NRC TRB AEDT COMMITTEE
Chair: Wesley L. Harris [NAE 1995] is Charles Stark Draper Professor of Aeronautics
and Astronautics, Head of the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and Director
of the Lean Sustainment Initiative at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
From 1993 to 1995, he served as Associate Administrator for Aeronautics at NASA
where he was responsible for all programs, facilities, and personnel in aeronautics. From
1990 to 1993 he was Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer of the University
of Tennessee Space Institute (UTSI) and from 1985 to 1990 served as Dean of the School
of Engineering and Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Connecticut
at Storrs. From 1972 to 1985, Dr. Harris held several faculty and administrative positions
at MIT, including Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics. He has worked with
industry and government to design and build joint industry-government-university
research and development programs, centers, and institutes and has helped to facilitate
the effective transfer of technology. He has served as chair and member of various
boards and committees of the following organizations: the National Research Council
(NRC), the National Science Foundation (NSF), the U.S. Army Science Board, the
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), the American Helicopter
Society (AHS), the National Technical Association (NTA), and several state
governments. He is credited with more than 100 technical papers and presentations. Dr.
Harris holds a Bachelor of Science degree in aerospace engineering from the University
of Virginia, and MS and Ph.D. degrees in aerospace and mechanical sciences from
Princeton University.
Meyer J. Benzakein [NAE 2001] is General Manager, Advanced Engineering at GE
Aircraft Engines where he is responsible for leading the technology development efforts
and the certification/qualification of new engine products. His charter is to ensure that
customer expectations as well as the needs of GEAE multigenerational product plans are
met. In this capacity he is responsible for GEAE front-end initiatives in driving
technology maturation and strengthening the linkage between preliminary design, engine
systems and production hardware design. Dr. Benzakein joined General Electric in 1967
where he served in a number of positions in the Advanced Technology and Project and
Product Engineering departments He led the CFM56 Engineering Program from 1984 to
1993 and the GE90 Engineering Program from 1993 to 1995. In 1995, he became
General Manager for Engine Systems Design and Integration, where he had responsibility
for engineering leadership and technical oversight of GE Evendale Commercial and
Military Aircraft Engines. In 1996, he became General Manager, Advanced Engineering.
Dr. Benzakein was elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering in 2001.
That same year he received the Gold Medal Award from the Royal Aeronautical Society,
where he became a Fellow in 2002. Dr. Benzakein received his Mechanical Engineering
degree in 1960, an MSME in 1963, and a Ph.D. in Engineering Mechanics in 1967.
Lawrence W. (Larry) Craig is Chief Engineer for Noise and Emissions at Boeing
Commercial Airplanes, where he has been employed since 1972. His job scope includes
noise and emissions certification, noise and emissions rule coordination, operational
procedures for reduced community noise and emissions, airline fleet support, customer
guarantee development and compliance, analysis and design support for noise control,
simulator noise documentation, sonic environment estimates for fatigue analysis, product
development configuration study support, and subsonic research programs. He is also
Chairman of the Industry Steering Committee for the NASA Advanced Subsonic
Technology Noise Reduction Program. From June,1972 until May, 1994, he held the
following positions in noise engineering at Boeing: Unit Chief of the 777 Program where
he managed a group of noise engineers developing requirements, design
recommendations and test planning for 777 cabin, ramp and community noise;
Supervisor of Research for a group of engineers focused on cabin noise research
supporting development and installation of unducted fan engines; Engineer and Lead
Engineer on the 747/767 Programs to provide community, cabin and ramp noise analysis,
design and test support. Mr. Craig has received a number of awards from NASA and
Boeing for his engineering, research, and supervisory achievements in aircraft noise
reduction. He has a B.S. degree in aeronautics and astronautics and an MS degree in civil
engineering from the University of Washington.
