Engineering the Future of Sustainable Flight

with Nayanapriya Bohidar,
Sustainability and Electrification at Aurora Flight Sciences
A Boeing Company

November 16th, 12:30PM - 1:45PM
115 Goodwin Hall

Sustainability initiatives have taken the forefront in Aviation, with the goal to reduce the industry’s contribution to climate change through new practices and radical innovation. This lecture will introduce industry goals and the diverse technologies that will get us there.  A few public initiatives will be discussed, such as highly efficient aircraft designs, and energy-optimized flight operations, with a focus on novel propulsion systems. Using examples of the speaker’s own 12+ year career in Propulsion R&D, attendees will get an overview of the career opportunities in this field, as well as the holistic approach needed.

Sustainability initiatives have taken the forefront in Aviation, with the goal to reduce the industry’s contribution to climate change through new practices and radical innovation. This lecture will introduce industry goals and the diverse technologies that will get us there. A few public initiatives will be discussed, such as highly efficient aircraft designs, and energy-optimized flight operations, with a focus on novel propulsion systems. Using examples of the speaker’s own 12+ year career in Propulsion R&D, attendees will get an overview of the career opportunities in this field, as well as the holistic approach needed.

Nayanapriya Bohidar leads the Sustainability and Electrification team at Aurora Flight Sciences. She is responsible for technology strategy and research & development in Propulsion & Power systems and Integrated Vehicle Technologies. Joining Aurora Flight Sciences in 2018, she provides functional and technical leadership while also supporting critical-path program roles on several advanced development programs. She co-led the capture of the NASA EPFD program, providing programmatic and hybrid-electric propulsion architecting. On the DARPA CRANE X-plane she supported engine integration and preliminary design trades for a novel active flow control application. She was the Mechanical Systems Lead on Boeing PAV EVTOL prototype and has been a technical contributor in leadership roles on the Future of Flight advanced development programs such as the Boeing SFD X-plane and NASA D8 programs. Most recently, she is focused on technology roadmapping through strategic engineering, systems thinking, and multidisciplinary design optimization. Prior to joining Aurora, Nayan has nine years’ experience in Propulsion Research & Development as well as New Product Development teams. Nayan holds a degree in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering from Purdue University, as well as in Honors Physics from Delhi University. She is a Senior member of AIAA, and has been active in Industry Forums and Conferences as a member of ASME and SWE for over a decade. She is an advocate of Diversity & Inclusion and passionate about STEM outreach.