It time to help select your AUVSI New England Chapter leadership.
The Nominations Committee have identified a strong slate of qualified candidates. There are four Officer, and five Member of the Board of Director positions available for election this year.
Officer Positions
The following candidate is running unopposed for the Office of President:
Waseem Naqvi – Raytheon, Marlborough, MA
Waseem has served on the AUVSI New England board since the inception of the Chapter in early 2012 and is the current Chapter President. Waseem is active in the community, engaged and ensures that the chapter leadership is effective. He instills a regular cadence for the leadership team meetings. He collaborates with the membership and larger community to promote and grow the vision of making New England the focus of robotics, unmanned systems and their implementation.
Together with leading the chapter, Waseem is also a member of the AUVSI Board of Directors representing all 33 of the AUVSI Chapters on the Board.
The following candidate is running unopposed for the Office of Vice President:
Adam McEwen – General Dynamics Electric Boat, Groton, CT
Adam has served on the AUVSI New England board since 2013 and is currently the chapter Vice President. Adam is an engaged and enthusiastic contributor who heads up the ROBOTICA 2016 committee. He collaborates with the board and the membership to promote and grow the vision of making New England the ‘Silicone Valley’ of robotics. Adam’s approach to his role at AUVSI NE is without personal agenda. He is focused on ensuring the right policy decisions are being made for the New England robotics community and fostering healthy communications between small and mid-sized businesses and large primes.
The following candidate is running unopposed for the Office of Secretary/Clerk:
Jeff Adams – Unmanned Aerial Systems Development, MA
I have been a member of AUVSI and affiliated with the New England Chapter since October of 2013. The opportunities and industry connections membership has afforded me have been a great benefit to myself and my company.
I currently serve as President of UAS Development, Inc. and I am an active member of the AUVSI-NE Board of Directors.
As an elected Officer/Secretary, I will continue my focus on developing programs to expand participation of regional companies in the chapter and will advocate for creating enhanced support for new unmanned systems technology organizations within the New England area.
I would appreciate your support and the opportunity to contribute to the Chapter in a meaningful way. Thank you for your consideration.
The following candidate is running unopposed for the Office of Treasurer:
Lynne Oliver – Engility Corporation, Billerica, MA
As a founding and Charter member of the AUVSI New England Chapter and Treasurer for the first two years, I have established processes and the financial framework from which the Chapter can provide outreach, networking and support to organizations and educational institutions in New England to make a substantial impact upon the community. I leverage my extensive business experience and substantial financial background as well as an interest in strengthening the community and supporting education and technological advancement in the area of Unmanned Systems and their integration into the NAS. I would appreciate your vote to extend my position as Treasurer for another year.
Member of Board of Directors
There are Eight candidates for Five available positions on the Board of Directrors. The candidate statement/biographies are listed in alphabetical order:
Paul Debruyn – NEC Energy Solutions
I have enjoyed my role this year as an active New England AUVSI Chapter board member. This past year, I have enjoyed working with others to support networking and educational events to help build the chapter’s activities and presence. I have also worked to contribute to the dialog regarding the chapter’s goals, activities, and presence. If re-elected, I will work to continue to add value with the other board members to sustain activities, growth, greater participation, and financial stability. I would appreciate your support in allowing me to continue to contribute as a board member to the Chapter.
Jeff DeMarey – Stonewall Insurance Group Inc
Jeff DeMarey is an independent insurance agent specializing in UAV aviation and classic car coverage. For the past 9 years he has been an AOPA airport representative for 7B9 Ellington in Connecticut. He has served as the chairman for numerous boards of directors such as Encompass insurance, The Fireman’s Fund and The Classic Car Club of America. Aside from being a pilot, he owns and operates a personal UAV. Jeff DeMarey is a family man that resides in Hampden, Massachusetts.
