UMD Hosts Capitol Hill Panel on Autonomous Systems

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(L-R) Clark School Dean Darryll Pines, Clark School Associate Professor Derek Paley, University of Michigan Associate Professor Ella Atkins, UMD VP for Research Patrick O'Shea, FAA Manager Chris Swider, and Textron Systems VP of Engineering Gregg Shimp.

On July 16, the University of Maryland's Division of Research and the A. James Clark School of Engineering brought together academic, agency, and industry experts in Washington, D.C., for an event entitled “The Future Has Arrived: Research and Policy Implications of Autonomous Systems”.

The panel, which took place on Capitol Hill in the Russell Senate Office Building, was moderated by Clark School Dean Darryll Pines and touched on issues of regulation, education and research, privacy, and economic development surrounding unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).



Panelists included:

  • Chris Swider, Manager, UAS Integration Office, Research and Development Section, Unmanned Aircraft Systems, FAA
  • Ella Atkins, Associate Professor, Aerospace Engineering, University of Michigan
  • Derek Paley,  Willis H. Young Jr. Associate Professor of Aerospace Engineering Education, Director, Collective Dynamics and Control Laboratory, University of Maryland
  • Gregg Shimp, Vice President of Engineering, Unmanned Systems, Textron Systems

Watch a video of the entire discussion or view a Storify summary of the event.

Published August 11, 2015