People Category: AIAA SciTech Forum 2021

Andy recently joined the Noblis Federal Civilian Solutions team where he will have a leadership role in shaping Noblis’ Aerospace and Autonomous System research. He will also be a technical contributor to Noblis Sponsored Research projects related to unmanned and autonomous systems with an emphasis on human-machine teaming and the trustworthiness of autonomous systems. Andy has close to 35 years of systems engineering experience, mostly in the aviation and transportation systems domain and is a recognized expert on the safety and security of unmanned and autonomous systems, especially aircraft.

Prior to joining Noblis, Andy was the Senior Manager for Autonomous Systems Integration at Boeing working as part of the NeXt business unit that was developing unmanned and advanced air mobility aircraft. He helped shape Boeing’s approach to operational integration, beyond visual-line-of-sight (BVLOS) operations, and airspace management. He led Boeing’s efforts on NASA’s Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) National Campaign partnership. Andy participated in a number of industry efforts to develop technical standards related to UAS Traffic Management (UTM), Remote ID, Detect and Avoid (DAA), and autonomy.

Andy retired from The MITRE Corporation in 2019 after a total of 30 years of service. He was responsible for unmanned and autonomous systems integration and adoption working with sponsors at the FAA, DoD, DHS, and NASA. He managed a MITRE research portfolio associated with methods to calibrate the trustworthiness of autonomous systems. For over 17 years he coordinated efforts related to the routine integration into civil airspace. He was also involved with efforts to mitigate the threat posed by unauthorized UAS operations including characterizing the threat, assessing the effectiveness of mitigation approaches, and exploring technology solutions.

Much of Andy’s early research and analysis activities involved improving the safety, security, and efficiency of aviation operations through the application of new information technologies and decision processes. He worked on the definition of NextGen as part of the Joint Program and Development Office (JPDO) and was a thought leader in the area of future Traffic Flow Management (TFM) concepts including Collaborative Decision-Making (CDM).

In addition to his MITRE and Boeing experience, Andy worked as a product manager for Orbcomm (focused on the trucking industry) and was a strategic information technology consultant working with small airlines setting up Airline Operational Control facilities and other operational capabilities including ACARS and electronic flight bags (EFB).

Andy currently serves and has served in the past on a number of Aviation Rule-making Committees (ARC), technical standards bodies, and research advisory boards. He was a contributor to the following recent National Academies studies Autonomy Research for Civil Aviation: Toward a New Era of Flight and Assessing the Risks of Integrating Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) into the National Airspace System. He currently serves on the National Academies’ Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board (ASEB).

Andy earned both a Master of Science degree in Operations Research and a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering at The George Washington University.

Mr. Brian West is a Mechanical Engineer at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) developing additive manufacturing into a viable process for manned space flight applications. After serving seven years in the Materials and Processes Laboratory within MSFC Brian has developed an understanding of process control, the need to understand nuances, and its effect on the end product. Brian has supported the development of the first NASA specification and standard that addresses the use of additive manufacturing and its implementation in NASA and commercial flight vehicles. Brian is the Team Lead for the Additive Manufacturing team at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center. In this role he manages all activities in the additive lab along with the testing, material science, and evaluation associated with the additive lab. Previously Brian served as a propulsion systems engineer where he gained an understanding of the need to apply cutting-edge manufacturing techniques to resolve design challenges in complex systems. Brian began his NASA career a systems engineer for the space shuttle booster program at the NASA Kennedy Space Center. Brian received a Master of Science degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering from The University of Alabama in Huntsville and a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of South Florida.

Dr. Stacey W. Boland is a principal systems engineer at Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and is the Project Systems Engineer for the Multi-Angle Imager for Aerosols Earth Venture Instrument. She is also the Operations Lead for the JPL Ventilator Intervention Technology Accessible Locally (VITAL) project which resulted in two ventilator designs being granted Emergency Use Authorization by the FDA during the COVID-19 pandemic. Stacey was awarded NASA’s Exceptional Achievement Medal in 2009 and 2015 and a NASA Outstanding Public Leadership medal in 2019. Dr. Boland received her B.S. in physics from the University of Texas, Dallas, and her M.S. and Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from California Institute of Technology.

Sezin A. Palmer is the first Mission Area Executive for National Health at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, which has been recognized by Fast Company in 2016 as one of the most innovative companies in Healthcare. The vision of the National Health Mission Area is to revolutionize health through science and engineering – a vision shared with our partners at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. The National Health Mission Area takes a systems approach to understanding health determinants to better predict and prevent illness, injury and disease and applying this knowledge to develop novel capabilities to rapidly detect and respond to changes in health status. As the nation’s largest University.

