Dr. James (Jim) Heidmann currently serves as Manager of NASA’s Advanced Air Transport Technology Project. In this capacity, he leads NASA’s technology development for subsonic transport aircraft. Prior to this role, he served as Acting Deputy Director of NASA’s Advanced Air Vehicles Program, managed NASA’s Advanced Air Transport Technology and Transformational Tools & Technologies Projects, and also served as Chief of the Turbomachinery and Heat Transfer Branch. In addition to these management roles, Dr. Heidmann spent 20 years as an Aerospace Research Engineer, publishing over 20 papers and journal articles in the area of turbomachinery aerodynamics and heat transfer. He was elected Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) in 2007, Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) in 2015, and received the Outstanding Mechanical Engineer (OME) Award from Purdue University School of Mechanical Engineering in 2017. Dr. Heidmann received a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Toledo in 1986, Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University in 1988, and Doctorate in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from Case Western Reserve University in 1997.
People Category: Speaker Types
Reynaldo "Ray" Gomez III
Reynaldo Gomez started work at the NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) in May of 1985 after completing a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Rice University. He has worked on a wide range of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) applications over the last 34 years, ranging from simulations of wind loads on the Shuttle prior to launch through hypersonic reentry flowfields. In addition to reviewing all integrated aerodynamics products for the Space Shuttle Program, he lead the development of wind tunnel tests, CFD simulations, and inflight Shuttle debris transport assessments through the end of the program. He currently works in the JSC Engineering Directorate and serves as the Multi Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) Aerodynamics Technical Authority, is the co-lead for Space Launch System aerodynamics and is the space applications representative on NASA’s Aerosciences Testing Advisory Board.
Greg McDougall
Born in California on December 20, 1955, to Canadian parents, Greg spent every summer at his family’s remote, water- or air-access only cabin in British Columbia, Canada. That early exposure to the coast and his first float plane ride at age six, gave Greg the taste of aviation and a determination to one day become a pilot.
Greg’s aviation career began in 1975, earning his Private Pilot Licence to his first pilot job in 1977 in Fort Simpson, Northwest Territories, to eventually starting his own airline; Harbour Air Ltd. in 1982. Over the years Harbour Air grew from a 2 plane, charter only operation that primarily serviced the forest industry and remote fishing camps, to what it is today; North America’s largest all-seaplane airline that services over 500,000 passengers per year on tours, scheduled service routes and private charter flights using a showcase fleet of more than 40 seaplanes. Harbour Air operates 9 terminals in the centres of British Columbia largest coastal communities, offers 12 scheduled service routes and in 2018 began service between downtown Vancouver and downtown Seattle, WA. Through its dedication to safety, service and innovation, Harbour Air has reshaped the transportation landscape in British Columbia, been recognized as one of the top places to work in Canada, one of Canada’s 50 Best Managed Companies as well as recognized for it’s outstanding contribution to safety.
Today, still as CEO of Harbour Air, with over 12,000 hours logged, countless National and International awards and, in 2019, an induction into the Canadian Aviation Hall of Fame, Greg McDougall has partnered with magniX, the company powering the electric aviation revolution, to take on a new goal; to build and personally pilot the world’s first fully electric commercial aircraft. This latest endeavor of Greg’s successfully launched on December 10th, 2019 with Greg at the throttle and, once again, garnered worldwide attention. Next, Greg plans to work with regulators to convert the entire Harbour Air fleet.
To Greg, that early taste of aviation is still strong and drives him to continue to evolve and innovate Harbour Air. “If we sit here looking out the window, one day there is going to be something out there that’s going to rock your world. I want to be the one flying it, not the one watching it.”
Greg lives in Squamish, British Columbia and when he’s not revolutionizing the future of clean aviation, he can be found biking the backcountry or working with his family on their farm bringing sustainable farming practices to his community.
Lowell Foster
Lowell Foster is GAMA’s Director of Global Innovation and Engineering. Joining GAMA in 2019, Lowell is responsible for developing new paths for the integration of emerging general aviation technologies and assessing technological shifts requiring changes to how general aviation aircraft are designed, manufactured, maintained, and operated. Lowell’s responsibilities are split between supporting the GAMA Electric Propulsion & Innovation Committee (EPIC), which works to enable the certification and operation of hybrid and electric aircraft and supporting existing and new Part 23 certification and implementation issues.
Lowell comes from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), where he was responsible for a broad range of general aviation safety, policy and regulatory activities with the Aircraft Certification Small Airplane Standards Branch. In addition to serving as project manager for the Part 23 restructuring and performance-based rule-making, Lowell contributed to numerous policy efforts concerning new aircraft technologies including. He has 30 years of experience as a flight test engineer and was involved in policy development for many new small airplane technologies.
Prior to the FAA, Lowell worked at Mooney Aircraft and was in the Air Force, flying as a flight test engineer on F-16 avionics and weapons integration programs. Lowell has a BS degree in Mechanical Engineering from Oklahoma State University and is a private pilot with instrument and glider ratings. He has time in more than 60 different airplanes, helicopters, balloons, and one airship.
