TRB Symposium on Aviation Innovation and Research

Jeff Borowiec (Chair) Dr. Borowiec is an aviation program director at Woolpert. He serves on both the national planning team and the advanced aviation innovation team, where he manages airport planning projects and statewide advanced air mobility projects. He joined Woolpert after 28 years at the Texas A&M Transportation Institute where he was a Senior Research Scientist and Aviation Practice Leader. His project experience includes airport system planning, advanced air mobility, economic impact analysis, master planning, land use compatibility, aviation education, and high-speed rail planning. For 28 years he worked closely with the Texas Department of Transportation’s Aviation Division in support of their system planning activities. He has been active in both Transportation Research Board (TRB) and Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) activities. He recently completed two terms (six years) as Chair of the TRB Standing Committee on Aviation System Planning and is currently the chair of the TRB Aviation Group. He is an instrument-rated private pilot and holds a B.S. in Aeronautical Management Technology, a Master of Public Administration, and a Ph.D. in Urban and Regional Science, with a specialization in Transportation and Aviation from Texas A&M University. He also holds a Part 107 remote pilot certificate and is a Certified Member of the American Association of Airport Executives.

Courtney Beard In just nine years, Mead & Hunt Planner Courtney Beard has cultivated a reputation for thorough research, skilled analysis, and consistent authorship that supports aviation industry professionals, in carrying out their daily operations. Courtney’s expertise has grown through working on projects for more than 50 airports nationwide, on multiple state aviation system plans, including the Michigan Aviation System Plan, and environmental projects, such as Categorical Exclusions and Environmental Assessments. Courtney supports continuous development of guidance and best practices through the Transportation Research Board Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP). Courtney’s past research efforts include serving as the deputy project manager and a contributing author for ACRP Report 259 - Methods to Manage Tree Growth Near Airports, ACRP Report 223 - Performance Measures for State Aviation Agencies and ACRP Report 202 - Developing Innovative Strategies for Aviation Education and Participation. Courtney shares her passion for aviation through her involvement in industry organizations. Courtney is the chair of the TRB Standing Committee on Aviation Administration and Planning. She is also a member of the Great Lakes Chapter of Women in Aviation International and assists with planning the Michigan Aviation Professionals Training Course, an annual training opportunity tailored to airport managers and staff. 

Rylan Juran is the Aviation Planning Director for the Minnesota Department of Transportation’s Office of Aeronautics. He oversees airport master planning, Airport Layout Plans, airport compatibility planning, and Advanced Air Mobility programs. He has been with MnDOT for 10 years and an Aviation Planner since 2005.  He has a degree in Aviation Management from Embry-Riddle and a private pilot certificate.

Mia Held, ENV SP, MCRP is an Aviation & Sustainability Planner at C&S Companies in Philadelphia, PA. Originally from Buffalo, NY (Go Bills!), Mia is a proud graduate of The University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, NM with a Masters in Community & Regional Planning. She is passionate about the work she can contribute via her role as a Senior Consultant at C&S where her day-to-day work finds her advising airports, across the country on sustainability and environmental justice, as well as community engagement, resilience, advanced air mobility (AAM), and master planning projects. Mia is a member of the TRB Standing Committee on Aviation Administration and Planning, and a member of the board for Women in Transportation (WTS) Philadelphia. With a background in community organizing, education, and theatre, Mia brings passion, energy, and creativity to her work making a measurable difference in the sustainability and resilience of our aviation system.

Jens Hennig is responsible for GAMA’s activities in advancing safety, security, and operations. He is the association’s primary staff person on air traffic control modernization and issues affecting manufacturer flight operations. Jens’ engagement in policy and rulemaking committees during the past two decades, covers a wide range of topics including ADS-B rule development and implementation, standards for navigation and communications, and pilot qualification. He chaired FAA’s airman training and testing standards rulemaking committee, which developed the new framework for pilot training in the U.S. and also managed the agency’s review of the Part 135/125 regulations. He is actively engaged in the General Aviation Joint Safety Committee, which is an essential body to advance GA safety based on data- driven, systematic processes, and serves as co-chair of its Safety Analysis Team. Having joined GAMA in 2003 as Manager of Operations after a stint as manager of flight operations for contract training at Embry Riddle, Jens has advanced to Vice President, Operations. Originally from Örnsköldsvik, Sweden, he holds a Bachelor of Science with honors in Aerospace Engineering from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University and a Master of Business Administration in Aviation. Jens serves as the staff contact for GAMA’s Flight Operations Policy Committee and the Security Issues Committee.

