Blakey Begins Second Year on NAC
AIA’s President and CEO Marion C. Blakey is beginning her second year as chairman of the NASA Advisory Council’s Aeronautics Committee. This year, the committee is tackling issues of great importance to AIA, including NASA’s research initiatives on environmental impacts of aviation emissions, unmanned aerial systems and verification and validation of critical air traffic software. For example, the committee will seek to advise NASA on improvements to current and planned research on greenhouse gas emissions affecting climate change-related regulatory policy. Other issues related to implementation of NextGen, the role of international collaboration and investment to foster growth of the aeronautics workforce may also be addressed.
The NASA Advisory Council was established to provide counsel and advice to the NASA administrator on matters of importance to the agency. The Aeronautics Committee, which Blakey chairs, is one of nine committees that make up the NAC. As chairman, Blakey conducts meetings throughout the year to assess current NASA issues related to the aeronautics research mission directorate and uses these meetings to develop observations, findings and recommendations for full NAC consideration. The NAC meets quarterly to then decide which issues should be raised with the administrator. Committee members include representatives from industry and academia and represent a wide swath of issue-area expertise. Blakey’s role on the NAC provides AIA members a direct link to NASA planning activities and an avenue to help shape agency practices moving forward.
Source: anne.connor[at]aia-aerospace.org
