People Category: AIAA SciTech Forum 2021

General Lester L. Lyles, U.S. Air Force (Ret.)

 

General Lester L. Lyles received his B.S., in mechanical engineering from Howard University in 1968, his M.S. in mechanical / nuclear engineering from New Mexico State University in 1969, and Honorary Doctorate of Laws degrees from New Mexico State University in 2002, and Urbana University in 2009. He is a graduate of the Defense Systems Management College (1980), the Armed Forces Staff College (1981), the National War College (1985), and the National and International Security Management Course at Harvard University (1991).

General Lyles entered the United States Air Force in 1968 as a distinguished graduate of the Air Force ROTC program. He served in various assignments, including Special Assistant and Aide-De-Camp to the Commander of Air Force Systems Command; and, Avionics Division Chief in the F-16 Systems Program Office. He served as Program Director of the Medium-Launch Vehicles Program and Space-Launch Systems offices in 1997 during the recovery from the Challenger Space Shuttle accident.

General Lyles became Vice Commander of Ogden Air Logistics Center, Hill AFB, Utah. He served as Commander of the center from 1993 until 1994, then commanded the Space and Missile Systems Center at Los Angeles AFB, Calif., until 1996. General Lyles became the Director of the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization in 1996. In May 1999, he was assigned as Vice Chief of Staff at Headquarters U.S. Air Force. In April 2000, he became the Commander, Air Force Materiel Command, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. The command conducts research, development, test and evaluation, acquisition management services and logistics support for the Air Force.  He retired in October 2003.

The General has received many awards and decorations including the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, the Distinguished Service Medal, the Defense Superior Service Medal, and the Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster. He was named Astronautics Engineer of the Year by the National Space Club in 1990, and received the Roy Wilkins Renown Service Award for outstanding contributions to military equal opportunity policies and programs from the NAACP in 1994.  He was named Black Engineer of the Year / Lifetime Achievement in 2003.  Gen. Lyles received the “General Thomas D. White Award” for distinguished service in national security, from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 2012.

He has served on the Board of Directors for several corporations, including:

  • General Dynamics Corp. – 2003-2019Present

  • KBR Corp. – 2007-Present [current Chairman of the Board]

  • Battelle Labs. [aka Battelle Memorial Institute] from 2007-2019

  • USAA [United Service Automobile Association] – former Chairman of the Board of USAA 2004-2019

General Lyles served on the Augustine Space Committee in 2009 developing the agenda for the Human Space Flight missions of NASA.  He also chaired the National Research Council’s ‘Roles and Rationale Study of the U.S. Civil Space Programs’ in 2009.  General Lyles was appointed to the Defense Science Board from 2009 to 2016, and, appointed by the White House to the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board from December 2009 to May 2013.   General Lyles was elected to the National Academy of Engineers in March of 2011.  From 2013-2017 General Lyles served as a member of the State Department’s International Security Advisory Board. He served as chair of the Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board for the National Academy of Engineering from 2012 to 2016. He was named the Chairman of the NASA Advisory Council in 2016.  In June 2018 General Lyles was appointed as a member of the Users Advisory Group to the National Space Council.

General Lester L. Lyles was born in Washington, DC on 20 April 1946. He currently lives in Vienna, Virginia.

Danielle W. Merfeld

Danielle Merfeld is the Chief Technology Officer of GE Renewable Energy.  In this role, she leads technical efforts to develop differentiated products and services across the broadest renewable energy portfolio in the industry, including onshore wind, offshore wind, solar PV, batteries, and hydro. She also champions sustainability efforts, leading a team focused on achieving carbon neutrality. Additionally, Danielle serves as co-leader of the GE Women’s Network, a global organization focused on the recruiting, retention, development and promotion of talented women across GE.

Danielle received her B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Notre Dame, and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Northwestern University. She is a member of several technical associations and on the Board of Trustees at the University of Notre Dame.  She serves on the boards of Texas A&M University’s Smart Grid Center and is an Ambassador to the Clean Energy, Education and Empowerment (C3E) Initiative representing the United States.

Sarah Scoles

Sarah Scoles is a Denver-based freelance science journalist, a contributing writer at WIRED Science, and a contributing editor at Popular Science. She is also the author of the books Making Contact: Jill Tarter and the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence and They Are Already Here: UFO Culture and Why We See Saucers. Her work—which focuses on the space industry, national security space, and astrophysics research—has appeared in The New York Times, Wired, Popular Science, VICE, The Verge, Scientific American, Air & Space, and NOVA, among others.

