People Category: Panelist

Roelof Vos

Dr. ir. Roelof Vos is an Associate Professor at the Aerospace Engineering Faculty of Delft University of Technology. His research is focused on new airplane configurations and technologies to enable truly sustainable aviation. Amongst others, he is the lead for the Flying V project that is performed at TU Delft in collaboration with industrial partners. 

Vos has published 27 articles in peer-reviewed journals about his research and has published over 80 conference papers. He has worked on various projects funded by the European Commission, the Dutch Research Council (NOW), and through public-private partnerships. He teaches courses on Aircraft Design and Aerodynamic Design as well as professional courses on Aerodynamic Design and Hybrid-Electric Aircraft Design. He is author of the textbook “Introduction to Transonic Aerodynamics” 

Vos is an Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) and member of the AIAA Aircraft Design Technical Committee. He holds a BSc (2004) and MSc (2005) degree in Aerospace Engineering from Delft University of Technology and a PhD degree from the University of Kansas (2009) under the sponsorship of the Fulbright Program.

Expertise

How can we make aviation truly sustainable? Which technologies are needed to drastically reduce the climate impact of aviation? And what is the impact of these technologies on aircraft performance in the broadest sense of the word? Those are the type of questions that Roelof Vos tries to answer with his research. He specializes in the holistic assessment of new aviation technologies and aircraft configurations. 

To support this, he develops dedicated software that enables the assessment of new technologies with respect to important aircraft characteristics such as fuel consumption, aircraft weight, and aerodynamic efficiency. This has resulted in the Aircraft Design Initiator, an automated aircraft synthesis program that is used throughout numerous externally-funded projects. Technologies that have recently been studied with this program include: hybrid-electric propulsion systems, maneuver-load alleviation through wing movables, and hydrogen-fueled turbofan engines. Furthermore, aircraft configurations with tail-mounted propellers, blended-wing bodies, and a propulsive empennage have been studied. Additionally, Vos has been the project lead for the Flying V, a new airplane configuration for long-haul travel.

Lisa Peterson

A recognized leader in the telecom and transportation industries, Lisa Peterson is VP of Business Development focused on providing FAA-compliant command and control data and voice solutions to both commercial and public sector entities. While focusing on airspace traffic management technologies enabling safe UAS operations, she’s held positions at GE Aviation’s AiRXOS, involved with early FAA and NASA R&D programs; and Airspace Link, a LAANC and UAS data services provider. An active member of WTS (focused on women in transportation), Women and Drones, and AUVSI, Peterson holds a BS in Finance from the University of Maryland, where she also earned her MBA from the UMD Robert H. Smith School of Business.  

CAPT Loren Jacobi

A native of Springfield, Virginia, Captain Loren “Wookie” Jacobi graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 2001, earning a Bachelor of Science in Naval Architecture. CAPT Jacobi began his operational flying in July 2003 with the “Dragonwhales” of HC-8, deploying onboard USS SEATTLE (AOE 3), USS NASSAU (LHA 4) and USS KEARSARGE (LHD 3). He participated in IRAQI FREEDOM, ENDURING FREEDOM and supported humanitarian assistance operations in Haiti.

Following his tour with HC-8, CAPT Jacobi reported to the Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center in Fallon, Nevada where he qualified as a Seahawk Weapons and Tactics Instructor, Mountain Flying Instructor and Joint Terminal Attack Controller.

In 2008, CAPT Jacobi joined the “Wildcards” of HSC-23 in San Diego, CA where he served as the squadron Training Officer, managed the squadron’s transition to the MH-60S Armed Helicopter system and trained Naval Air Ambulance Detachments for combat deployments in Kuwait and Iraq.

At the completion of his Training Officer tour in 2010, CAPT Jacobi reported to the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, CA where he completed a master’s degree in Systems Engineering, specializing in unmanned combat systems. For his thesis on combat modeling of emerging unmanned systems technology, he was awarded the prestigious Wayne E Meyer Awards for Excellence in Systems Engineering.

In 2012, CAPT Jacobi reported to the “Golden Falcons” of HSC-12. While stationed in Atsugi, Japan,
CAPT Jacobi conducted four patrols in Southeast Asia onboard USS GEORGE WASHINGTON (CVN
73), including Operation DAMAYAN disaster relief in the Philippines.
Following his Department Head tour, CAPT Jacobi served as the Helicopter Sea Assignments officer at
Navy Personnel Command in Millington, Tennessee. At the completion of this tour, CAPT Jacobi was
selected for Secretary of the Navy Tours With Industry where he served as Technical Operations Engineer
for Flight Test on Amazon’s Prime Air drone delivery team in Seattle Washington
CAPT Jacobi completed his first command tour leading the “Wildcards” of HSC-23 from March 2018
through June 2020. During his tenure HSC-23 operated both the MH-60S and MQ-8B while leading DOD
unmanned-unmanned integration efforts and earned the Battle “E” and Safety “S.” Following his command
tour, CAPT Jacobi reported to Commander, Naval Air Force as N81, Future Manpower Requirements.
CAPT Jacobi completed his second command tour at the Fleet Replacement Squadron leading the
“Merlins” of HSC-3 where the squadron met all FY22 CNATRA production goals while exceeding targets
for aircraft readiness. During this tour he qualified as FRS instructor in both the MH-60S and MQ-8C.
Following HSC-3, CAPT Jacobi reported to Commander Naval Air Force as Requirements Officer.
CAPT Jacobi has accumulated over 2,500 flight hours; his awards include the Meritorious Service Medal
(3), individual action Air Medal (1) and various service awards.

Lars Blackmore

Lars Blackmore is the Senior Principal Mars Landing Engineer at SpaceX. In his role he and his team are tackling an array of new problems that will need to be solved for SpaceX to reach the Moon, Mars, and beyond.

He took on the role of Principal Mars Landing Engineer in 2018, and was promoted to Senior Principal in March 2020. From 2011 to 2018 he was responsible for Entry, Descent and Landing of the Falcon 9 rocket, as part of SpaceX’s reusable launch vehicle program. His team developed the precision landing technology for the Grasshopper rocket, the F9R-Dev rocket, the F9 reusable booster stage and the Falcon Heavy boosters. Previously he was in the Guidance and Control Analysis Group at the NASA Jet Propulsion Lab, part of the California Institute of Technology, where he developed control and estimation algorithms for NASA’s future space missions. He co-invented the G-FOLD algorithm for precision landing on Mars, and was part of the SMAP (Soil Moisture Active Passive) mission, which launched in January 2015. Lars was named one of MIT Tech Review’s “35 under 35” innovators and has a PhD in Guidance, Navigation and Control from the MIT Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics.