Dr M Vijaya Kumar
Dr M Vijaya Kumar, LM No. 1143 Former Executive Director, Retired from RWRDC, HAL, Bengaluru. Born on 26 May 1957 Tirthahalli, Shivamogaa District, Karnataka. M.Tech from Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. Ph.D. in Engineering, Department of Aerospace Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. Member American Helicopter Society, USA. Presented technical papers related to Helicopter Research/Technology in conferences held in India, USA, Netherlands, Singapore, UK and Canada. Published technical papers in National and International Journals related to Helicopter Research/Technology. I have 37+ Years of Experience in the various roles in Rotary Wing Research and Design Centre(RWRDC), HAL. I was involved in design of ALH, LCH, LUH helicopters. Two projects Rotary UAV and Indian Multi Role Helicopter (IMRH) were launched when I was head of RWRDC. I have domain expertise in Aviation & Defence Sector. I was heading RWRDC division for 6 years( 2011-2017). Honoured with “Igor Sikorsky” award by Rotary Wing Society of India (RWSI), and Platinum Jubilee award by Aerospace Engineering Department of Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru. I will bring in my experience in Design and Development of helicopters and close association with Academia which would help me serve in RWSI.
Air Chief Marshal Fali H Major PVSM, AVSM, SC, VM (Retd)
Air Chief Marshal Fali Homi Major was born on 29 May 1947 in Secunderabad and was Commissioned in the Indian Air Force on 31 Dec 1967. The Air Chief Marshal has flown over 7000 hours on various aircraft & helicopters. He has held a number of important Operational & Staff appointments which included the raising &commanding the IAF’s first Mi-17 Squadron, which operated at the Siachen Glacier – the world’s highest battlefield. He commanded yet another Mi-17 Squadron, leading it into battle during the Indian Peace Enforcement Operations in Sri Lanka. He has commanded two front-line Air Bases of the IAF, including Leh (Ladhak) – the highest Operational Air Base in the world at an altitude of 11,000 feet. He has also held some very important Staff appointments in Air Headquarters which include Principal Director (Operations), Assistant Chief of Air Staff (Personnel), Deputy Chief of Integrated Defence Staff (Operations) and Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the IAF’s Eastern Air Command. He was appointed as the 18th Chief of the Air Staff of the Indian Air Force on 31 March 2007.
The Air Chief Marshal is a highly decorated officer with two Presidential Gallantry Awards & two Presidential Distinguished Service Awards for exceptional service to the Nation. After a distinguished career of over four decades, the Air Chief Marshal retired on 31 May 2009.
Post retirement, the Government appointed him as an Independent Director of the National Airline – Air India. Till recently, the Air Chief Marshal was Member, National Security Advisory Board, Government of India. He is an avid golfer and cricket fan.
Air Cmde Rohith Vijayadev VM
Air Cmde Rohith Vijayadev VM, was commissioned in the IAF on 21 Jun 97. He has flown over 6200 hrs as a Transport pilot and has operated in all sectors in India and abroad. He is a Cat‘A’ QFI on HPT-32 and Kiran ac and is qualified Cat‘A’/ Master Green on Avro, Embraer and Do-228 aircraft.
He has commanded two transport units and has been a Qualified Flying Instructor in AFA, Directing Staff at FIS and an Air Force Examiner. He has had two tenures in Air HQ Comn Sqn. He is an alumni of DSSC Wellington and has also successfully completed Naval Higher Command Course from Naval War College, Goa. He was commended by the CAS while in Air HQ Comn Sqn and was awarded the Vayusena Medal for devotion to duty.
Dr. Arvind Sinha
Dr. Arvind Sinha : Career Span Covers Military, government bodies, industry and academia. Has held wide positions from Command of Military Units to Manager of Aerospace Design office, Director of Aerospace and Aviation Research Centre, Dean faculty of Aviation to Director of Engineering Aviation in Department of Defence. Degrees cover Bachelors in Science & Engineering, Masters in Electronics, Aerospace & Business and a PHD in Aerospace Design.
Several Awards, including military/academia and VFS highest award “The Dr Alexander Klemin Award”. Has served speciality military units like electronic Warfare, Airborne Forces and is still an active combatant paratrooper /skydiver.
Mr. Mike Hirschberg
Mike Hirschberg is the Director of Strategy of the Vertical Flight Society (VFS) in June 2023, after 12 years serving as the Society’s Executive Director.
Prior to joining VFS in 2011, he worked for 20 years in the aerospace industry, primarily in vertical flight. Mike was previously a principal aerospace engineer with CENTRA Technology (now Amentum), providing technical and program management support for over 10 years to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and Office of Naval Research (ONR) on advanced aircraft and rotorcraft concepts. Prior to this, he worked from 1994 to 2001 in the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) Program Office, supporting the development of the X-32 and X-35 vertical flight propulsion systems. Mike also served as the Managing Editor of Vertiflite magazine from 1999 to 2011 and had been a contributing author since 1997.
Mike holds a BS in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Virginia (1991), a Masters of Mechanical Engineering from Catholic University of America (1996) and a Master of Business Administration from the Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University (Virginia Tech) in 2013. He is an Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) and a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS).
Wg. Cdr. B. S. Singh Deo
Wg. Cdr. B. S. Singh Deo is a former Indian Air Force officer with over 8,000 hours of flying experience in 5 types of aeroplanes and 14 types of helicopters. Commissioned in December, 1969 (CAS Medal and Flying Trophy). Flew Mi-4 in 107 HU in the 1971 War in Rajasthan Sector. Flew the Mi-8 in 118 HU and was VVIP qualified as a Flg. Offr. Posted to 121 HF and was among the first to operate the Mi-8 in Bombay High oil rigs. Did FIS in 1975 (Flying Trophy) and was QFI in HT-2 in Bidar. Awarded A-2 QFI Cat and was then posted to ASTE for PTP Course (Gp. Capt. Suranjan Das Trophy and CAS Trophy). Posted as Staff TP and Instructor in Test Pilot’s School. Did a tenure in Aircrew Examining Board and did QFI Cat A-1. Did a 2-Year deputation to Iraq as instructor in their Helicopter Instructors’ School and again another tenure in AEB.
Air Marshal AS Butola
JAir Marshal AS Butola was commissioned in the Indian Air Force in June 1982. He has served all over India and abroad and has about 7000 hrs of accident/incident free to his credit. He is a graduate of Defence Service Staff College and National Defence College and holds a M Phil Degree in Defence Studies.
He is a qualified Flying Instructor and an experimental Test Pilot. He served as an instructor in the basic stage training of both fixed wing and helicopter Training Schools. He was Senior Flying Instructor in the Namibian Defence Force between from 1997 to 1999. As an experimental Test Pilot he was involved in prototype testing and certification of ALH and Chital helicopters between 2001 and 2005. He also served as a Experimental Test Pilot with Mil Design Bureau, Moscow during 2009-10 for Mi-17 V-5 project.
After successful operational tenures, he served as Principal Director Administration in the Strategic Forces Command, Senior officer Administration and Senior Air Staff Officer of Central Air Command, Assistant Chief of Air Staff Operations (T&H) at Air HQ and Commandant of Air Force Academy before taking over as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Training Command of the Indian Air Force. He superannuated from the Indian Air Force on 30 Sept 2020 after more than 38 years of service.
Air Marshal AS Butola was awarded Commendation Card by the Commander-in Chief and Chief of Air Staff in 1985 and 1988 respectively. For His distinguished service to the nation he was awarded by the President of India with Vayu Sena Medal in 2002, Vishisht Seva Medal in 2005 and Param Vishisht Seva Medal in 2021.
Dr. S. N. Omkar
Dr. S. N. Omkar’s research interests include Satellite image processing, Uninhabited Air Vehicles (UAV), Drone Computing, Nature-inspired algorithms, Biomechanics and Yoga. He has developed several algorithms and used them for a variety of applications like road extraction, flood assessment, crop classification, crop growth analysis, radiation monitoring etc. The other facet of Dr. Omkar’s research includes composite design optimization using nature inspired techniques. He has also pioneered in using biomechanical simulation framework for analysis of yogic postures. Dr. Omkar is also a celebrated practitioner and teacher of Yoga. He has been conferred the Karnataka State Rajyothsava Award from the Government of Karnataka and the Kempegowda Award from Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike for his contributions in the field of Yoga.
Mr. Saleem Zaheer
Mr. Saleem Zaheer is Chief Commercial Officer at XTI Aircraft Company in the US, developing a long-range, high-speed VTOL aircraft, the TriFan 600.
His broad experience in the aviation industry over 40 years includes service as an Indian Air Force pilot, and in the airlines and corporate aviation in the US, the Middle East and South Asia. He has led flight operations functions at three airlines and is a former United Airlines captain and a pilot with 15,000 flight hours on 28 different aircraft including the MiG 21, Learjet, Airbus 320 and Boeing 777.
He served as Vice President Flight Operations and Vice President Special Projects for IndiGo here in India between 2009 and 2016.
Mr. Brent Klavon
Brent Klavon is the Chief Strategy Officer of ANRA Technologies, a provider of solutions for autonomous transportation for Advanced Air Mobility and UTM/U-space. Brent represents industry as a thought leader, being well versed in the nexus of policy, regulations, standards, technology, and social acceptance. A retired US Navy pilot, he is a certified Commercial Pilot and Remote Pilot.
Gp Capt AK Sachdev (Retd)
Gp Capt AK Sachdev (Retd) has four Masters degrees and was a Senior Research Fellow at Manohar Parikkar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses. He flew multi-engine jets and helicopters in the IAF. He has published one book, one monograph and numerous articles in aviation/ military magazines and journals.
He has commanded an operational IAF station, worked as COO of an airline, CEO of an air charter company and co-founded a trip support software company.
Mr. James A. Viola
James Viola is the President of the Helicopter Association International (HAI). Previously he served in the Federal Aviation Administration achieving the position of acting Deputy Associate Administrator, Aviation Safety. He is the Industry Advisor on the Vertical Aviation Safety Team, VAST. Viola is on the Department of Transportation Advanced Aviation Advisory Committee to the FAA and has testified before Congress on safety issues and priority policy issues to the vertical flight industry. He is the Chairman of the International Federation of Helicopter Associations and holds a Master’s degree in International Relations.
Mr. Somen Chouwdhury
Somen Chouwdhury is an aerospace engineering and business development consultant with over forty (40) years of International multi-sectoral experience in managing major technology and research and research and development projects.
Somen Chowdhury has a B.Tech Hons degree from IIT Kharagpur in Aeronautical engineering and a Master of Science from the School of Aerospace studies purdue university.
Mr. Chowdhury has also been involved in developing strategic plans in identifying core technologies that need to be worked within an OEM and how talent and resources can be leveraged from universities, laboratories and internationally to further improve efficiency and productivity. He has been instrumental in setting up Bell Helicopter’s engineering and research office in Bangalore.
Mr. Chowdhury’s leadership and organizational abilities have been demonstrated in his instrumental role in the creation of the International Helicopter Safety Team (IHST) Originating as his vision he has successfully developed an international initiative in bringing helicopter accidents down by 80% by 2016.
He is recipient of the Government of India National Science Talent award, the Lawrence Bell Pioneer award from Bell Helicopter, the Honorary Fellow ship award the group Agusta award from the AHS International and the Igor Sikorsky award from the RWSI for major contribution to helicopter activities in India.
Mr. Sanjay Gattani
Sanjay is an accomplished leader generating value-driven solutions in all aspects of engineering life-cycle. His aerospace career spans more than 27 years progressing through senior management roles and finally becoming the Chief Engineer at Triumph Aerostructures. He has led large engineering teams on airplane programs such as Boeing 737-900ER, Airbus A350-900, Boeing 787-8/-9, Gulfstream G280/G650, and Bombardier Global 7500.
He is presently the Head of India Operations at Jaunt and also engaged in aircraft certification. Sanjay obtained his Bachelor’s from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay in 1985 and received his Master’s in 1987 and Ph.D. in Engineering in 1993.
Mr. Kamonlaphat Sitthitharanon
Kamonlaphat is a first-year Mechanical and Process System Engineering student at Suranaree University of Technology, where he previously earned a Bachelor’s degree in Aeronautical Engineering at the same university. As a research assistant, He is currently contributing to the Development of Standardization Framework for UAV Airworthiness in Thailand project. Though he has not yet received any awards, he is ready to dedication to his field of study and commitment to advancing UAV airworthiness in Thailand demonstrate his potential for future accomplishments.
Dr. J.V.R. Prasad
Dr. Prasad is a Professor and Associate Director of the Vertical Lift Research Center of Excellence at Georgia Tech. He received his B.Techfrom IIT, Madras and his M.S and Ph.D. from Georgia Tech. He served as the Editor-In-Chief of the Journal of the AHS, and Chair of the VFS Handling Qualities and UAV Tech Committees. He currently is a Member of the VFS Technical Council, Member of the Board of Directors of the Vertical Lift Consortium, and VFS Southern Regional Director. He is an AIAA Fellow and a VFS Technical Fellow.
Mr. Rahul Jaiswal
Rahul Jaiswal is currently pursuing his MTech in Aerospace Engineering from the Defence Institute of Advanced Technology (DIAT), Pune. His MTech project is on developing a digital twin of a UAV under the supervision of Dr. SN Omkar at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore. He completed his BTech in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Petroleum and Energy Studies (UPES), Dehradun. He also has a year of job experience as a UAV pilot at Asteria Aerospace, where he also obtained his drone license. Rahul’s major interests are in UAV design and flying. He is passionate about using UAVs to solve real-world problems, such as disaster relief, aerial photography, and surveillance. He is also interested in the development of new UAV technologies, such as autonomous flight and artificial intelligence.
