Session No. 7E

eVTOLs (Electric Vertical Take-off and Landing) Aircraft

The future of transportation begins a new page with the use of eVTOL aircraft. Come to this exciting session and listen to agency, manufactures and industry experts discuss how eVTOL aircraft will change how we transport goods and people throughout the country.

Moderator: Dan Corey, AECOM     

Advanced Air Mobility (AAM): An Overview and Brief History

• Michael Patterson, Ph.D., Aeronautics Systems Analysis Branch, NASA Langley Research Center 

Enabling the Safe Integration of Drone in the National Airspace and Communities

• Lisa Peterson, VP of Business Development, Airspace Link

Building the Future with eVTOLs, CVs and AV       

• Suzanne Murtha, National Lead for Connected and Automated Technologies, AECOM

Advanced Air Mobility: How States and Cities are Leading the Way          

• Beth Kigel, VP, Director of Smart and Connected Solutions, HNTB Corporation
• Fred Judson, Director of the Ohio Unmanned Aircraft Systems Center, Ohio Department of Transportation/DriveOhio

Bios

Michael Patterson is an aerospace engineer in the Aeronautics Systems Analysis Branch at NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, where he serves as the Lead for the Emerging Applications and Technologies Group. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering from Auburn University and holds a Master of Science and doctoral degree in Aerospace Engineering from Georgia Tech. Patterson has been a thought leader in NASA's advanced air mobility (AAM) work, and he currently works for NASA's AAM Mission Integration Office as the Systems Analysis and ConOps Lead.

Over the past several years, Lisa Peterson’s work has centered around developing new business for technologies and data solutions that will enable safer, cleaner and smarter mobility and commerce in the future. She is currently the VP of Business Development/Sales and Marketing for Airspace Link to develop partnerships and secure new business opportunities with local and state government agencies (city planners, aviation/transportation planners, economic development, public safety), strategic industry partners and enterprise customers for Airspace Link's AirHub Solutions. Airspace Link is an FAA Approved UAS Service Supplier (USS) offering Low Altitude Authorization & Notification Capability (LAANC) and other services to enable safe Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) and Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) flight operations. Airspace Link's AirHub platform empowers local and state government authorities with a tool that enables communication of fixed and dynamic ground risk to UAS operators. This provides situational awareness to UAS operators so they can plan and execute safer flights.

Suzanne Murtha is the National Lead for Connected and Automated Technology at AECOM. She is based in Alexandria, Virginia and is also on the Board of Directors of the OmniAir Consortium, as well as the Board of Directors for AUVSI. She is the Chair for the ITS America eVTOL Task Force and the AUVSI AV Goods Movement Task Force. A 25 year veteran of the ITS industry, Murtha has significant background in ITS and advanced automotive technologies including deployments of connected and automated vehicles, smart cities, big data and most recently eVTOLs. She has worked with the international ITS community and industry on advanced research, standards development, and certification processes. She has supported large-scale program management contracts and evaluation efforts for federal, state, local, and private clients.

Beth Kigel serves as HNTBs national practice consultant, director of smart and connected solutions and vice president. She is a global thought-leader in new mobility and smart city ecosystems and is responsible for assisting transportation agencies, cities and regions in developing smart and connected infrastructure solutions. Previously, Kigel served as Florida Transportation Commissioner from 2012-2019, appointed by Governor Rick Scott. She also served as president and CEO of the Palm Beach North Chamber of Commerce covering a 10-municipality region with 850 member organizations. Under her leadership, the Chamber took on key strategic initiatives and programs contributing to improved economic prosperity in the region. Prior to this role, Kigel served in various private sector leadership positions, within engineering and other firms, in areas such as finance, business development, and quality assurance, to government relations. Kigel is active on numerous appointed boards and industry associations, including ITS World Congress Board of Directors; Florida Polytechnic University Board of Trustees; University of Florida Transportation Institute External Board of Advisors; Freight Mobility Research Institute Advisory Board for Florida Atlantic University; Florida Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors; chair of the Autonomous Florida Program; CoMotion LAB MIAMI Board of Directors (Chair, UAM Task Force); Leadership Florida where she served as Chair, Board of Directors 2017-2018; and more.

Fred Judson is the Ohio Department of Transportation’s/DriveOhio Director of the Ohio Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Center. He has more than 27 years of experience at the Ohio DOT specializing in UAS and geospatial technologies. He has spent the past seven years in the research and implementation of Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) technologies for the State of Ohio. During this time Fred has led several efforts pushing technological advances in UAS/AAM including Ohio’s FlyOhio initiative. Through his leadership, Judson has coordinated several activates with local, state and federal resources with supporting advanced aviation activities. Judson is a standing member in several committees including Access Ohio 2045, Ohio DOT Statewide Planning and Research Review Committee, Ohio Federal Research Network’s Technical Advisory Committee and the Government Advocacy Subcommittee for the Ohio Aerospace and Aviation Technology Committee (OAATC), Standing Committee on Emerging Technology Law — AJL40, Standing Committee on New Users of Shared Airspace AV095 and continues to participate in governmental and industry standards committees for AAM technologies.