People Category: AIAA AVIATION Forum 2022

Kevin Matthies

Kevin Matthies serves as senior vice president and general manager, Boeing Programs at Spirit AeroSystems. Matthies has responsibility for program management, profit & loss, and operations for the global Boeing programs.

Prior to this role, Matthies served as senior vice president and Chief Technology (CTO) and Quality Officer (CQO), where he served as leader for the Engineering, Research & Technology, Industrial Engineering, and Quality teams. Matthies was responsible for developing strategies and implementing integrated, cross-functional solutions that transformed Spirit’s operations and culture to deliver on our customer’s expectations. In addition, Matthies was the executive leader for Spirit’s Operations Excellence Council, Quality Excellence Council, and Safety Council.

Matthies joined Spirit AeroSystems in 2013. During his tenure at Spirit, he has held leadership roles as vice president of Airbus programs, vice president and general manager of the Boeing 787 program, and senior vice president of Global Fabrication.

Matthies is a 33-year veteran of the defense and aerospace industry. He joined Spirit after a 26 year career at Raytheon Technologies, where he last served as President of the Javelin Joint Venture between Raytheon Technologies and Lockheed Martin Corporation. Matthies also worked in executive positions at Hughes Aircraft Company and General Dynamics. His roles have spanned program management (including P&L responsibility), operational leadership, Chief Engineer, software engineering technical leadership on several proprietary programs, and manufacturing engineering. Matthies has led numerous programs in support of the U.S. Army, U.S. Airforce, U.S. Marines Corp, U.S. Navy and Missile Defense Agency, as well as international commercial and military customers.

Matthies is active member of the SkillsUSA program, which empowers its members to become world-class workers, leaders and responsible American citizens. He is also a board member for the United Way of the Plains and a board member of the American Composite Manufacturing Association.

Matthies earned his Bachelor of Science degree in computer science from California State University and a Master of Science degree in systems engineering from the University of Arizona. He is a graduate of Raytheon’s Leadership Excellence Program and was the recipient of the Raytheon Corporate Program Leadership Award.

Mel Johnson

Melvin (Mel) Johnson is Director of Aircraft Certification Service’s Compliance & Airworthiness Division (AIR-700). This division is responsible for issuing all design approvals for domestic and foreign manufacturers, executing continued operational safety processes, and providing flight test support.

Previously, Mr. Johnson served as director of the Organizational
Performance Division (AIR-300). AIR-300 assesses the Aircraft
Certification Service’s organizational performance, provides
planning and change management within the organization, and is
responsible for the AIR Safety Program. Before he took the helm at
AIR-300, he was the deputy director of the Policy & Innovation
Division, where he oversaw the development of Aircraft Certification Services Policy, such as airworthiness standards, production and type certification procedures, and continued operational safety policy.

Prior to joining the Policy & Innovation Division, Mr. Johnson was the acting manager of the Small Airplane Directorate, where he directed the airworthiness standards, continued operational safety, policy, and guidance for small aircraft, gliders, light sport aircraft, airships, and balloons. The directorate also managed the certification activities involving all aeronautical products within the geographical boundaries encompassing 21 states and international general aviation aircraft projects.

Before his career at the FAA, Mr. Johnson worked for various aerospace companies designing and certifying modifications for a variety of aircaft from transport category aircraft, such as the cargo loading systems for the Boeing 747 and performance enhancements on the Beechcraft King Air.

Mr. Johnson graduated from Brigham Young University with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering.

Lisa Ellman

Lisa Ellman chairs the Global Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Group at the global law firm Hogan Lovells, where she’s a leading public policy lawyer focusing on domestic drones, urban air mobility (UAM) and other emerging technologies. She serves as Executive Director of the Commercial Drone Alliance, an independent non-profit organization led by key figures of the commercial drone industry. Lisa is widely recognized as one of the “world’s foremost authorities on drone and law.”

Lisa’s focus is expanding the commercial drone and UAM industries. She also focuses on UAS security efforts. Lisa co-founded the Domestic Drone Security Summit Series, bringing together national security agencies with industry to explore collaboration opportunities around drone security.

Throughout her career, Lisa has worked to bridge government policymaking and business innovation. Lisa has held a variety of positions at top levels of the executive branch at the White House and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). Lisa led DOJ’s effort to develop policy that would govern the use of UAS in the United States and participated in the federal interagency group tasked with integrating UAS into the National Airspace System.