Gerard M. Faeth [NAE 1991] is Arthur B. Modine Professor of Aerospace Engineering
and Head of the Gas Dynamics Laboratories at the University of Michigan. From 1958
to 1985 he was a faculty member at The Pennsylvania State University from which he
retired as Professor Emeritus of Mechanical Engineering. Dr. Faeth has been associated
with theoretical and experimental research concerning combustion, transport, and fluid
dynamics since 1959. He has acted as Principal Investigator for projects supported by
NASA, numerous other federal agencies, and many private corporations. Currently he is
the principal Investigator for the NASA Laminar Soot Processes (LSP) Experiment
which flew three times on space shuttles, and the NASA Soot Processes Experiment
(SPICE) which is planned as a future space flight experiment. His many professional
affiliations include membership in the National Academy of Engineering (NAE), the
Combustion Institute, and the American Physical Society. He is a Fellow of the
American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), the American Institute of
Aeronautics and Astronautics (AAIA) and the American Association for the
Advancement of Science. Dr. Faeth is author or co-author of more than four hundred
articles and papers, and has served as Editor and Technical Editor of several professional
journals. His many awards include the NASA Public Service Medal (1999) and
numerous “Best Paper” awards as author and co-author, from ASME and the AIAA. Dr.
Faeth holds a B.M.E.degree from Union College in New York, and M.S. and PhD.
degrees in mechanical engineering from The Pennsylvania State University.
Dimitri N. Mavris is Associate Professor of Aerospace Engineering and Boeing Chair in
Advanced Aerospace Systems Analysis at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Since
1998, he has also been Director of the Aerospace Systems Design Laboratory at Georgia
Tech’s School of Aerospace Engineering. His prior positions at the Georgia Institute of
Technology School of Aerospace Engineering include: Assistant Professor (1996 to
2001), Visiting Professor (1995 to 1996), Associate Director and Manager, Aerospace
Systems Design Laboratory (1992-1998), Research Engineer II (1992 to 1995), and Post
Doctoral Fellow (1989 to 1992). His professional service and development activities
include: Deputy Director of the Aircraft Technology Integration and Operations Group
of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (A1AA); Chair of the AIAA
Aircraft Design Technical Committee, 2000-2002; member of the Governing Committee
of the International Council of Aerospace Sciences (ICAS); and member of the Advisory
Board for the NASA Glenn Research Center for Propulsion System Technology. He
holds three degrees in aerospace engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology: a
B.S. degree (1984), an MS degree (1985), and a Ph.D. degree (1988).
Angela Gittens is Director of the Miami–Dade Aviation Department. In this position,
she is responsible for the operations and management of Miami International Airport and
five general aviation airports. Before joining the Miami–Dade Aviation Department, Ms.
Gittens was Vice President of TBI Airport Management, a company that manages airport
facilities under contract. Prior to that, she directed Hartsfield Atlanta International
Airport. She began her aviation career as Deputy Director for Business and Finance at
San Francisco International Airport. She was previously Deputy Administrator at San
Francisco General Hospital and Assistant Vice President of the New York City Health
and Hospitals Corporation. She has served on the Federal Aviation Administration’s
Research, Engineering and Development Advisory Committee, and on the NRC
Committee for a Study of an Airport Cooperative Research Program. Ms. Gittens earned
a bachelor’s degree from Farleigh Dickinson University.
Ian Jopson is Project Manager for Noise Effects Research at the Environmental
Research and Consultancy Department of the United Kingdom’s Civil Aviation
Authority/National Air Traffic Services, Ltd. He joined the CAA in 1992 to design and
implement large-scale social surveys in the London area relating to the human impacts of
aircraft noise, including sleep disturbance. His current projects include the development
of tools to optimize airport operations through the integration of noise and emissions
analyses, and managing a large-scale analysis of the westerly preference arrangements at
London’s Heathrow airport. He is also assisting EUROCONTROL with the development
of their SOPHOS environmental assessment tool and the design of a pan-European
continuous descent approach procedure. Mr. Jopson has a BSc in social science and
demography from the University of Southampton, a diploma in Acoustics and Noise
Control from South Bank University, and a certificate in management studies from
Oxford Brookes University.