Previously, she was an associate editor at Astronomy magazine and a public education specialist at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Green Bank, West Virginia. There, she helped lead student research programs, including the Pulsar Search Collaboratory, the West Virginia Governor’s STEM Institute, and the Radio-Astronomer-for-a-Day program. She also assisted with developing inquiry-based curricula, like that for Skynet Junior Scholars, and coordinated the observatory’s public-outreach events. She obtained a B.A. in Astrophysics from Agnes Scott College and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Cornell University.

Joseph W. Pope

Commander Joseph Pope, United States Navy, is currently serving as the Operations Analysis and Assessments Branch Chief within the United States Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) Operations Directorate. In this capacity he has been serving as the USTRANSCOM liaison for the COVID-19 aerosol testing effort. His operational experience is as a helicopter pilot in the MH-53E aircraft focusing on mine countermeasures operations, with three deployments to the western Pacific. CDR Pope also served as a developmental test pilot, working primarily on MH-60S airborne mine countermeasures systems to include the AN/ASQ-235 Airborne Mine Neutralization System and the AN/AES-1 Airborne Laser Mine Detection System.

CDR Pope holds a bachelors of Science in Physics (2005) from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a Masters of Science in Engineering Sciences—Aeronautical Engineering (2014) from the Naval Postgraduate School. He is also a graduate of the United States Naval Test Pilot School (Class 141) completing the Rotary Wing Engineering Test Pilot curriculum. CDR Pope has accumulated over 1,700 flight hours in 27 different Type/Model/Series of rotary wing and fixed wing aircraft.

John Selden

John Selden took the reins as general manager of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in October 2018 with more than 30 years of aviation experience. A former military and commercial pilot before joining the ranks of airport management, Selden has excelled in all facets of aviation, including operational budgeting, customer service, labor relations, aircraft maintenance and operations, facilities management and improvement programs.

As leader of the world’s busiest and most efficient airport, Selden oversees Airport operations as well as a multibillion-dollar capital improvement program that will pave the way for growth over the next 20 years. In addition to completing this expansive program, his priorities include fortifying the Airport’s security platform and enhancing the customer experience at Hartsfield-Jackson.

A graduate of the Naval War College and the U.S. Naval Academy – recognized for cultivating great leaders – Selden’s leadership style is facilitative, allowing his managers to function independently. He is described by his senior team as both smart and approachable, reinforced with thoughtful and thorough preparation.

Selden is a retired Navy commander who served at the Pentagon in addition to having served in Desert Storm. He ended his tour of duty as deputy commander of the Naval Station Roosevelt Roads in Puerto Rico.

After leaving active service, Selden flew commercially for six years. He landed his first airport management role at Republic Airport in New York, the state’s third busiest airport, serving as assistant airport manager. He joined John F. Kennedy International Airport in 2008 and, moving through the ranks, began serving as Deputy General Manager in 2014, overseeing customer service, rail access, security, maintenance, finance, commercial development and physical infrastructure.

Selden is excited about leading his team to new heights in strengthening the role ATL plays as economic catalyst of the region and gateway to the world.

Bill Lentsch

Bill Lentsch is Chief Customer Experience Officer for Delta Air Lines. In this role, Bill has oversight of In-Flight Service, Airport Customer Service, Reservations and Customer Care, Global Cleanliness, Product and Consumer Insight.

Bill and his team are responsible for Delta’s industry-leading customer experience and the teams that make it happen. This includes everything from how gate areas, lounges and seats are designed to onboard food, drinks, amenity kits, entertainment and more. Underpinning all of this is Delta’s Global Cleanliness division. His teams provide the necessary training, planning, scheduling, technical support, quality assurance and regulatory oversight to ensure Delta’s flying operations teams are prepared to deliver a safe, reliable and exceptional on-board experience, while continuously connecting with customers so Delta can deliver the most meaningful experiences.

Prior to his current role, Bill held the title of Executive Vice President – Flying/Air Operations and Senior Vice President – Delta Connection and Delta Global Services. In this role, Bill oversaw Flight Ops and In-Flight Service, coordinating all flying functions for 24,000+ flight attendants, 13,000+ pilots and hundreds of support staff, as well as all aspects of the more than 2,300 daily departures for Delta’s six regional partner airlines.

