Dr. Vascik's lecture will engage the audience in discussion about how the recent advancements in mobility electrification have opened a revolutionary third era of aircraft design promising step changes in aircraft performance, efficiency, and cost. Although the specific energy, cost, and real-world operational limitations of batteries excludes full-electric manned aircraft beyond short-range missions, the thoughtful application of electric propulsion complements conventional combustion engines and opens a wealth of new vehicle design opportunities.
For hybrid-electric propulsion, the devil is in the details. Dr. Vascik will use Electra's turbine-hybrid EL9 "Ultra Short" aircraft as a case study to discuss the implementation, limitations, and opportunities of hybridization today. Furthermore, Electra is leading a 25-year technology roadmapping study for NASA to provide leadership on how hybrid-electric powertrains will mature from small aircraft applications to regional jet and airliner concepts by 2050. Dr. Vascik will transition the discussion to brainstorm how future high-efficiency airframes with tightly integrated hybrid propulsion systems will enable optimization for efficiency, noise, and performance unreachable by conventional power trains.
Lastly, with nearly $20B invested in electrified aircraft during the past 10 years, dozens of credible new companies, and hundreds of new aircraft concepts, the third era of aviation is revitalizing the aeronautical engineering workforce pipeline and attracting the world's best talent back to the passion of flight. Aviation is having a Space-X moment and would be remiss to squander that once-in-many generations opportunity. Dr. Vascik will speak to the students concerning how their timing could not be better for career-defining programs, experiences, and impact.
Dr. Vascik is a systems engineer focused on the intersection of emerging technologies, business, and policy. While rapidly advancing technology is enabling the development of a new generation of increasingly electric and autonomous aircraft, Dr. Vascik concentrates on the critical role that the systems and economics surrounding aircraft operations play in their ultimate viability and time-to-market. Dr. Vascik completed his Ph.D. at MIT, as well as dual MS degrees in aerospace engineering and technology policy. His undergraduate was at Georgia Tech. He currently is a research engineer at MIT's International Center for Air Transportation and the director of product strategy for Electra. Dr. Vascik previously supported autonomy development programs at Joby Aviation and Xwing, and was a nominated expert to ICAO CAEP working group 4 where he contributed to the development and sustainment of international environmental policies