Monday, June 10

8:30–9:15 a.m. | Opening Plenary: Imagining and Creating our “Future World”

Robin A. Kemper, P.E., LEED AP, F.SEI, F.ASCE, President, American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)

Robin A. Kemper is the ASCE President. She has over thirty-five years of diverse and extensive structural engineering experience in design, analysis, and forensics, focused mainly on buildings. Robin currently is a Risk Engineer with Zurich North America. She works for both the Professional Liability and Construction Properties Risk Engineering Groups providing technical support to construction project policies, developing best practices, and investigating losses on construction projects.

Kemper also served on the Board of Direction of Engineers Without Borders, and the Civil Engineering Industrial Advisory Board of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, her alma mater. She is currently a member of the Civil Engineering Industrial Advisory Boards for Rutgers University and the College of New Jersey.

Yinhai Wang, Ph.D., P.E., M.ASCE, President, ASCE-T&DI

Dr. Yinhai Wang is a professor in transportation engineering and the founding director of the Smart Transportation Applications and Research Laboratory (STAR Lab) at the University of Washington (UW). He also serves as director for Pacific Northwest Transportation Consortium (PacTrans), USDOT University Transportation Center for Federal Region 10 and visiting chair for the Traffic Information and Control Department at Harbin Institute of Technology. He has a Ph.D. in transportation engineering from the University of Tokyo (1998), a master's degree in computer science from the UW, and another master’s degree in construction management (1991) and a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering (1989) from Tsinghua University in China.

Dr. Wang’s active research fields include traffic sensing, e-science of transportation, big-data analytics, traffic operations and simulation, smart urban mobility, transportation safety, etc. He has published over 120 peer-reviewed journal articles and delivered more than 130 invited talks and nearly 220 other academic presentations. Dr. Wang is the President of ASCE’s Transportation & Development.

9:15–10:00 a.m. | Understanding and Harnessing Smarter Mobility for Smarter Cities

Terry F. Neimeyer, Chairman of the Board, KCI

Terry Neimeyer is KCI’s Chairman of the Board. Neimeyer joined KCI in 1977 and has since served in numerous leadership roles for the company, including chief engineer of civil engineering operations in Maryland and North Carolina. In December 1995 Neimeyer became president, a position he held until June 2006. He has served as chief executive officer for nearly two decades, and chairman of the board since December 2000.

Neimeyer earned his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Delaware, his master’s degree in environmental engineering from Johns Hopkins University, and his Master of Business Administration from Wilmington College. He is a registered professional engineer in six states, and he earned his Envision Sustainability Professional Credential from the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure and is a Board Certified Environmental Engineer from the American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists.

Neimeyer has served as chairman of the Maryland Chamber of Commerce, chairman of the American Council of Engineering Companies, president of XL Insurance Design Professional Risk Control Group, and sat on the board of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. He is a fellow of both the American Society of Civil Engineers and the American Council of Engineering Companies and a graduate of Leadership Maryland.

Neil Pedersen, Executive Director, Transportation Research Board

In February 2015, Neil Pedersen became Executive Director of the Transportation Research Board (TRB). In that role, he provides executive direction and leadership to TRB’s technical activities, including its annual meeting of over 12,000 transportation professionals, its more than 200 technical committees, its conferences, and its publications; its peer-reviewed policy consensus studies; its multimodal cooperative research programs; and operation of the Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP 2) naturalistic driving study safety database.

From 2012 to 2015, Pedersen was Deputy Director for Implementation and Communication for SHRP 2. In that role, he led TRB’s efforts to ensure that the products of the $218 million SHRP 2 research program will be used by state DOTs, MPOs, local governments, resource agencies, and other implementation agencies.

Pedersen spent 29 years at the Maryland State Highway Administration, where he served the last eight years as Administrator and Governor’s Highway Safety Representative. Prior to that, he was both Deputy Administrator and Director of the Office of Planning and Preliminary Engineering.

Over his career, Pedersen has been involved in volunteer leadership roles in both TRB and AASHTO. He chaired a number of TRB committees, including serving as Chair of TRB’s Executive Committee in 2011. He was also Chair of the SHRP 2 Technical Coordination Committee for its Capacity focus area from 2005 until joining TRB staff in 2012. At AASHTO, he was Vice Chair of the Standing Committee on Highways from 2007 to 2011 as well as several AASHTO policy committees.

