Joel Kirk leads the engineering systems team responsible for new engine development for emerging markets and products. He is responsible for leading technology maturation that differentiates future GE products and developing new architectures to meet evolving customer needs.
Prior to this role, Joel led research and technology development for GE Aviation products at GE Research. He was responsible for maturation of technologies and transition from research laboratory environment to the product development team, which he now leads.
Joel has worked 15 years in technology development and product design at GE Aviation. In that time, he led the product design of the high pressure turbine module for the LEAP and Passport engines, developed the technology roadmap and strategy for integration of additive manufacturing into the design process and owned module design on several commercial and military demonstrator engines.
Joel earned his MS and PhD from University of Notre Dame in Aerospace Engineering.
John Wiitala is vice president of technical services for United, one of the world’s leading airlines. He is responsible for the technical groups that support United’s aircraft configurations, operations, and maintenance. These technical support groups include engineering, inspection, quality assurance, reliability, maintenance programs, technical publications, aircraft records, maintenance training, tooling, aircraft interiors, logistics/innovation, project engineering, and methods and standards.
Prior to this role, Wiitala was managing director of product and service engineering. He joined the company in 1992 and held a number of engineering jobs throughout the organization including director of engineering and managing director of project engineering.
Wiitala began his aviation career in 1988 in project engineering at Aircraft Modular Products in Miami, Florida.
Wiitala received his Bachelors of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from University of Iowa. He is married and has two children.
Richard is Vice President of Analysis at Teal Group. He manages consulting projects in the commercial and military aircraft field and analyzes broader defense and aerospace trends. He has advised numerous aerospace companies, including most prime and many second- and third-tier contractors in the US, Europe and Asia. He also advises numerous financial institutions on aerospace market conditions.
Richard writes and edits Teal Group’s World Military and Civil Aircraft Briefing, a forecasting tool covering over 135 aircraft programs and markets. He also writes publicly about aviation and defense, with regular columns in Aviation Week and Space Technology and at Forbes.com. His articles have also appeared in Foreign Policy, the Wall Street Journal, Slate, AIAA’s Aerospace America, the Financial Times, Professional Pilot, and other publications.
Frequently cited as an aviation industry authority by trade and news publications, Richard has appeared on numerous television news and radio programs including ABC, BBC, Bloomberg, Reuters, CBS, CNN, NBC, NPR and PBS. He has spoken at numerous conferences, and presents a yearly lecture to the Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy Industry Study program.
Before he joined Teal Group in 1990, Richard analyzed the jet engine market at Jane’s Information Group. He has a Masters degree in War Studies from King’s College, University of London and a Bachelors degree from George Washington University.
Peter is an investor focused on advanced aerial mobility and its application toward positive impact for transportation across the economy.
Peter is active in the aviation community around regulatory and technology issues critical to enabling high-scale adoption of aerial mobility systems. Peter helped create a national vision and roadmap for Urban Air Mobility as a member of the Committee on Urban Air Mobility Research and Technology through the Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board of the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine. Peter is also an appointee to NASA’s Aeronautics Research and Technology Roundtable. Peter is involved in the FAA’s Unmanned Aerial System Integration Pilot Program and sits on committees developing standards for unmanned air traffic management, vehicle certification, and urban air mobility.
Earlier, Peter was at Firelake Capital and Atlas Venture, investing in transportation and sustainability technologies.
Peter’s entrepreneurial experience began while an undergraduate, when he co-founded Eye Response, Inc., a company that pioneered computer eye-tracking systems.
Peter holds an MBA, with High Honors, from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a BS in Systems Engineering, with distinction, from the University of Virginia. Peter started flying when he was 19 and actively maintains a Private Pilot Certificate with Instrument Rating.
Atherton is a technical executive within the Lockheed Martin Advanced Development Programs (ADP) organization, also known as ‘The Skunk Works’. He is responsible for leading the Enterprise Technology Roadmaps portfolio within the Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company, chartered with providing foundational Air Vehicle, Mission Systems and Survivability technologies as well as groundbreaking Revolutionary Technologies and Emerging Concepts. This broad and diverse portfolio is focused on providing enabling technology in support of both current and future programs to serve key customers’ needs.
In his current role, Atherton guides the strategic direction of the Technology Roadmaps portfolio and actively interfaces across both enterprise and industry to collaboratively identify, develop, mature and transition innovative technologies toward solutions. Robust partnerships with customers and stakeholders culminate in the definition and implementation of technology roadmaps and transition plans to enable innovative system solutions. Atherton is privileged to lead multiple innovative teams that routinely undertake groundbreaking technical challenges as evidenced by a recent 2018 Robert J. Collier Trophy.
Called upon by the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, Atherton served on multiple study committees in substantive appointed roles. He is an AIAA Associate Fellow and received the Lockheed Martin NOVA and AeroStar awards for his technical achievements. He holds a Master’s degree in mechanical engineering from George Washington University’s Joint Institute for the Advancement or Flight Sciences (JIAFS) at the NASA Langley Research Center and a Bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from Syracuse University. Atherton, his wife, and two sons reside in Southern California.
Paul is a Business Development Executive responsible for advancing development and integration of autonomous systems for Boeing Horizon X. He serves as principal advisor to Horizon X on matters relating to regulation and policy for UAS operations and as advocate for UAS national airspace integration. Paul’s involvement in UAS development is extensive. Prior to joining Boeing, he held the position of Vice President of Government Relations for Insitu, Inc. responsible for driving much of the company efforts transitioning into to commercial and civil market opportunities. Prior to joining Insitu in 2006, he transitioned from a 30 year career in academia as a full professor, Chief Pilot/Instructor, and Vice President of Aviation Training at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University.