Robert Duhainy – ITT Technical Institute
Dr. Duhainy holds a Masters and a Ph.D. degrees in Telecommunications Engineering from Southern Methodist University and Walden University. He has developed a learning algorithm that enhances the effectiveness of neural networks, and included the use of adaptive software agents to protect networks from attacks. Dr. Duhainy also serve as a Dean of Academic Affairs at ITT Technical Institute and a Professor of Computer Science, at Daniel Webster College. He has received two U.S. patents and participated in many high profile intelligence and information Security conferences. He is a member of the IEEE, ACM, ISC2, Cisco Academy and a Sector Chief with the FBI-InfraGard.
Justin Manley – Just Innovation
Justin Manley is an innovative technologist and executive with experience in startup, public corporation, academic, and public sectors. Mr. Manley is a recognized leader in unmanned systems development and operations. After professional roles at MIT, supporting NOAA and in the private sector he founded Just Innovation in mid-2015 where he supports a variety of clients with a focus on unmanned and undersea systems.
Mr. Manley has demonstrated accomplishments in professional organizations including MTS and IEEE. He is a member of the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) Advisory Committee. He is also dedicated to innovation, advising startup companies and was a judge for the Wendy Schmidt Ocean Health XPRIZE.
Kevin Sareault – AV Watch
Kevin Sareault is Vice President of Unmanned Programs for Avwatch, Inc. In this role, he is responsible for the development and execution of Avwatch’s portfolio of UAS programs, including the management of the Massachusetts UAS Test Center, which is part of the NUAIR/Griffiss FAA designated UAS Test Site. A former USCG officer and helicopter pilot, he retired as a Captain after 26 years of service, most recently serving as the 1st District Chief of Incident Management in Boston, MA. He is a graduate of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy and the University of South Alabama, and is a FAA Commercial Rated Pilot in both Fixed and Rotary wing aircraft.
Thomas Sebastian – MIT Lincoln Labs
Aerodynamicist and Technical Staff member at MIT Lincoln Laboratory. An expert in fluid mechanics, Dr. Sebastian has developed advanced UAV airframes and innovative electromechanical subsystems to enable small-scale platforms. Before his current appointment, Thomas developed aerodynamic models for floating wind turbines at University of Massachusetts at Amherst Wind Energy Center, where he earned a PhD in mechanical engineering. He earned both BS and MS in aerospace engineering from NC State University, where he investigated innovative planetary exploration technologies and led NASA-funded aeroballistic trajectory reconstruction studies of the Orion crew capsule.
Vijay Somandepalli – Exponent
Dr. Vijay Somandepalli is a Managing Engineer at Exponent, and has a unique background combining engineering, technical advising, and professional services. His expertise lies in complex problem solving, and leading complex, cross-disciplinary engineering teams to assist clients on issues related to system integration, test & evaluation, risk management and safety of mission-critical technologies in robotics, drones, and electro-mechanical systems. He holds a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University and a Bachelor’s in Aerospace Engineering.
When he has spare time, Vijay likes to build and operate robots and drones, and is eagerly awaiting the day when he can lord over an army of household robots to do his chores.
Jim Sproul – The Sproul Company
As Founder of The Sproul Company (TSC), James Sproul has a rich history of helping engineering companies increase revenues by networking for, identifying and closing new business opportunities. An active volunteer & member of AUVSI, Sproul is the AUVSI-New England’s Robotica 2016 Session & Speaker Chair and is spearheading the events effort to bring over 90 recognized industry leaders to speak during our 27 sessions over the four-day conference. See https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimsproul for a complete work & volunteer history.
A dual resident of the North End and Cape Cod and graduate of the University of Connecticut, Jim enjoys family life with his wife Molly, three children and four grandchildren.
The electronic ballot is open to current registered memebrs of the AUVSI and affiliated to the New England Chapter. It is open through May 16 5pm EDT.
The results will be announced at the Annual Meeting on May 18th. To attend the Annual Meeting, details are on the Chapter’s event website at www.AUVSINewEngland.org.