10:30 a.m.–12:00 p.m. | Disruptive Technologies: Powerful Enablers for Policymakers and Operating Agencies

Stephen Buckley, Vice President and National Director for Planning and Environment, WSP

Steve Buckley currently serves as a Vice-President of WSP for Planning and Environment.  Steve is a licensed engineer and certified planner and has over twenty years of experience in many aspects of the transportation industry.  Prior to his current position, Steve most recently served as General Manager of Transportation for the City of Toronto.  Prior to his tenure in Toronto, Steve led the Transportation Division of the Philadelphia Streets Department and was the Director of Policy and Planning for the Mayor’s Office of Transportation and Utilities for the City of Philadelphia. While in Toronto, Steve initiated and led a City of Toronto Divisional working group on Automated Vehicles and created a Divisional AV Work Plan.

Buckley earned master’s degrees in Transportation and in City Planning from the University of California – Berkeley, and his bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from Syracuse University.  Buckley recently served as the Chair of the Transportation Research Board’s Committee on Transportation Issues in Major Cities and is a lecturer in the University of Pennsylvania’s City & Regional Planning program.

Lauren Love-Wright, Vice President of Network Partnerships, Verizon

Lauren Love-Wright is Chief Marketing Officer of Verizon Partner Solutions leading the development and execution of programs to drive $5B in annual revenue and deliver year over year growth. In this role she is responsible for developing the winning strategy and vision for the wholesale business unit, managing the product portfolio to drive revenue growth and gain market share, and driving transformation by launching new products and services, targeting new customer segments, and developing key partnerships.

Her career with the company spans more than 12 years and includes positions of increasing responsibility in sales, consumer electronics, business and retail services. Prior to her current role, Lauren was president of Verizon Wireless’ region covering Michigan, Indiana and Kentucky where she was responsible for all sales, marketing, operations, financial performance and customer service in the three states.

Love-Wright joined Verizon Wireless in 2003 as associate director for strategic sales for its Illinois/Wisconsin Region. For nearly six years she developed and implemented strategies to expand the customer base across the health care, utilities, distribution, finance and professional services areas and subsequently was promoted to director for strategic sales in 2009.

In early 2012, Love-Wright joined Verizon Wireless’ Marketing team as director of connected consumer electronics and personal computing devices, responsible for driving strategy to ensure that Verizon Wireless service was embedded in the leading consumer electronics and portable personal computing devices sold in the U.S. Love-Wright returned to the Illinois/Wisconsin Region in 2014 to help lead its retail channel. Love-Wright has a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering from Spelman College and Georgia Institute of Technology; her Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology; and her MBA from Harvard Business School.

Michael O’Rielly, Commissioner, Federal Communications Commission

Michael O’Rielly was nominated for a seat on the Federal Communications Commission by President Barack Obama and was sworn into office in November 2013. In January 2015, he was confirmed and sworn into office for a second term, which extends until June 30, 2019.

Prior to joining the agency, Commissioner O’Rielly spent almost 20 years working in prominent Republican communication policy and leadership positions for the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. Most recently, he served as a Policy Advisor in the Office of the Senate Republican Whip, led by U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX). Commissioner O’Rielly received his B.A. from the University of Rochester.

Phil Silver, Transportation Vertical Strategy Leader, State & Local Government, Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Phil Silver leads Amazon Web Services’ (AWS) public sector transportation vertical, including activities with airports, seaports, transit agencies, tolling authorities, traffic departments, parking, DOTs, MPOs, and COGs – practically anything where state and local government operates transportation infrastructure (that includes CAV and Internet of Things (IoT) initiatives). He works with the state and local government field sales, solution architects, partner development, and professional services teams that support ISVs who build with AWS.

Over the past twenty years, Silver held sales and strategy leadership roles in global systems integration firms who are specialists in payments, fare collection, traffic management, tolling, parking, traveler information, logistics, e-commerce, IoT, and advanced analytics. Through it all, he has developed a great network of end-users, technology providers, and consultants. He also gained an appreciation for the technology challenges and opportunities faced by public sector agencies and authorities engaged in smart city / smart transportation initiatives focused on improving services to their patrons. Concurrently he served in the U.S. Navy, capping a 25-year active duty and reserve career with command of two expeditionary warfare units that deployed overseas in support of our Naval Forces, retiring as a Captain.