Lisa’s opinions are often featured in publications and news broadcasts such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, Associated Press, Fortune Magazine and others. Lisa was featured in Fortune magazine’s “Most Powerful Women” series for her efforts to develop policy to govern drone use in the United States.

Michael Patterson

Michael Patterson is an aerospace engineer in the Aeronautics Systems Analysis Branch at NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, VA where he serves as the Lead for the Emerging Applications and Technologies Group. He earned a BS in Aerospace Engineering from Auburn University and holds MS and PhD degrees in Aerospace Engineering from Georgia Tech. Michael 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. He has been an active member of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) his entire professional career, including previous service as the Chair of the Transformational Flight Integration Committee.

Dan Heller

Daniel (Dan) J. Heller is vice president of Lockheed Martin Corporate Engineering where he is responsible for functional excellence and rapid digital transformation of the 50,000 person Lockheed Martin engineering workforce.

Prior to this role, Mr. Heller was the principal technical leader for the RMS business area and its nearly 14,000 engineers and scientists. With an emphasis on creating a world-class, all digital development environment, he focuses his team on developing disruptive technologies, driving superior program performance and delivering innovative solutions that exceed customer and company expectations.

Mr. Heller also served as chairman and president for the Applied NanoStructured Solutions, LLC – a world leader in nanotechnology solutions for commercial and defense applications.

Previously, Mr. Heller served as vice president of Sustainability Technologies line of business for the Mission Systems and Training business area, responsible for leveraging existing technologies and capabilities from across Lockheed Martin to access non-traditional markets, with a strong focus on sustainability-related markets.

Mr. Heller’s career spans over 30 years of experience in the industry with Lockheed Martin and heritage companies. He previously served as vice president of Nuclear Systems and Solutions for the Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control (MFC) business area, where his primary responsibility was to penetrate the civil nuclear energy market with products and services from across the corporation. Mr. Heller also served as the vice president and general manager of the MFC Archbald site that specialized in nuclear instrumentation and controls and direct attack weapons and training devices.

Mr. Heller holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Pennsylvania State University and an MBA from Pepperdine University. Mr. Heller has participated in advanced program management and leadership courses taught by the Defense Systems Management Systems College, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Lockheed Martin.

John-Paul Clarke

AIAA Fellow and chair, Human-Machine Teaming TC

John-Paul Clarke is a professor and the Ernest Cockrell, Jr. Memorial Chair at University of Texas, Austin (UT Austin). Prior to joining the faculty at UT Austin, Clarke was a faculty member at the Georgia Institute of Technology, the vice president of Strategic Technologies at United Technologies Corporation (now Raytheon), a faculty member at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and a researcher at Boeing and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). Clarke has also co-founded multiple companies, most recently Universal Hydrogen, a company dedicated to the development of a comprehensive carbon-free solution for aviation. Clarke is a leading expert in aircraft trajectory prediction and optimization, especially as it pertains to the development of flight procedures that reduce the environmental impact of aviation, and in the development and use of stochastic models and optimization algorithms to improve the efficiency and robustness of aircraft, airline, airport, and air traffic operations. Clarke is particularly interested in leveraging his expertise to enable increasingly autonomous aircraft-enabled mobility, especially in urban and regional settings. Clarke received an Sc.D. in aeronautics and astronautics from MIT.

Amanda Simpson

Amanda Simpson is the Vice President for Research and Technology at Airbus Americas and is responsible for coordinating technology development, research activities, and innovation for Airbus in the western hemisphere. She is also the Head of Sustainability efforts for Airbus in the Americas.

Previously Ms. Simpson was the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Operational Energy at the U.S. Department of Defense, responsible for developing the strategy for the utilization of energy for military operational forces worldwide and the senior advisor to the Secretary of Defense for all matters pertaining to energy in our military. Prior to accepting that responsibility, she was the Executive Director of the U.S. Army Office of Energy Initiatives, an organization developing large scale renewable energy projects to bring energy security to Army installations leveraging private sector financing. In addition, she has held senior government roles in the office of the Army Acquisition Executive and the Bureau of Industry and Security at the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Prior to her government appointments, Ms. Simpson had distinguished program management career in the aerospace industry working for Raytheon, Hughes Aircraft, Douglas Aircraft, and Hughes Helicopters.