Tine Tomažič
Dr. Tine Tomažič (male) was born in 1983 and received B.Sc. and Ph.D. in electrical engineering from University of Ljubljana in 2007 and 2014 respectively. His work in systems automation and human machine interfaces ranges from autopilot technologies for unmanned aerial vehicles to electric and hybrid-electric propulsion systems. Tomažič was involved in development of world’s first 2-seat and world’s first electric 4-seat aircraft, the Taurus Electro and the Taurus G4. His current research is in the field of certifiable hybrid-electric propulsion systems and their intuitive user interfaces, where besides being involved in the development, Tomazic is active in the working group with ASTM F44.40 to rewrite current General Aviation design standards to allow proliferation of electric flight. He is also a member of SAE, EASA T4S Technology for Safety and a recognized global expert in the field of electric flight. He is the CTO of Pipistrel.
Patrick Darmstadt
Mr. Darmstadt is a drive and power systems engineer and technologist at the Boeing Company. He has 10 years’ experience in dynamic systems and propulsion system design and technology development. He has helped to establish an electric propulsion design and analysis capability within Boeing’s Vertical Lift Business Unit. He is currently supporting multiple electric propulsion programs, including group 1, 3, and 5 unmanned aerial systems and manned air-vehicles, each in various stages of the design, build, and test development cycle. He is an active member of the VFS Propulsion Committee and SAE Transmission and Driveline Committee. He was lead author and principal investigator for the NASA sponsored, Hazard Analysis and Failure Modes and Effects Criticality Analysis (FMECA) of Four Concept Vehicle Propulsion Systems.
David Hall
Dr. Hall is a Research Engineer at the MIT Gas Turbine Laboratory, where he conducts research on advanced aircraft propulsion technology, including propulsion-airframe integration and electrification. Prior to his current role at MIT, he was the Propulsion Group Lead at Aurora Flight Sciences, where he led a multi-disciplinary team in advanced propulsion research and rapid development of propulsion systems for experimental prototype aircraft, including leading the Aurora team supporting Boeing’s Electrified Aircraft Propulsion (EAP) Program with NASA. In January 2021, he will be joining the Aerospace Engineering faculty at The Pennsylvania State University as an assistant professor.
As a graduate student at MIT, Hall was a member of the team that developed the D8 aircraft concept during the NASA N+3 Program. After graduating in 2015, he spent two terms teaching at the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) as a Postdoctoral Fellow before returning to the MIT Gas Turbine Laboratory, where he was the technical lead for the NASA LEARN3 Program investigating the feasibility of electrified propulsion for ultra-efficient commercial aircraft.
Dr. Hall received his Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering and Mathematics from Duke University and his Masters and PhD in Aeronautics and Astronautics from MIT. He is a member of the American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME).
Fayette Collier
Fay is the Associate Director for Flight Strategy, Integrated Aviation Systems Program for NASA Aeronautics. In this capacity he leads planning and formulation of large flight demonstrations. He is currently focused on establishing the feasibility of Megawatt-class electrified powertrain system flight demonstrations with the industrial base, other government, and academia.
Previously, from 2009-2016, Fay was the Project Manager of the Environmentally Responsible Aviation Project within NASA’s Integrated System Research Program. In this role, he directed the formulation and execution of NASA’s integrated system research project focused on the subsonic transport sector, working in partnership with Industry, FAA, AFRL and other government agencies. The technology development project was focused on research, development and integration of engine and airframe technologies that enable dramatic improvements in noise, emissions, and performance characteristics of future subsonic aircraft operating in the air transportation system. The six-year, $420M project closed out in March 2016, meeting all technical objectives. During the 6-year life cycle, ERA over 1000 individuals from government and industry collaborated on the project. The ERA Team was awarded the Aviation Week Laureate Award for Technology in 2016, the Royal Aeronautical Society Team Specialists Gold Award in 2017.
Fay is a graduate of Virginia Tech (Aerospace Engineering, B.S., 1981, M.S., 1982, Ph.D., 1988) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.B.A., 1997). He is a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society, and a Fellow of the AIAA.
Zubair Baig
Zubair received a bachelor’s degree from New York University in Electrical Engineering and a Master’s in Electrical Engineering degree from Worcester Polytechnic Institute. He is current lead the electric propulsion strategy for Pratt and Whitney and collaborates across RTX. He hold numerous patents and has deep technical knowledge and expertise in power systems and energy storage. Combating climate change through electrification and other technologies is a personal passion of Zubair’s and he hope to see us make great strides in this space over the next decade.
Brian Brady
Dr. Brian B. Brady is a Principal Scientist at the Aerospace Corporation. Brian received his Ph.D. from Columbia University and his bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from the University of Pennsylvania. Brian is currently investigating hybrid rocket motor testing, methane coking rates, and green propellant properties in a new propulsion research facility. He also investigates small satellite propulsion technologies. He tested flammability of launch vehicle coatings, safety of monopropellant replacements for hydrazine, and explosion generated debris risk for satellites. He is a member of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics where he serves on the Hybrid Rocket Technical Committee, and of the American Chemical Society where he is an ACS Fellow and a councilor for the Southern California Local Section.