Along the way, Silver earned a Masters in Executive Leadership from University of San Diego, an MBA from Fordham University, and Bachelor degrees in Chemistry and History from the University of Florida.

12:00–1:30 p.m. | Luncheon Address on Preparing for Smart Transportation

Patrick Jones, Executive Director & CEO, International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association (IBTTA)

Patrick Jones is Executive Director & CEO of the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association. Since assuming this position in 2002, Jones has built IBTTA into the principal advocate for toll-financed transportation and the leader in producing high-quality educational experiences for toll industry professionals. Under his leadership, IBTTA revitalized its premier journal Tollways, created the IBTTA Leadership Academy, and introduced many new programs including the Transportation Finance Summit, Violation Enforcement Summit, Special Summit on Open Road Tolling, and its first workshops in South America, Australia and South Africa.

Prior to IBTTA, Jones held senior management positions at the American Trucking Associations, the American Public Transportation Association, and the Health Insurance Association of America.

Gummada Murthy, Ph.D, Associate Director for Operations, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO)

Gummada Murthy, is responsible for transportation infrastructure operations programs and serves as AASHTO liaison for the Subcommittee on Transportations Systems Management Operations, provides program support to Highways Subcommittee on Maintenance, Subcommittee on Traffic Engineering, Special Committee on Wireless Communication and Technology and the Special Committee on Transportation Security and Emergency Management. Prior to joining AASHTO, Dr. Murthy served as Senior Program Officer, TRB, National Academy of Sciences, responsible for implementation of Reliability research focus Area outcomes from the Academy’s ongoing Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP2).

Additional career roles include: Director of Operations, VDOT, Virginia, Director, Operations and Maintenance, WSDOT, Washington nd Asst. Turnpike Operations Engineer, Florida DOT. He is a graduate of the University of South of Florida, Tampa, Florida and holds Ph.D. and Masters of Science Degree in Civil Engineering from USF with a concentration in ITS Operations. He is a licensed professional engineer in Virginia and served on several research and technical panels and expert working groups for TRB’s NCHRP, SHRP2, Transportation Systems Operations and Management (TSOM), and TRRB-AASHTO-USDOT lead Connected Vehicle and Autonomous Vehicle programs.

Jeffrey Paniati, Executive Director & CEO, Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE)

In October 2015, Jeffrey Paniati became the executive director and CEO of the Institute of Transportation Engineers, an international membership association of more than 15,500 transportation professionals who work to improve safety and mobility for all transportation system users and help build smart and livable communities. Prior to joining ITE, Paniati had a 32-year career with the Federal Highway Administration, including holding senior leadership positions in the areas of system management and operations, intelligent transportation systems, and highway safety. He served as executive director from 2008–2015.

Paniati has received numerous honor awards, including the prestigious Presidential Rank Award of Distinguished Executive. He has been inducted into the University of Connecticut Academy of Distinguished Engineers, the ITS America Hall of Fame, and the ITS World Congress Hall of Fame. Paniati has a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Connecticut and a master’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Maryland. He is a Fellow of ITE and a registered professional engineer.

Tuesday, June 11

8:30–10:00 a.m. | Smart Cities, Now!

Shailen P. Bhatt, President and CEO, Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITS America)

As Chief Executive of ITS America, Bhatt promotes policies that advance the development and deployment of intelligent transportation technologies throughout the United States. He has testified before Congress about the positive safety impact of intelligent transportation technologies, including connected and automated vehicles. Bhatt is a leading voice in transportation on technology’s ability to save lives and reduce crashes on U.S. roadways. He speaks extensively about the importance of vehicles to communicate with each other and all roadway users as one of the best ways to improve safety and reduce congestion. He is also passionate about reducing transportation’s carbon footprint and the need to provide seamless mobility and transportation choices to people no matter where they live.

Bhatt was appointed as a transportation leader by three governors. While serving as Executive Director for the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT), the agency launched the Road X program, which is focused on deploying innovative technology solutions such as connected vehicles and teaming with the private sector to shape the future of transportation. Prior to CDOT, Bhatt was Cabinet Secretary for the Delaware Department of Transportation. He was also a presidential appointee at the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Bhatt has served as Chair of the Board of Directors for the National Operations Center of Excellence (NOCoE) and the Executive Committee of the I-95 Corridor Coalition; he was a member of the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Agenda Council on the Future of Automotive and Personal Transport.

