelist
Dr. Rajneesh Singh is the lead of the Vehicle Integrated Analysis team within the Vehicle Applied Research Division of the Army Research Lab’s Vehicle Technology Directorate (VTD) at Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD. His team conducts research to enable highly maneuverable, high-speed, energy-efficient air vehicle platforms ranging from small Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) to heavy lift rotary wing aircraft.