Mr. Nouman Uddin
Nouman Uddin is currently pursuing M. Tech. in Aerodynamics and Flight Mechanics at Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST), Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. Earlier, he was working as a Project Research Assistant at Lighter-than-Air Systems Laboratory, Aerospace Engineering Department, IIT Bombay, Mumbai, India under an ISRO sponsored project related to design of a UAV for exploration over Mars. He has completed his B. Tech. in Aeronautical Engineering from Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Technical University, Lucknow in 2020, and was consistently in the top student of his class during all the four years of his course. He did a one-month summer training at ADRDE, DRDO in Agra, followed by a two-month project work at IIT Bombay. Later, he was selected as a Research Intern under the "IRCC Research Internship Award 2019-20" at IIT Bombay He received “Special recognition” for “Academic Excellence Award” in Students-UG (National) category” presented by the Institution of Engineers, India.
Mr. K Sravan Kumar
Mr K Sravan Kumar is currently working as Senior Manager (Rotor Design) in Rotary Wing R&D Center of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). He joined HAL in 2012 after graduating from National Institute of Technology, Trichi. He has been associated with the rotor and blade development programmes of various rotary wing platforms of HAL. His areas of interests include Rotor Blade design, Composite Materials, Blade Fold design and rotor head & upper control design.
Mr. Vineeth Kumar C
Mr. Vineeth Kumar C is currently working as Chief Manager (Rotor Design) in Rotary Wing R&D Center of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). He joined HAL in 2007 and has since been associated with various on-going and futuristic rotary wing development programmes of HAL. He has completed Master’s degree in Aerospace Dynamics from Cranfield University, UK. His areas of interest include preliminary and detail design of Rotor Systems, kinematic analysis, materials, upper control design etc.
Mr. Jeffrey Lewis
Jeffrey Lewis is a senior design engineer for Jaunt Air Mobility. Before joining Jaunt, Jeff was Engineering Manager at Carter Aviation Technologies with over 18 years of experience with slowed rotor compound technologies and aircraft. He took over and led the completion and flight test support of Carter‘s second PAV prototype and managed Carter’s team and subcontractors on the DARPA TERN program. Jeff led and participated in multiple conceptual design efforts and has experience in detail design, modeling, and simulation. He has a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Maryland.
Ms. Auraluck Pichitkul
After working as a lecturer for 2 years, Auraluck received the Royal Thai Government Scholarship to pursue her Ph.D. in the U.S. During the course of her study, she worked under a supervision of Prof. Lakshmi N. Sankar at Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology. After earning her Ph.D., she returned to her home country in Thailand and continued to work as a lecturer at the School of Mechanical Engineering, Suranaree University of Technology. Her research interests include rotary-wing aerodynamics, aeroacoustics, electric-powered aircraft and UAVs.
Ms. Aishwerya Gahlot
Aishwerya is a PhD candidate at Georgia Institute of Technology. In 2020, she graduated first in her class with a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Petroleum & Energy Studies, India. Before pursuing her graduate studies, she gained valuable industry experience by working in the Aerospace industry for over a year. Currently, Aishwerya is a graduate research assistant at Georgia Tech’s Vertical Lift Research Center of Excellence under the guidance of Dr. L. N Sankar. Her research focuses on studying the impact of rain and icing on Air Mobility Systems. She is also a recipient of the Jing Yen Cost Awareness Scholarship Award by the Vertical Flight Foundation.
Ms. Snigdha L M
Currently pursuing Integrated Bachelor‘s and Master’s Degree in Aerospace Engineering at Indian Institute of Technology Madras. Her field of interests are Structural Dynamics and Aeroelasticity and Data Driven Modelling. She has done students level research in topics like, Stochastic Stability Analysis and Electric Tilt-Rotor Aircraft Dynamics.
Mr. Rahul
Rahul has completed M. Tech in Data Science and Engineering from BITS Pilani and has more than 15 years of experience in Aerospace Industry. His area of expertise includes Rotary Wing Flight Testing, Telemetry Systems, Instrumentation, Calibration of Test & Measuring Instruments and Accident/ Incident Investigation Analysis of Cockpit Voice and Flight Data Recorder. He has also developed software for Flight Data Animation and Analysis. His interests are application of AI/ML techniques to Flight Test and FDR data analysis
Mr. Tittu George
Tittu George holds an M.Tech degree in Data Science and Engineering from BITS Pilani and has two international papers to his name. He has been working in the aerospace industry for over 14 years and has held various roles during his career. He started his career as a Flight Instrumentation Engineer for LCA, where he gained extensive knowledge in designing and developing instrumentation systems for aircraft. He then transitioned to the role of Control System Engineer, where he spent the next 7 years working on the design and development of control systems for helicopters.