Terry Halvorsen, CIO/EVP IT Mobile, Samsung Electronics

As the CIO and of EVP IT Mobile at Samsung, Terry Halvorsen works on mobile enterprise strategies and helps navigate government and regulatory business. Prior to joining Samsung, Halvorsen was the Department of Defense CIO, and was the principal advisor to the Secretary of Defense for Information Management / Information Technology and Information Assurance as well as non-intelligence space systems; critical satellite communications, navigation, and timing programs; spectrum; and telecommunications. He provided strategy, leadership, and guidance to create a unified information management and technology vision for the Department and ensured the delivery of information technology-based capabilities required to support the broad set of Department missions.

Before serving as the Department of the Navy CIO, Halvorsen was the deputy commander, Navy Cyber Forces. He began serving in that position in January 2010 as part of the Navy Cyber reorganization. Previous to that, Mr. Halvorsen served as the Deputy Commander, Naval Network Warfare Command. He was responsible for providing leadership for over 16,000 military and civilian personnel and supporting over 300 ships and approximately 800,000 globally dispersed computer network users. In this position, he was responsible for the business performance of Navy network operations, space operations, information operations and knowledge management.

Halvorsen served as an Army intelligence officer in a variety of assignments, including Operations Just Cause and Desert Storm. He holds a bachelor's degree in history from Widener University and a master's degree in educational technology from the University of West Florida. He is a Rotary International Paul Harris Fellow and an Excellence in Government Leadership Fellow.

Kristin Musulin, Senior Editor, Smart Cities Dive

Kristin is the senior editor of Smart Cities Dive, a Washington, DC-based digital media publication covering the news and trends that shape connectivity, resilience, and livability in U.S. cities. Musulin closely follows and reports on the topics of shared mobility, autonomous vehicles and 5G, and she is the co-creator of the publication's dockless vehicle mapping resource. Originally from the Philadelphia area, Kristin received her degree in journalism from the University of Maryland and previously worked as the editor of Waste Dive, a fellow publication under the Industry Dive brand.

Huei Peng, Director, MCity

Huei Peng received his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley in 1992. He is the director of Mcity, the University of Michigan’s public-private partnership devoted to advancing the development of connected and automated vehicles. Peng is also the Roger L. McCarthy Professor of Mechanical Engineering at U-M. Peng’s research interests include adaptive control and optimal control, with emphasis on their applications to vehicular and transportation systems.

In the last twenty years, Dr. Peng has worked on vehicle automation, vehicle dynamics, design, and assessment of active safety systems, and human model development—with a special focus on understanding how they err. He has served as the principal investigator or co-principal investigator of more than fifty research projects, with a total funding of more than $30 million. He has more than 240 technical publications, including 100 in referred journals and four books.

Dr. Peng is an SAE Fellow and an ASME Fellow. He is a Chang Jiang Scholar at the Tsinghua University of China.

10:30 a.m.–12:00 p.m. | Smart Mobility, Now!

Lauren Isaac, Director of Business Initiatives, EasyMile

Lauren Isaac is the Director of Business Initiatives for the North American operation of EasyMile. EasyMile specializes in autonomous vehicle technology and smart mobility solutions. Its best-known product is the EZ10: electric & driverless, the shuttles are designed to cover short distances in multi-use environments. Isaac leads business development for EasyMile in North America in addition to leading the company’s North America regulatory efforts. Prior to working at EasyMile, Isaac worked at WSP where she was involved in various projects involving advanced technologies that can improve mobility in cities.

Isaac wrote a guide titled “Driving Towards Driverless: A Guide for Government Agencies” regarding how local and regional governments should respond to autonomous vehicles in the short, medium, and long term. In addition, Isaac maintains the blog, “Driving Towards Driverless”, and has presented on this topic at many industry conferences. Isaac recently did a TEDx Talk and has been published in Forbes and the Chicago Tribune among other publications.

Brendan Jones, Chief Operating Officer, Electrify America

Brendan Jones is the Chief Operating Officer of Electrify America. Prior to joining Electrify America, Brendan served as the Vice President of OEM Strategy & Development for EVgo. He also spent over 20 years at Nissan, the last six as the executive responsible for building out electric vehicle sales and infrastructure. Brendan also formerly served as an executive board member of the Electric Drive Transportation Association (EDTA) and the ROEV Association.

