Willem Anemaat

Willem A. J. Anemaat is president and co-founder of Design, Analysis and Research Corporation (DARcorporation), an aeronautical engineering and prototype development company. DARcorporation specializes in airplane design and engineering consulting services, wind and water tunnel testing and design and testing of wind energy devices. Anemaat is the software architect for the Advanced Aircraft Analysis (AAA) software, an airplane preliminary design and analysis tool. He has been actively involved with more than 400 airplane design projects and has run many subsonic wind tunnel tests for clients. Anemaat has more than 30 publications in the field of airplane design and analysis. He is the recipient of the SAE 2010 Forest R. McFarland Award, an AIAA Associate Fellow and an associate editor for the AIAA Journal of Aircraft. Anemaat is Vice-Chair of the AIAA Aircraft Design Technical Committee. Anemaat holds an M.S.A.E. degree from the Delft University of Technology in The Netherlands and a Ph.D. in aerospace engineering from The University of Kansas.

2025 Aerospace Short Course: Conceptual Design of Unmanned Aircraft Systems

Travis L. Dahna

Travis Dahna is the Principal member and Electrical Systems and Equipment DER for TD Aerospace, LLC, a professional aerospace engineering design and certification company based in Kansas. He started his career over 25 years ago as an avionics technician and troubleshooter in the United States Navy, where he served with distinction and was honorably discharged. As a Gulf War Veteran, Mr. Dahna joined the civilian aviation sector where he has worked on, designed, and certified a wide variety of new products and articles for the last 20 years. He has held positions as a senior electrical engineer for a large aircraft manufacturer and served as the Certification Coordinator for all the factory owned service/modification centers in the United States, providing all interface with the geographic FAA Aircraft Certification Offices for all standard certification STC projects. Following his time at the aircraft manufacturer, he assisted in the development of an STC ODA for a consulting company and held the position as the Principal Certification Engineer, while also training as an alternate ODA administrator.

He has been actively involved in several hundred certification projects, ranging from TC, STC, PMA, and Major Alterations. In addition to duties as a consultant DER (14 CFR Part 23 and 25), including major alterations, he holds positions as a unit member on several TC and STC Organization Designation Authorizations (ODA). Mr. Dahna's combination of practical experience, analytical knowledge, and in-depth certification experience brings a unique and viable approach to aircraft certification in an uncomplicated yet thorough manner.

2025 Aerospace Short Course: Introduction to FAA Airworthiness Approval Requirements

Mark Ewing

Mark S. Ewing is former chairman of the aerospace engineering department and is currently the director of the Flight Research Laboratory at the University of Kansas. Previously, he served as a senior research engineer in the structures division at Wright Laboratory, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, and as an associate professor of engineering mechanics at the U.S. Air Force Academy. His research interests include structural vibrations and structural acoustics, especially as related to fiber-reinforced composites. Ewing is a past recipient of the University of Kansas School of Engineering Outstanding Educator Award. He holds a B.S. in engineering mechanics from the U.S. Air Force Academy, an M.S. in mechanical engineering and a Ph.D. in engineering mechanics, both from Ohio State University.

2025 Aerospace Short Course: Aircraft Structures: Analysis and Design

Thomas Hermann

Thomas M. Hermann has a strong background in aeroelastic analysis of aerospace structures and has performed structural dynamic, aeroelastic, and dynamic loads analysis of aircraft ranging from single engine general aviation aircraft to twin turboprop, carrier based, AEW aircraft to twin turbofan transports and business jets. In the course of these projects, he has also conducted ground vibration and flight flutter testing. He completed his master's thesis in transonic aeroelasticity at the University of Kansas under Dr. C. Edward Lan.

2025 Aerospace Short Course: Principles of Aeroelasticity

Michael Jenkins

Mike Jenkins brings over thirty years' experience in the aerospace industry, having worked for several major original equipment manufacturers and as an independent aerospace consultant. He is an FAA DER with authority in 14 CFR Part 25 certification regulations. He specializes in mechanical systems including flight controls, doors, and hydraulics including system definition, requirements, architecture design and layout, and monitoring for traditional mechanical, electro-mechanical, hydro-mechanical, and fly-by-wire systems. He has extensive experience in sizing and performance analyses, design, schematics, testing, and failure mode and effects for power control units and actuators. Mr. Jenkins has delegated authority for mechanical systems safety analyses for air conditioning, pressurization, oxygen, and fire protection. He also specializes in structures cabin safety for design and construction, testing and aircraft inspection as well as power plant safety analyses for airplane turbine engines and auxiliary power units. He is an SAE-18 committee member and a co-captain of ARP 4761. Mr. Jenkins holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Utah.