He served two terms as a member of the AUVSI board of directors and Advocacy Committee. Paul was a charter member of the FAA’s small Unmanned Aircraft System Aviation Rulemaking Committee and past member of the FAA UAS Aviation Rulemaking Committee and the UAS Remote ID and Tracking Rulemaking Committee. Paul served two terms as chair of the Aeronautical Industries Association UAS Committee. He served as co-chair of RTCA Special Committee 228 chartered by FAA to establish performance standards for UAS command and control and detect and avoid solutions for over 7 years. Paul was awarded the RTCA 2017 Achievement Award and Outstanding Leader Award. Paul is a former member of the Unmanned Aircraft Safety Team steering committee and was a member of the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine UAS Risk Assessment and Urban Air Mobility Study Groups.
Paul is an active pilot and aircraft owner holding Airline Transport Pilot and Flight Instructor Certificates, with jet type ratings, has logged over 9000 flight hours and holds both a Bachelors and Master’s degree from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
View Official Bio
Jeanine Boyle is the Vice President of Human Resources for Aurora Flight Sciences based in Manassas, Virginia. Joining Aurora in August 2018, She is responsible for the Human Resources strategy and execution. She focuses on providing strategic business partnering and developing compelling and innovative strategies to attract, retain and develop the best talent in aerospace.
Prior to Aurora, Boyle spent eight years with J&J. She held several roles
of increasing responsibility in the Pharmaceutical sector. In her last role, she was the Vice President of HR for US Pharmaceuticals with responsibility for 13,000 employees and $25B in revenue. Prior to J&J, she was Director, Human Resources at Siemens Healthcare where she led HR strategy across Siemens Health Services and led large scale organizational changes to support critical organizational effectiveness efforts. Prior to this, Boyle spent 10 years with Pfizer/ Wyeth Pharmaceuticals in both generalist and specialist roles. This role included two international
assignments to Puerto Rico and the United Kingdom.
Boyle earned her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Villanova University and her MBA from St. Joseph’s University, including an international study in Russia and Eastern Europe.
Pete Kunz is the Senior Chief Engineer for Unpiloted Systems in Boeing’s Enterprise, Test & Technology division, as well as Chief Engineer for Boeing NeXt, a business division building the ecosystem that will define the future of urban, regional and global mobility. Boeing NeXt builds and incubates new mobility solutions and the next-generation ecosystem that will bring flight closer to home.
Kunz has chief engineering responsibilities, along with sign-off authority, for the safe development of autonomous systems, across the company. This includes guiding the development of common technology. He will work closely with all of Boeing’s autonomous platform programs and businesses: air, ground and maritime, as well as with Boeing Commercial Airplanes and Boeing Defense, Space & Security.
Before coming to Boeing, Kunz was chief technology officer of Insitu, Inc., which produces the ScanEagle and Integrator unmanned aerial systems (UAS). In that role, he was responsible for Insitu’s research and development investments, oversight of the product and intellectual property portfolios, and leadership of Insitu’s technical experts and product-line chief engineers.
Kunz’s broad background in aerospace engineering includes formal training and practical experience in various aspects of the analysis, design and testing of unmanned flight vehicles, and field experience with the rapid real-world evaluation of new technologies and prototypes. Prior to joining Insitu, Kunz was a senior engineer with Exponent Inc., where he worked primarily on the development and field evaluation of unmanned air vehicles and force protection technologies, including a field consulting role for the U.S. Army Rapid Equipping Force in Afghanistan.
Kunz has a doctorate in aeronautics and astronautics from Stanford University, as well as master’s and bachelor’s degrees in aerospace engineering from Pennsylvania State University.
As an Industrial/Organizational Psychologist, David Hamill has over 20 years of public and private sector experience in Human Resources, Strategic Workforce Planning, Talent Acquisition, and Personnel Selection. He has worked at the Department of Transportation, Marriott International, Transportation Security Administration, and now is the Director of Strategic Workforce Planning at the Federal Aviation Administration. Hamill graduated from Colorado State University and the University of Maryland in Baltimore.
View Official Bio
Ms. Rebecca Cointin is the Deputy Director for the United States Federal Aviation Administration’s Office of Environment and Energy. In that capacity, she works with the Executive Director of the office to lead staff under three primary divisions (noise, emissions, and policy/operations). In addition, she also directs, with the support of the chief scientific and technical advisor, technology development programs and is responsible for the policy, regulatory, modeling and analysis, and scientific/technical aspects of aviation environmental and energy issues. Prior to becoming the Deputy Director of the office in July 2019, she was the Noise Division Manager in the office.
Ms. Cointin oversees operations and research, engineering and development activities to advance the characterization of aircraft noise and emissions, computer-modeling techniques and methodologies to better estimate the environmental and health impacts of aviation related impacts and to assess measures to reduce those impacts. Among the variety of mitigation options explored, the office has an extensive development program that pursues aircraft and engine technologies and alternative fuels to improve performance and reduce environmental impacts. In addition, the program develops environmental certification requirements and explores new entrants such as supersonic aircraft and UAS from an environmental perspective.
Ms. Cointin also serves as the Noise Technical Working Group Co-Rapporteur to the International Civil Aviation Organization’s Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection (ICAO-CAEP). She has over ten years of experience working with this Committee and its working groups in order to develop noise certification standards and recommended practices for commercial transport aircraft and addressing noise and emissions issues linked to airports and operations.
Ms. Cointin has seventeen years of experience in policy and regulatory aircraft noise and operations issues both with domestic and foreign authorities. Prior to joining the FAA, Ms. Cointin worked for multiple aviation-consulting firms. Ms. Cointin received her Bachelor of Science degree in Applied Mathematics from Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and her Masters of Science degree in Applied Mathematics from University of Nebraska in Lincoln, Nebraska.