Finlay Lewis, Operations Manager, Bechtel

Finlay Lewis is an operations manager for Bechtel’s Infrastructure business in the Americas. In this role, he is accountable for the development and operations of the company’s projects in the Communications and Smart Infrastructure sectors. Finlay has 20 years of project management experience, with a strong portfolio of wireless and wireline telecoms work in the US, Canada, and the UK.

Following 10 years as a strategy consultant in the telecommunications industry, Lewis joined Bechtel’s Telecoms Global Business Unit (GBU) in 2003 as the market intelligence manager, and in 2005 relocated to London as the market intelligence and business planning manager for Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. In this role, he led the Region’s strategic planning, competitive research and analysis, and various business development initiatives.

In 2006, Lewis returned to the US as a member of the AT&T Wireless Project in the Baltimore/Washington market, responsible for managing UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecoms System) site modifications in the burgeoning markets of Washington, DC, Maryland, and Northern Virginia, with a primary focus on roof-top and in-building/DAS (Distributed Antenna System) sites.

In 2009, he served as Bechtel’s Power GBU market intelligence manager and led several business development efforts. In 2011, he assumed the role as the market manager for Bechtel’s New York and New Jersey market and in 2013 became the project manager for the Hanna Region Transmission Development (HRTD) and Eastern Alberta Transmission Line (EATL) projects in Edmonton, Alberta. More recently, Finlay was delivery manager on the Google Fiber Project in the Charlotte, North Carolina market.

Of note, since 1997, Lewis has been a member of the Dana Farber Boston Marathon Challenge team, completing 14 Boston Marathons. In 2018, he received a lifetime achievement award for his fundraising efforts.

Sherry Login, Manager of Electric Vehicles Programs, Con Edison Company of New York, Inc.

Sherry Login is the Manager of Electric Vehicles Programs at the Consolidated Edison Company of New York. Con Edison operates one of the world’s largest energy delivery systems providing electricity and gas to the 10 million people who live in New York City and Westchester County. In 2017, Sherry pioneered the SmartCharge New York program, the first electric vehicle off‐peak charging incentive program to utilize a connected car technology to monitor charging behavior. This unique, innovative program currently has almost 2,000 light‐duty electric vehicles actively-enrolled and is in the process of expanding to include medium and heavy-duty electric vehicles. 

In 2015, Login spearheaded the creation of Con Edison’s workplace charging program which now covers 18 facilities. She holds an MBA and Master of Environmental Studies from Yale University, as well as a Bachelor of Science with Honors in Environmental Technology from Cornell University.

Wednesday, June 12

8:00–8:50 a.m. | Unmanned Traffic Management (UTM) and the Future of Unmanned Systems in Urban Airspace

Timothy Bennett, Air Domain Awareness, Science & Technology Directorate, Department of Homeland Security

Tim Bennett has over 30 years managing, designing, manufacturing and testing electronic warfare (EW); intelligence, surveillance & reconnaissance (ISR) and signal intelligence (SIGINT) systems for manned and unmanned systems. He started his career at NRL working on communication programs like the Classic Wizard. His recent accomplishments include leading the design and manufacturing of the Universal Ground Control Systems (UGCS) used to control the Gray Eagle, Shadow, Hunter and Orion UAS. In addition, as the Product Director, he led the effort for the design, manufacturing and testing of Orion UAS that holds the medium altitude long endurance (MALE) long endurance record for continuous flight.

Bennett took an appointment with the Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate in 2015 where he was the Deputy of the Program Executive Office (PEO) for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS). He led manned and unmanned airborne research and technology transfer for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), United States Coast Guard (USCG) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) for the Borders, Immigration and Maritime Division (BID). He currently is responsible for air domain awareness for Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate.

Steve Bradford, Chief Scientist for Architecture and NextGen Development, Federal Aviation Administration

Steve Bradford is the Chairman of the Technical Review Board that monitors technical decisions related to investments and the Enterprise Architecture. He works with elements of the FAA to develop midterm plans and five-year budget requests to implement NextGen including UAS related automation. He is the FAA lead for the FAA/NASA Research Transition Team process that supports collaboration between the FAA and NAS on ATM related activities. A current focus of the RTT process is collaboration on both UAS-in-the-NAS supporting vehicles operating in ATM, and UAS Traffic Management supporting operation in uncontrolled airspace. Both RTT’s depend on direct partnership with the UAS industry and provide many opportunities to look at new technology options for both UAS and traditional manned aircraft operations.