2025 Aerospace Short Course: Flight Control and Hydraulic Systems

George Meier

George Meier is an FAA Software DER currently working at Woodward, Inc., and a unit member of the Textron ODA. He began his career as an avionics technician for the USAF working on aircraft during the Vietnam era. Meier holds a BSCS degree from National University, graduating magna cum laude in 1999. He was delegated as a consulting software DER by the FAA in 2006. Meier has worked a wide variety of both fixed wing and rotorcraft avionics systems and brings a wide combination of practical experience, analytical knowledge, and in-depth certification experience with a unique and viable approach to airborne software certification in an uncomplicated yet thorough manner.

2025 Aerospace Short Course: DO-254 Airborne Complex Hardware and DO-297: Integrated Modular Avionics

William Norton

William J. Norton is retired from a flight test engineering career that spanned 40 years, including 20 as a US Air Force officer. He has held numerous positions in many organizations on dozens of aerospace programs spanning all aircraft types. He has penned scores of technical papers, 20 books, and a multitude of magazine articles. Bill holds a Masters in Aeronautical Engineering and has taught courses at the college-level. He is a civil pilot with numerous ratings, restored and operated a DHC-1 Chipmunk, and built and flight-tested a Rutan Long-EZ. Bill is married to the lovely and talented Anya Victoria Eriksson.

2025 Aerospace Short Course: Aircraft Structures Flight Testing

Josh Sementi

Dr. Josh Sementi has 20 years of applied aeroelasticity and aircraft loads experience including both analysis and testing on Part 23 and 25 aircraft. Josh is also an FAA Consultant Loads DER with full approval authority for both Part 23 and Part 25 Static and Dynamic Loads. This experience has included developing aerodynamic models, structural models, and aero-structural splines for certification loads and flutter analysis as well as validating the models against flight loads survey and flight flutter testing measurements. This analysis has been performed in a variety of tools from classical beam theory methods to complete aircraft FEM based aeroelastic models. During his career Dr. Sementi has developed certification dynamic and static flight loads for over 25 STC's or STC amendments ranging from radomes and other minor modifications to blended and split scimitar winglets on a variety of Boeing aircraft. In addition to Structural Loads, Josh has extensive flight flutter test experience, as well as aircraft vibration environment development. Prior to working at TLG, Josh was a Senior Loads Engineer at Aviation Partners Boeing.

2025 Aerospace Short Course: Aircraft Structural Loads: Criteria, Analysis, and Validation

C. Bruce Stephens

C. Bruce Stephens is an HIRF/Lightning/EWIS ODA UM/AR at the Boeing Company and a consultant DER at his company, Stephens Aviation, with a wealth of experience in High Intensity Radiated Fields (HIRF) and Lightning protection of Aircraft. Stephens retired from Hawker Beechcraft after 28 years of service. He has HIRF/Lightning experience on both Part 23 and Part 25 including composite aircraft. Stephens is working with the Boeing Team to develop EWIS requirements and means of compliance on several aircraft projects. Stephens is a Six-Sigma/Lean Master Black Belt consultant, developing implementation and training materials, and teaches at a number of universities, including Webster University and Southwestern College. He has an executive M.B.A. and M.S. in Management from Friends University and a B.S. in Industrial Technology from Wichita State University.

2025 Aerospace Short Course: Electrical Wiring Interconnection System (EWIS) and FAA Requirements

Darren Stout

Darren Stout is an EME/HIRF/Lightning ODA UM/AR at the Boeing Company. Darren has a wealth of experience in Electromagnetic Effects (EME), High Intensity Radiated Fields (HIRF), lightning effects, p-static effects, and transmitting personal electronic devices, RTCA/DO-160, MIL-STD-461, along with extensive experience in laboratory and aircraft testing. His experience is a result of over 30 combined years as an Electrical and EME engineer with Boeing, Lucent Technologies (Bell Labs), FAA, and BancTec. He also served six years in the United States Air Force as a B-52 navigator, instructor navigator, and radar navigator (bombardier), directing and performing higher headquarters missions including aircraft, systems, and munitions testing, and is a Desert Storm veteran. He has a BSEE degree in electrical engineering (lasers, fiber optics, and antenna arrays) from the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor, is an iNARTE certified EMC Engineer, and is a Level 2 Certified TEMPEST Professional.