Dan Barton is a Vice President with InterVISTAS, a strategic aviation mobility consulting firm. He is an experienced airport planner who understands the relationships between the physical, operational, and financial needs of an Airport. Dan has worked at over 55 airports globally. He has led the development of master plans for six airports, led landside master plans at more than a dozen airports, and has led technical analyses on many others. He also specializes in airport roads, curbsides, parking, and rental car planning. Dan holds an M.S. in Civil Engineering (Transportation) from University of California, Berkeley and a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Brigham Young University. He is currently Vice Chair of the Airport Planning and Operations Committee (APOC) for the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and a member of the TRB Standing Committee on Airport Landside Operations and Planning.

Max Li is an Assistant Professor of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He also has courtesy appointments in Civil and Environmental Engineering as well as Industrial and Operations Engineering. Max received his PhD in Aerospace Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2021. He earned his MSE in Systems Engineering and BSE in Electrical Engineering and Mathematics, both from the University of Pennsylvania, in 2018. Max’s research and teaching interests include air transportation systems, airport and airline operations, Advanced Air Mobility, networked systems, as well as optimization and control.

Chris Oswald joined ACI-NA as Vice President, Safety and Regulatory Affairs in October 2008. He has primary responsibility for ACI-NA’s activities in safety, capacity, operations, design and other technical issues; and is the committee secretary to the Operations and Technical Committee. Oswald serves as ACI-NA’s representative on industry and government committees as well as working groups focusing on safety, capacity, operations, design and technical issues; and develops, coordinates, and presents policy recommendations and proposals for ACI-NA, and our members on safety, capacity, operations, design and other technical issues. Specific areas of focus within his portfolio include the Next Generation Air Transportation System; airport safety management systems; irregular operations planning, response and recovery; airport ground access, terminal, and airfield planning, design, and operations; and airport capital project delivery systems. Oswald is a graduate of Harvey Mudd College, with a degree in engineering, and also holds a master’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Texas at Austin.

Carla Hackworth Dr. Hackworth has been with the Federal Aviation Administration for over 20 years. She serves as the FAA Aerospace Human Factors Research Division Manager (AAM-500). She is responsible for a program of applied human factors research of field and laboratory investigations within aviation work environments. The Aerospace Human Factors Research Division of the Civil Aerospace Medical Institute is known as a leader in aviation human factors research. It is a full-spectrum research facility that performs research related to every phase of flight from take-off to landing for both air traffic and flight operations. Research outcomes empower science-based, data-driven decision-making for National Aerospace System expansion, efficiency, and safety. Dr. Hackworth has led assessments of organizational effectiveness, stakeholder satisfaction, general aviation testing issues, weather-related general aviation incidents, human factors in aviation maintenance, risk-based decision making. To date, she has authored and co-authored over 30 publications examining aviation human factors. She is a past president of the Aerospace Human Factors Association. In 2020, Dr. Hackworth received the Aerospace Human Factors Association Henry L. Taylor Award in recognition for her outstanding contributions in the field of Aerospace Human Factors. Recently, Dr. Hackworth is serving on various workgroups considering human factors in commercial space flight operations and guest editor for the Journal of Aviation/Aerospace Education & Research (JAAER) special issue on Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Yazan Safadi is a Ph.D. candidate in Transportation Engineering at the Technion, specializing in Low-Altitude Air city Transport (LAAT). His research focuses on developing algorithms for LAAT traffic flow modeling and control. Yazan has presented his innovative work at prestigious conferences like the Transportation Research Board (TRB) Annual Meeting. He is a passionate leader, having organized sessions at international conferences and serving on the TRB's former Standing Committee on New Users of Shared Airspace as well as new Standing Committee on Managing Airfield and Airspace Operations.