John E. Putnam is Partner in the firm of Kaplan Kirsch & Rockwell, LLP, in Denver,
Colorado, where he provides counseling and litigation representation on environmental,
land use, and transportation issues. From1996 to 2003 he was Partner and Associate
Attorney with Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, LLP, and Cutler & Stanfield, LLP,
representing airport proprietors and communities in air quality, noise, wetland, species,
and related issues. From 1994 to 1996 he was an Associate Attorney in the Washington,
D.C. office of Kirkland & Ellis providing counseling, rulemaking support and litigation
representation on the Clean Air Act and state air quality regulation. Mr. Putnam served as
a judicial law clerk in the office of Judge David M. Ebel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for
the Tenth Judicial Circuit in Denver, Colorado, from 1993 to 1994. He is a member of
the TRB Committee on Environmental Impacts of Aviation (A1J09), and chairs the
Boulder, Colorado, Environmental Advisory Board. Mr. Putnam holds a B.A. degree in
political economy from Williams College and a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from the
University of Chicago Law School.
Jake Schmidt is a Policy Analyst at the Center for Clean Air Policy (CCAP) where he
conducts policy analysis on aviation, domestic and international climate change, and air
quality. He also leads CCAP’s analysis of actions to reduce greenhouse gas and air
quality emissions from domestic and international aviation. He has devoted much of the
past seven years to the study of utilizing economic incentives in the development of
environmental policy, and for the past three years has worked on policies being
developed by the Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection (CAEP) of the
International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). Mr. Schmidt also works as a member
of an FAA/EPA Stakeholder Initiative to reduce emissions from domestic aviation. He
has written and spoken on a wide variety of climate change and air quality topics,
including the monitoring and reporting provisions of an international aviation trading
program, and policies to control airport-related air emissions. As a research intern with
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1999, he researched and
documented state and local policies that mitigate greenhouse gases. Mr. Schmidt holds a
B.A. degree in economics from Muhlenberg College in Allentown, PA with a minor in
environmental studies, and a Master of Public Policy degree from the University of
Maryland, College Park.
Ray Valeika is Senior Vice President for Technical Operations at Delta Air Lines, Inc.
From 1994-1996, he was Vice President of Technical Operations at Delta. Before
coming to Delta he served as Senior Vice President of Technical Operations for
Continental Airlines and as Vice President for Maintenance and Engineering at Pan
American Airlines. Mr. Valeika served as chairman of the Air Transport Association
(ATA) Aging Aircraft Task Force, and chaired the revision of MSG2 to MSG3 which
introduced damage tolerance criteria into the development of maintenance programs. He
also chaired the Engineering, Maintenance, and Material Council (EMMC) of ATA. He
served as General Chairman of SAE Aerotech and participated in the FAA Research,
Engineering and Development Committee, the Congressional Aeronautical Advisory
Committee, and the NRC Greener Skies Committee. Mr. Valeika’s many awards include
an ATA award for leadership in the aviation industry. Mr. Valeika graduated from St.
Louis University, Parks College, with a Bachelors degree in aeronautical engineering.
Mary L. Vigilante is President of Synergy Consultants, Inc. which she founded in 1995.
From 1982 until 1995, she served as technical advisor to the City of Chicago Noise
Abatement Office. In 1982, she served on President Reagan’s Private Sector Survey on
Cost Control, where she reviewed the impact of delays resulting from environmental
processing required of an airport runway construction project. Ms. Vigilante also led the
preparation of the first Clean Air Act conformity determination prepared for an airport
master plan. Since 1998, she has led an Air Quality Working Group for ACI-NA
(Airports Council International – North America), which among other things has
participated in the FAA-EPA Voluntary Emission Reduction Stakeholder process. She
also has assisted in the preparation of airport master plans for several airports throughout
the United States. She has personally managed or participated in the preparation of
environmental impact statements or assessments for major, controversial expansion plans
at the following airports: Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, Dallas-Ft. Worth
International Airport, Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, Chicago O'Hare
International Airport, Indianapolis International Airport, Orange County International
Airport, Lambert-St. Louis International Airport, Houston Intercontinental Airport, and
Los Angeles International Airport. Ms. Vigilante has developed several computer
models to analyze the impact of an airport on its environment. She has modified and
used other models for aviation forecasting and scheduling, air quality evaluations, and
noise assessments (including INM Version 1 through 6). Ms. Vigilante has a Bachelor of
Science degree in mathematics and computer science from Berry College, Rome,
Georgia.