Tom Gunnarson is the Regulatory Affairs lead for Wisk, a joint venture between The Boeing Company and Kitty Hawk Corporation to develop a self-flying, all-electric air taxi service. He is currently leading efforts to foster progressive regulatory approaches for eVTOL aircraft and the emerging Urban Air Mobility marketplace. Before coming to Wisk, Tom was with the FAA Advanced Technology Branch interfacing with industry and other civil aviation authorities on the development of consensus-based safety standards for small aircraft. While there, he coordinated an FAA regulatory feasibility study on electric propulsion. Prior to FAA, Tom served as President of the Light Aircraft Manufacturers Association and was chair of the FAA Aviation Rulemaking Advisory Committee that developed the Light Sport and Sport Pilot rule.Tom is a pilot, flight instructor and has operated several flight schools.
People Category: Wednesday Aviation Sessions
Andy Supinie
David Jenson
David Jenson has been with the FAA for 4 1/2 years.He currently specializes in the avionics and propulsion areas with an emphasis on electric propulsion for the Small Airplane Standards Branch within the Policy and Innovation Division of the Aircraft Certification service.He provides certification and technical expertise for part 23 airplanes (conventional, electric, and urban air mobility).His previous industry experience with Sikorsky and Raytheon Aircraft as an ODA UM and avionics/engine controls integration lead has provided a natural transition into the eVTOL airplanes and new/novel systems being introduced in part 23.
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.
Luciano Serra
Luciano leads the Systems Integrity Team for magniX. He has significant experience in aerospace gained from working at industry leaders such as Embraer and Bombardier. Luciano’s experience spans different countries including Germany, Japan, Canada, Brazil, and Australia. He has advanced knowledge of the regulatory landscape around the world.
Luciano earned his Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, in Brazil.
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.
Joel Kirk
Joel Kirk leads the engineering systems team responsible for new engine development for emerging markets and products. He is responsible for leading technology maturation that differentiates future GE products and developing new architectures to meet evolving customer needs.
Prior to this role, Joel led research and technology development for GE Aviation products at GE Research. He was responsible for maturation of technologies and transition from research laboratory environment to the product development team, which he now leads.
Joel has worked 15 years in technology development and product design at GE Aviation. In that time, he led the product design of the high pressure turbine module for the LEAP and Passport engines, developed the technology roadmap and strategy for integration of additive manufacturing into the design process and owned module design on several commercial and military demonstrator engines.
Joel earned his MS and PhD from University of Notre Dame in Aerospace Engineering.
Peter Iosifidis
Peter Iosifidis is the Program Manager of the Lockheed Martin X-59 Low Boom Flight Demonstrator program being developed for NASA by the company’s Air Vehicle Design & Technologies of Lockheed Martin Aeronautics – Skunk Works® in Palmdale, California. Peter has been with Lockheed Martin for 35 years including 27 years at Aeronautics and 8 years at Mission Systems and Training.
Peter has a diverse background in the aerospace business with recognized experience in managing and leading programs, as well as developing company strategies to support competitive efforts. Peter’s experience spans from Program Management and Business Development to Operations and Global Sustainment. This is complimented by leadership roles as Program Manager, Capture Manager, and Deputy Director of aircraft modifications.
Peter began his career in the US Air Force at Beale AFB, CA. as a Crew Chief on the Lockheed Martin U-2 Aircraft. Since joining Lockheed Martin, he has held roles of increasing responsibility on programs including Special Mission C-130, X-33 Single Stage to Orbit Vehicle, and the F-117 Nighthawk Stealth Fighter. While at Mission Systems and Training, Peter led the Global Sustainment and Operations organization of a large Foreign Military Sales Program in Taiwan.
Peter holds a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Aeronautics from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University and Masters of Science in Technology Management from Pepperdine University.
Jeanine Boyle
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Jeanine Boyle is the Vice President of Human Resources for Aurora Flight Sciences based in Manassas, Virginia. Joining Aurora in August 2018, She is responsible for the Human Resources strategy and execution. She focuses on providing strategic business partnering and developing compelling and innovative strategies to attract, retain and develop the best talent in aerospace.
Prior to Aurora, Boyle spent eight years with J&J. She held several roles
of increasing responsibility in the Pharmaceutical sector. In her last role, she was the Vice President of HR for US Pharmaceuticals with responsibility for 13,000 employees and $25B in revenue. Prior to J&J, she was Director, Human Resources at Siemens Healthcare where she led HR strategy across Siemens Health Services and led large scale organizational changes to support critical organizational effectiveness efforts. Prior to this, Boyle spent 10 years with Pfizer/ Wyeth Pharmaceuticals in both generalist and specialist roles. This role included two international
assignments to Puerto Rico and the United Kingdom.
Boyle earned her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Villanova University and her MBA from St. Joseph’s University, including an international study in Russia and Eastern Europe.
Peter Kunz
Pete Kunz is the Senior Chief Engineer for Unpiloted Systems in Boeing’s Enterprise, Test & Technology division, as well as Chief Engineer for Boeing NeXt, a business division building the ecosystem that will define the future of urban, regional and global mobility. Boeing NeXt builds and incubates new mobility solutions and the next-generation ecosystem that will bring flight closer to home.
Kunz has chief engineering responsibilities, along with sign-off authority, for the safe development of autonomous systems, across the company. This includes guiding the development of common technology. He will work closely with all of Boeing’s autonomous platform programs and businesses: air, ground and maritime, as well as with Boeing Commercial Airplanes and Boeing Defense, Space & Security.
Before coming to Boeing, Kunz was chief technology officer of Insitu, Inc., which produces the ScanEagle and Integrator unmanned aerial systems (UAS). In that role, he was responsible for Insitu’s research and development investments, oversight of the product and intellectual property portfolios, and leadership of Insitu’s technical experts and product-line chief engineers.
Kunz’s broad background in aerospace engineering includes formal training and practical experience in various aspects of the analysis, design and testing of unmanned flight vehicles, and field experience with the rapid real-world evaluation of new technologies and prototypes. Prior to joining Insitu, Kunz was a senior engineer with Exponent Inc., where he worked primarily on the development and field evaluation of unmanned air vehicles and force protection technologies, including a field consulting role for the U.S. Army Rapid Equipping Force in Afghanistan.
Kunz has a doctorate in aeronautics and astronautics from Stanford University, as well as master’s and bachelor’s degrees in aerospace engineering from Pennsylvania State University.