Bill has also previously held the title of CEO – Endeavor Air for Delta Air Lines, leading Delta’s wholly owned regional carrier, which operates more than 700 daily departures under the Delta Connection brand.

Bill served Northwest Airlines customers for 20 years across various operations roles with increasing areas of responsibility including Flight Operations, Operations Control, Engineering, Airport Customer Service as well as Aircraft Engine and Component Maintenance.

Bill received a bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics from the University of Minnesota’s Institute of Technology and an MBA from the University of St. Thomas.

John Spengler

John Spengler, Akira Yamaguchi Professor of Environmental Health and Human Habitation, and Director of the JPB Environmental Health Fellowship Program at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, has conducted research on personal monitoring, air pollution health effects, indoor air pollution, and a variety of environmental sustainability issues. Several of his investigations have focused on housing design and its effects on ventilation rates, building materials’ selection, energy consumption, and total environmental quality in homes. Spengler chaired the committee on Harvard Sustainability Principles; and served on Harvard’s Greenhouse Gases Taskforce to develop the University’s carbon reduction goals and strategies, as well as Harvard’s Greenhouse Gases Executive Committee.

He serves on the National Academies Health and Medicine Division “Roundtable on Environmental Health Sciences, Research and Medicine”, and recently served on the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation’s Chemistry of Indoor Environments advisory committee. Previously he chaired the National Academies Institute of Medicine “Committee on Effect of Climate Change on Indoor Air Quality and Public Health”; and he has served as an advisor to the World Health Organization on indoor air pollution, personal exposure and air pollution epidemiology. In 2003, Spengler received a Heinz Award for the Environment; in 2007, the Air & Waste Management Association Lyman Ripperton Environmental Educator Award; in 2008, the Max von Pettenkofer Award for distinguished contributions in indoor air science from the International Society of Indoor Air Quality & Climate’s Academy of Fellows; and in 2015, the ASHRAE Environmental Health Award.

Catherine Thibaud

Dr. Catherine Thibaud is the Cabin Air Quality Lead for Airbus Commercial. In her role, she is in charge of defining and implementing Airbus’ strategy in the area of cabin air quality.

Since the beginning of the Covid-19 crisis, Catherine is also part of Airbus’ Keep Trust in Air Travel initiative that was launched to help the aerospace industry weather the current pandemic. In particular, Catherine is guiding the work performed in the area of cabin ventilation and disinfection.

Prior to joining Airbus, Catherine worked at United Technologies developing life support and air purification systems and processes for the US space program, US Navy and for commercial buildings and aircraft.

Catherine holds a Bachelor Degree and a Master Degree in Chemical Engineering from the
National Polytechnic Institute of Toulouse (France) and a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Texas A&M University.

David Silver

David Silver is the Vice President for Civil Aviation at the Aerospace Industries
Association (AIA). In this role, he uses his expertise in aviation certification, safety, and
emerging technologies to collaborate with AIA members and advance public policies
and positions beneficial to the entire industry and the United States.

David represents AIA on a number of boards and committees, including the European
Union Aviation Safety Agency Stakeholder Advisory Board and the Commercial Aviation
Safety Team. He was also nominated by Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao to
serve on the U.S. Drone Advisory committee.

Silver joined AIA with over 20 years of experience in aviation, most recently serving as
the Director of Engineering & Regulatory Affairs for the Boeing Company in Washington.

D.C., where he worked extensively with both regulatory and legislative committee
leadership. He developed an array of experience in working with a variety of
international organizations involved in certification and validation programs.

Silver also served as the 787-8 Deputy Fleet Chief for the introduction of aircraft into
commercial operations. Silver worked with airline customers, regulators, and airplane
program chief engineers on model-specific technical and safety issues affecting the in-
service fleet to increase reliability and ensure smooth operations for the airlines. Silver
also has vast experience working Airplane Systems for airplane programs such as the
777 and 767.

Silver served for 22 years in the Army National Guard as an Engineer Officer, with
successive leadership roles culminating in Battalion Command and Assistant G3 for
Washington State. Silver received the Legion of Merit and retired as a Lieutenant
Colonel in 2014.

Silver holds a B.S. in engineering and B.A. political science from Arizona State University
and a M.S. in engineering management from Washington State University. He is also a
graduate of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College and a Fellow of the
Royal Aeronautical Society.