Bradford has a leading role in NextGen’s International Engagement. He was a member of the ICAO technical team that authored the latest Global Air Navigation Plan, the past US panel member and current advisor to the ICAO Air Traffic Management Requirements and Performance Panel, and is a technical advisor to the development of GANP 2019. He leads the FAA participation in several activities with SESAR Joint Undertaking, and has led several co-operative international efforts with EUROCONTROL.

Brent Ingraham, Director of Unmanned Systems, The Office of Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, Platform and Weapons Portfolio Management

In, April 2017, Brent Ingraham began serving as the director of Unmanned Systems at the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Platform and Weapons Portfolio Management Directorate, where he is responsible for the acquisition, policy, governance and developing technology roadmaps for unmanned, robotic and autonomous systems portfolio. The portfolio of systems spans across land, air, maritime, and space domains. Ingraham began his career in the automotive Industry, as a powertrain engineer, responsible for the development, design, and production of global platforms. During his tenure, he had unique experiences in developing engines with international customers and providing a principle role in forming global partnerships. In 2009, he joined the federal government as supporting the Joint Program Office Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle as the chief engineer for the MRAP All-Terrain Vehicle (M-ATV), where he was responsible for the engineering, production, and fielding of urgent lifesaving technology. In 2012 he assumed the role and associated duties as the chief engineer for the Joint Program Office. In 2013, he was awarded the Navy’s Top Scientist and Engineer of the Year Award for his work in the field of vehicle survivability.

In 2014, Ingraham was assigned to Pacific Command, where he was responsible for developing strategic plans and bilateral defense frameworks. Upon completion, he returned to support Marine Corps Combat Development Command to develop and transition Marine Corps warfighting capabilities. In 2015, he joined the Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division as the branch head for a multi-disciplinary technical organization responsible for rapid conception, research and development, production, fielding and lifecycle support of asymmetric disruptive capabilities.

Ingraham is a native of Vermont, and he received his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering in 1998 from the University of New Hampshire. During his career, Ingraham has received numerous citations and accolades for his contributions and dedication while in industry and during his career in the department. Most recently, he was awarded the 2019 Federal Computer Weekly FED 100 Award, celebrating these exceptional individuals, from both industry and government, who are transforming government and its ability to deliver on critical missions.

Parimal Kopardekar, Acting Director, NASA Aeronautics Research Institute (NARI)

Parimal Kopardekar (PK) serves as the Acting Director of NASA Aeronautics Research Institute (NARI). In that capacity, he is responsible for exploring new trends and needs related to aviation in the areas of autonomy, aeronautics manufacturing, and advanced air mobility. He also serves as NASA's senior technologist for Air Transportation Systems and principal investigator for the Unmanned Aircraft Systems Traffic Management (UTM) project. Dr. Kopardekar was formerly manager of the NASA’s Safe Autonomous System Operations Project, which developed autonomy related concepts, technologies, and architectures that will increase efficiency, safety, and capacity of airspace operations. Prior to that, he managed Next Generation Air Transportation Systems (NextGen) Concepts and Technology Development Project.

Dr. Kopardekar enjoys initiating new concepts and technology ideas that increase airspace capacity and throughput, reduce delays, and reduce the total cost of air transportation. At NASA, PK has initiated many innovative research projects including reduced crew operations, net-enabled air traffic management, autonomy for airspace operations, Shadow-Mode Assessment using Realistic Technologies for the National Airspace System (SMART NAS), and low-altitude airspace management system focused on Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) operations. In 2017, he was named among the 25 most influential people in the commercial drone industry. On behalf of his team, PK accepted the Service to America Medals (known as Oscar of Federal Workforce) in Promising Innovation Category in October 2018.

Dr. Kopardekar has published over 50 conference and journal papers with three best paper awards delivered more than 15 keynote talks at national and international conferences and participates as an expert with media on topics related to unmanned aircraft systems, urban air mobility, and autonomy. He is a Fellow of the American Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) and recipient of numerous NASA awards including Outstanding Leadership Medal and Engineer of the Year. He holds a doctorate and master’s degrees in Industrial Engineering and a bachelor’s degree in production engineering. He serves as the co-editor-in-chief of the Journal of Aerospace Operations.