Affiliated Research Center, APL performs research and development on behalf of the Department of Defense, the Department of Health and Human Services, the intelligence community, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and other federal agencies. The Laboratory has more than 7,000 staff members who are making critical contributions to a wide variety of nationally and globally significant technical and scientific challenges.

Prior to her current appointment, Ms. Palmer served as the Mission Area Executive for Research and Exploratory Development. Under her leadership, APL made significant contributions to the fields of neuroscience, biomechanics, intelligent systems and materials science. Previously, Ms. Palmer held leadership positions in the Laboratory’s Undersea Warfare mission area. Ms. Palmer was responsible for the technical and programmatic oversight of numerous Navy programs in submarine warfare, anti- submarine warfare and mine-countermeasures capability development. She also served as the Laboratory’s representative to the Commander, Pacific Fleet staff. Additionally, from 2002-2005 Ms. Palmer served as a panel member of the Chief of Naval Operations Mine Countermeasures Technical Advisory Group and from 2010-2012 as a member of the Chief of Naval Operations Submarine Security Working Group.

Prior to joining the Laboratory in 2000, Ms. Palmer held technical positions at the US Naval Research Laboratory and served as an analyst in the Central Intelligence Agency’s Directorate of Intelligence where she led foreign naval systems analyses.

Ms. Palmer earned a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from the University of Maryland and a Master of Science degree in electrical engineering from Johns Hopkins University.

Allison is an assistant professor in the Smead Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences at the University of Colorado – Boulder. Her research investigates human health and performance in aerospace environments. The Smead Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences develops technologies to measure and mitigate the body’s adaptations to extreme stressors with the primary motivation to advance human space exploration.

Dr. Shawn H. Phillips is Chief of the Rocket Propulsion Division within the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL/RQR) at Edwards AFB, CA. He oversees all research, development and testing at the $10.2B AFRL Rocket Lab, encompassing over 65-sq miles, 19 major rocket test stands, 340+ personnel and 136 buildings. Research efforts encompass Space Access, In-Space Propulsion, and solid rocket motors for Strategic, Tactical and Hypersonic Boosters. Dr. Phillips has 22 years of government service (all spent at the AFRL Rocket Lab), holding 10 patents and more than 28 publications in R&D and applied technology fields.

Dr. Phillips entered the Department of Defense Civil Service in May 1998 after employment as a synthetic chemist in the Nylon Intermediates and Specialty Division for DuPont, DuPont Nylon ESL. While at Edwards AFB, he has directed the polymer working group, the Materials Application Branch, the Liquid Rocket Engines Branch, and served as the Deputy Chief of the Rocket Propulsion Division.

Dr. David E. Bowles is the first Executive Director of the recently established Virginia Institute for Spaceflight and Autonomy (VISA) at Old Dominion University, assuming his duties in October of 2019. Located on the Eastern Shore, VISA is chartered to grow the entrepreneurial ecosystems for spaceflight and autonomy in the Commonwealth through industry, academic and governmental partnerships, leveraging the expanding space facilities and growing capability to support advances in satellites and autonomous systems, the sensors they carry and the data they produce. Prior to his appointment at Old Dominion, Dr. Bowles was at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia for 39 years, and served as Center Director from 2015 until his retirement in 2019. As Center Director, he focused on transforming the work, the workforce and the workplace with widespread use of emerging digital and autonomous technologies, including turning the 700-acre research campus into a test range for Class D autonomous research and operations. Dr. Bowles is active in the aerospace and local communities. He is an Associate Fellow of the American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics, and currently serves on the Boards of the Eastern Shore Community College, the National Institute of Aerospace, the Virginia Unmanned Systems Center at CIT, and the Virginia Aerospace Business Association. He is also a member of the Virginia Governor’s Aerospace Advisory Council and served on the Expert Panel for the “Commonwealth Research and Technology Strategic Roadmap”, sponsored by State Council for Higher Education and Virginia Research Investment Committee in 2019.

Dr. Bowles earned his bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in engineering mechanics from Virginia Tech in 1978, 1980 and 1990, respectively. He has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the Presidential Rank Award of Meritorious Executive in 2017 as a member of the Federal Senior Executive Service, NASA’s Distinguished Service Medal in 2019, and NASA’s Outstanding Leadership Medal in both 2005 and 2015.