AIAA Pacific Northwest Section Presents
18th Annual
Tech Symposium
Where Pacific Northwest aerospace meets the future
Register Now →
Join AIAA’s Pacific Northwest Section for a full day of cutting-edge aerospace research, engineering innovation, and industry networking set against the inspiring backdrop of the Museum of Flight. This year’s symposium brings together researchers, engineers, and students from across the region.
Awards & Recognition
Nominations Are Open
Engineer, educator, volunteer — put forth a worthy candidate (yourself included!) to be honored during the noon break at Tech Symposium.
Submit Your Nomination → or contact us directly at [email protected]12 presentations across aerospace, propulsion, avionics & more
Our Speakers
Eddie is a Ph.D. candidate in Aeronautics and Astronautics at the University of Washington, where his research bridges flight science, control theory, and machine learning. His SCALOS project — sponsored by NASA’s Commercial Supersonic Technology program — examines how supersonic transport airframe configurations behave during takeoff, approach, and landing. Testing was conducted at UW’s Kirsten Wind Tunnel, and the findings have direct implications for the next generation of commercial supersonic aircraft.
With over 30 years of international experience spanning Boeing, Airbus, Bombardier, Dassault, and more, Neno is a registered Professional Engineer in Washington and an adjunct professor at UW. He holds U.S. and EU patents in aircraft electrical systems. His talk addresses a critical safety challenge in modern aviation: how to safely transfer power between multiple variable-frequency AC generators operating at different frequencies and phase angles on a shared aircraft power bus — a growing priority as aircraft electrical systems grow ever more complex.
Andrei is the co-founder and CEO/CTO of Jetoptera, a Seattle-based propulsion and aerial mobility startup. A Ph.D. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from Rutgers and a former GE9X Technology Maturation Leader at GE Aviation, Andrei brings deep engineering pedigree to his vision of making aerial mobility commonplace. His talk will showcase Jetoptera’s proprietary Fluidic Propulsive System™ — a distributed propulsion architecture that enables V/STOL aircraft with superior speed, range, payload, and efficiency compared to traditional rotor-based designs.
Dr. Mavris is a Distinguished Regents Professor and Boeing Professor of Advanced Aerospace Systems Analysis at Georgia Tech. Under his leadership, the Aerospace Systems Design Laboratory (ASDL) has grown into the largest lab of its kind, with a global reputation for excellence. His work spans conceptual aircraft design, system-of-systems thinking, design optimization under uncertainty, and collaboration between academia, industry, and government.
Ron has been fascinated by space exploration his entire life. Since 2001 he has served as a Solar System Ambassador for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, sharing the excitement of planetary science with the public. That passion led him to the Museum of Flight in Seattle, where he has hosted astronauts, astronomers, and planetary scientists for public programs. He currently teaches classes for Bellevue College’s TELOS Retiree Education program and continues to volunteer at the Museum of Flight.
Jonathan is a spacecraft mechanisms engineer known for turning ambitious concepts into flight hardware. Currently Principal Spacecraft Engineer at Amazon and an Affiliate Assistant Professor at UW, he previously led deployable spacecraft technologies at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory for missions including RainCube, MarCO, and Europa Clipper. He has secured over $3.6M in funded research advancing technologies from TRL0 to TRL9 and is a recipient of the Presidential Early Career Award (PECASE) and an AIAA Associate Fellow.
Christina is a PhD student in Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Washington, focusing on sustainable aviation technologies. Her recent work, EdgeVision Detect-and-Avoid, is an ultra-low SWaP AI vision system designed for long-range detection of non-cooperative aircraft in support of Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS). The project aims to enable safer small-drone operations in shared airspace. Christina’s work bridges electrical engineering, computer vision, and aerospace — pushing forward both sustainability and safety in the future of flight.
Shawn is an Avionics Systems Engineer at Boeing specializing in Navigation Sensor Systems, currently pursuing an M.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Washington. His work spans GNSS real-time kinematics, autonomous systems, and experimental flight test operations. Shawn received the Excellent Award at the inaugural IEEE New Era AI Innovation Challenge for his team’s work on drone-based AI systems that reduce multipath error in GPS, enabling more reliable autonomy in complex environments.
Gaudy is the Project Manager for NASA’s Electrified Powertrain Flight Demonstration (EPFD), leading a multidisciplinary team across four NASA centers and two industry partners to demonstrate megawatt-class electrified aircraft propulsion technologies. Her work focuses on transitioning these technologies to the U.S. aviation fleet and reducing aviation’s carbon footprint. With over four decades at NASA, she has held leadership roles across aeronautics and space programs, including Environmentally Responsible Aviation and Advanced Air Transport Technology, and contributed to STS-134, the second-to-last shuttle Endeavour flight.
Professor Hermanson holds a BS from the University of Washington and MS and PhD degrees in Aeronautics from Caltech. His research spans compressible flow, combustion, and two-phase systems, with applications in scramjets, spacecraft propulsion, and CubeSat thrusters. He has authored 100+ publications, is a Fellow of ASME and an AIAA Associate Fellow, and has received an NSF CAREER Award among other honors. Last summer, he flew in a U.S. Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet with the Blue Angels, pulling up to 7.5 Gs.
Melissa co-founded Off Planet Research in 2015 to produce high-fidelity simulants of lunar and planetary regolith and ices, helping organizations learn to operate beyond Earth orbit. A mechanical engineer, she works with clients including NASA and ESA. She serves on the LEAG Commercial Advisory Board and leads LSIC’s Extreme Environment Regolith/Surface Interface subgroup. OPR received Phase II SBIR funding from the NSF for a portable process to produce icy regolith simulants, and Melissa has co-authored research on volatile extraction from lunar ice.
Karl is a Mandarin-speaking wireless and mobile ecosystem specialist with over a decade in smart cards, semiconductors, and RF technology. He spent five years in China driving adoption of NFC payments and TEE security across the smartphone ecosystem. Earlier roles include RF product marketing at Motorola/Freescale and international sales at Zetron. Karl holds a wireless/broadband certification from UW and has delivered dozens of presentations on satellite IoT and 6G across Asia, Europe, and America. His current focus: global satellite IoT and multi-orbit direct-to-device services.
Secure Your Seat
Tickets are limited. Don’t miss out on this unique opportunity to learn, make contacts, and be a part of the conversation about the future of aerospace in the Pacific Northwest.
Museum of Flight · April 18, 2026