2025 Aerospace Short Course: Introduction to Fuel Tank Safety and Ignition Prevention: SAE ARP6205

Ray Taghavi

Dr. Ray Taghavi is "John E. and Winifred E. Sharp Professor" & Associate Chair of the Aerospace Engineering Department at the University of Kansas. He teaches and conducts research in jet propulsion, rocket propulsion, aircraft reciprocating engines, fluid mechanics, aircraft aerodynamics, and advanced experimental techniques. Before joining the KU Faculty in 1991, he was a research engineer at NASA John Glenn Research Center, conducting experimental research on supersonic jet noise reduction techniques, acoustic excitation of free shear layers, and stability and control of swirling flows. He is the co-inventor and patent holder for a "supersonic vortex generator" and a "Novel Air Data Sensor with Power Scavenge System" for subsonic aircraft. He is a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and an Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics (AIAA). Dr. Taghavi has been the recipient of the Abe M. Zarem Educator Award from AIAA, the Ralph R. Teetor Educational Award from SAE, the John E. and Winifred E. Sharp Award from the KU School of Engineering (twice), Henry E. Gould Award from the KU School of Engineering, and is a four-time winner of the Aerospace Engineering Outstanding Educator Award from the graduating seniors of the department. Dr. Taghavi has received his Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Kansas in 1988.

2025 Aerospace Short Course: Aircraft Propulsion Systems: Principles and Practices

Thomas Taylor

Thomas (Tom) Taylor is an FAA Consultant DER, ODA E-UM/Advisor and Technical Fellow at The Boeing Company, with 30 years of commercial and military aircraft electrical design and certification experience. Tom was the technical focal and DER/AR during the development of the 787-8 and was responsible for the certification of the 787-9, which was the first commercial airplane fully certified to the EWIS regulations. Most recently, he has been extensively involved in the analysis, testing and re-certification of the 737MAX. Tom also provides engineering consultation, training, and aircraft certification services through his company, Taylor Aerospace Consultants. He has a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Washington State University.

2025 Aerospace Short Course: Electrical Wiring Interconnection System (EWIS) Safety Assessment - 25.1709

Pierre Trudel

Pierre Trudel is a System Safety Engineer and ODA Unit Member currently working for Boeing Defense, Space & Security (BDS). He brings 29 years of system safety, systems engineering, and reliability experience in several segments of our aerospace industry. He has worked system safety, reliability, and systems engineering on airplanes, rotorcrafts, and space vehicles. He has experience with commercial and military system safety, Development Assurance practices. He developed companywide processes to facilitate product development and compliance to commercial airworthiness standards and military requirements. He has worked system safety for both equipment suppliers and as an integrator for Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs). Pierre has worked system safety using several industry accepted processes including SAE ARP4761, SAE ARP4754, and MIL-STD-882 to satisfy safety requirements for Part 23 (small aircrafts), Part, 25 (Transport Category Aircraft) and MIL-HDBK-516 (Airworthiness Certification Criteria). His certification experience as an FAA representative spans the spectrum of TC, ATC, and STC projects on commercial projects such as the Hawker 4000, Hawker 800XP, Premier 1, Cessna CJ4, Citation Latitude, Citation Sovereign, Citation X, KC-46A (767 Tanker), and several other aircraft models and types. Pierre holds a Bachelor of Science in Space Sciences with minors in Electrical and Mechanical Engineering from Florida Institute of Technology.

2025 Aerospace Short Course: System Safety Assessment for Commercial Aircraft Certification

Gary Ullrich

This course provides an in-depth exploration of Safety Management Systems (SMS), a formal, organization-wide framework for managing safety risk and ensuring the effectiveness of safety risk controls. Recognized as an international best practice, SMS promotes a proactive and systematic approach to identifying hazards and managing safety in aviation and other industries. Students will examine the key components of SMS, including safety policy, risk management, safety assurance, and safety promotion. Emphasis will be placed on the practical application of SMS principles to enhance organizational safety culture, comply with regulatory requirements, and align with the International Civil Aviation Organization's (ICAO) State Safety Program (SSP). Through case studies, interactive exercises, and real-world examples, participants will learn how SMS supports hazard identification, risk analysis, and the development of tailored mitigations for diverse operational environments. The course also highlights the FAA's role in implementing SMS across U.S. air navigation services and critical segments of commercial aviation. By the end of the course, students will have the skills to design, implement, and evaluate an effective SMS in any aviation-related organization, ensuring continuous improvement and compliance with global safety standards.

2025 Aerospace Short Course: Safety Management Systems