Ms. Simpson has been the recipient of numerous awards and recognitions including the Tucson YWCA Woman on the Move, Arizona Human Rights Fund Individual Award, National Conference for College Women Student Leaders Women of Distinction Award, and was named an Outstanding Alumni of Harvey Mudd College. She is a recipient of the Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service and the Department of Defense Pride Civilian Leadership Award. Her team received the DARPA Award for Significant Technical Achievement in 1999. Ms. Simpson earned a Bachelor of Science in Physics from Harvey Mudd College, a Master of Science in Engineering from California State University, and a Master in Business Administration from the University of Arizona. She is an Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics serving on the Systems Engineering Technical Committee, Executive Steering Committee, and Corporate Member Committee. She is a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society and serves on the board of the Washington DC Chapter. She serves on the boards of directors of the Commonwealth Center for Advanced Manufacturing, Advanced Thermal Batteries Inc., and chairs the board of directors of the Airbus Institute for Engineering Research.

Ms. Simpson holds both an Airline Transport Pilot certificate and a Certified Flight Instructor license, and has logged nearly 3,000 hours of flying in more than 60 different types of aircraft including floatplanes, flying boats, unmanned drones, and multi-engine jets.

Steve Luczynski

Steve Luczynski is a former US Air Force fighter pilot who is now the Board Chairman for the Aerospace Village when he’s not working with clients to improve the security of their critical infrastructure as a Senior Manager at Accenture. After retiring in 2017, he continued his career in infosec as a Chief Information Security Officer, leading a pandemic task force at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, and promoting better collaboration across government, industry, and hackers.

Akbar Sultan

Mr. Sultan is responsible for NASA’s aviation operations and safety research portfolio of more than $120 million across four research centers. AOSP works with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), industry and academic partners to conceive and develop Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) technologies to further improve the safety of current and future aircraft moving through the National Airspace System.

NextGen activity includes research to enable service oriented architecture and integrated demand management operational efficiencies in the surface, terminal, en route, and oceanic operational domains for traditional aircraft, unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), and future autonomous systems. The program is also responsible for aviation safety research in the areas of aircraft state awareness, prevention of aircraft loss of control, verification and validation of complex systems, prognostic safety through data mining, and real-time system-wide safety assurance. A key focus is on developing and demonstrating enhanced systems that will enable routine access to the airspace by emergent users of UAS, especially in support of evolving urban air mobility concepts.

Sultan is the NASA co-lead on the NASA/FAA Research Transition Teams, which are organized to enable efficient and effective transition of NASA research into FAA implementation roadmaps.

He is also the NASA liaison to the multiagency NextGen Interagency Planning Office, and leads the program’s international collaboration activities.

Sultan has 20 years of professional experience in aerospace and air traffic management research and development.

Previously, Sultan was a NASA liaison to the Joint Planning and Development Office in the ongoing development of NextGen, where he led the development of NextGen operational improvements. He also served as the Software Configuration, Release, and Verification and Validation Manager for the Terminal Radar Approach Control automation system at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California. There he was responsible for gaining FAA certification for NASA prototype systems in operational field trials.

Sultan received two bachelors of science degrees – in mechanical engineering and in aeronautical science and engineering – from the University of California Davis, and a master’s of science degree in aerospace engineering from San José State University.

Official bio

Michael Winter

As the Senior Fellow for Advanced Technology at Pratt & Whitney, Michael Winter leads the company’s technology portfolio internally and represent it externally. He has served as Director of Systems & Controls Engineering (SCE) at United Technologies Corporation, a world-wide corporation supplying a broad range of high-technology products and services to the fast-growing aerospace and building industries. Leading the SCE organization, he provided UTC’s business units with the Model-Based Digital Thread tools needed to deliver the complex cyber-physical systems at the core of UTC products.

In over 30 years with UTC (now RTX), Michael has made contributions working with fuel cells, lasers, and combustion & propulsion systems. As Chief Engineer for Technology at Pratt & Whitney, he led the Company’s technology portfolio. He was also responsible for development of the Pratt & Whitney Technical Career Ladder and for leading the Fellows Program, which recognizes the company’s top technical experts. Earlier, Michael served at United Technologies Research Center as Director of the Flight Systems Program, with responsibility for advanced technology for Hamilton Sundstrand and Sikorsky Aircraft.

Michael holds a Doctor of Philosophy, Master of Science and Master of Philosophy degrees from Yale University and a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Drexel University. He has authored of more than 40 patents and more than 50 published technical articles.

Michael has served on the advisory board of the Engineering Schools at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University. He also served on the National Research Council Board of Assessment of the National Academies, an Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics (AIAA), and as chairman of the Aerospace Industry Association (AIA) Environmental Committee and Technical Operations Council.