Dr. Zha  is also a full professor at University of Miami, Director of the Aerodynamics and CFD Lab. Dr. Zha is specialized in aerospace engineering, aerodynamics, aircraft design, CFD development and application, flow control, turbomachinery aerodynamics and aeromechanics. Dr. Zha is an ASME Fellow, AIAA Associate Fellow, NASA NIAC Fellow,  World Top 2% Scientist (ranked by Stanford/Elsevier, 2020-present). Dr. Zha has extensive experience working in aerospace industry (GE Aircraft Engines, Pratt & Whitney, Air Force Research Lab) and Academia. Dr. Zha is the inventor and originator of the coflow jet airfoil flow control concept, which was started as a research project when he worked as a NRC summer faculty at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, OH, in 2002. The original purpose of the coflow jet airfoil is to be used for aircraft engine fans/compressors. Dr. Zha has applied the CFJ technology to marine shipping wind propulsion as rigid wind sails since a few years ago.
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Dr. Yan Ren is an internationally recognized expert on CoFlow Jet system design and simulation. He participated in the DARPA funded coflow jet active flow control research project as a postdoc at the University of Miami after he received his Ph.D. degree from the University of Virginia. He joined CoFlow Jet company  as the Chief Engineer and led the technology development. He has recently assumed the CTO position to be in charge of the company’s entire  technology development programs.  Dr. Ren has intensive experience in coflow jet aerodynamic design, fan design, integrated design for CoFlow Jet blade,  CFD code development, power electronic system, system structures, etc.

Mr. Biabani is a seasoned executive with deep background in petrochemicals, refining and marketing, and biofuels. He has a track record of delivery in business development, projects & engineering, business management, M&A and investment due diligence, strategic alliances, strategy and planning, and technology commercialization leadership roles. He was a former VP in Global Business Development and Licensing  at BP Alternative Energy, reporting directly to the President of BP Advanced Bioproducts.  He started up the licensing business for BP’s proprietary cellulosic ethanol production technology, also  had Enterprise Risk Management responsibility for the larger business.  He serves as a board member in several startup companies including Zdaly, Syzygy Plasmonics,  Shipcom Wireless.  He helps to develop the product and market strategies, fund raising, build the organization,  and initiate revenue generation.

Mr. Pattabiraman was the Founder, Chairman and CEO of NextNav, a leader in geolocation services, a company he took public in 2021 at over a $1 Billion dollar valuation. NextNav is recognized to be the best in class terrestrial, 3D positioning technology as evidenced by various Government tests and more recently recognized by “Fast Company’s World Changing Ideas for 2024”.  As an entrepreneur and technologist with a passion for taking technologies to scale. He raised it’s first capital and established the founding team, business plan, go to market strategy and product/service vision for the company. He raised nearly $500 million in financing to drive operations, deploy multiple networks, fund multiple acquisitions and scale NextNav operations.  Prior to founding NextNav, Mr. Pattabiraman worked at Qualcomm and held various leadership roles in driving GPS within Qualcomm’s chipsets, developing Bluetooth technology and incorporating Low Earth Orbit satellite (Globalstar) technology into mobile devices. He has over 20 patents issued domestically and internationally.

Ms. Nancy Bailey is considered a pioneer in brand licensing, one of the largest segments of the licensing industry today. Founded in 1982, Nancy Bailey & Associates managed licensing programs for some of America’s biggest brands including many Procter & Gamble brands, Energizer, Coppertone (Bayer), General Mills, Crayola, Pennzoil, Travelocity, and USA Today, among others. Nancy’s career began at The Procter & Gamble Company, where she was one of the first women in management. She has held marketing management positions at prominent New York advertising agencies and at Burger King Corporation. She sold her first company to Warner Bros. Consumer Products. She later sold Nancy Bailey & Associates to Omnicom (NYSE: OMC) and merged with Beanstalk, a global brand licensing agency where she served as Vice Chairman. Nancy was inducted into the Licensing Industry Hall of Fame, the first inductee for trademark licensing. She received a unique Career Achievement Award from The Procter & Gamble Company’s Business Development Unit for introducing trademark licensing to P & G which has grown to be over a $1.5 Billion dollar business. She is a graduate of the University of Miami School of business.

With a career spanning over 40 years in engineering and executive management, Mr. Piedmonte  has extensive experience forming and nurturing technology startups, managing early-stage growth, and executing early-stage investment transactions.

Throughout his career, Mr. Piedmonte  has developed and brought to market new technologies and products in the enterprise, SMB, and consumer markets. His skill set includes leadership coaching, team building, startup venture planning, private & venture capital fundraising, business operations, hardware & software engineering management, modern engineering methodologies & product development disciplines, and customer & strategic relationship development.

Mr. Piedmonte  is currently with NeoTerra Capital, an Austin-based, special-purpose investment and startup mentoring firm focused on seed-stage technology companies in a variety of industries and markets. He is currently mentoring several startup ventures in various stages of development by consulting, serving on their corporate or advisory boards, as well as taking on fractional executive roles to fill skills gaps in the companies he is mentoring until appropriate hires can be made.

Mr. Hagen Ruff obtained his MS in Mechanical Engineering from Hochschule RheinMain in Germany and started his career in Software and Management Consulting with Accenture, formerly Andersen Consulting. After moving to the US in 1996, he initially worked for Fortune 500 companies like Modis and a JV with Sempra Energy. Mr. Ruff then became a tech entrepreneur in IT services and Business Intelligence (BI). He later sold his successful and fast-growing company BIS to Sapient Corporation. Throughout his career, Mr. Ruff always maintained a passion for science and engineering, especially in the field of energy technologies. In 2008 Mr. Ruff founded an energy technology research company which later became the wind technology startup Chava Wind LLC. where he managed the entire development cycle from idea to production for an innovative 25KW Vertical Axis Wind Turbine. In that capacity he continues to contribute as a member and group convenor at the International standards Organization IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) based in Geneva.

Mr. Donald Bingaman, technical advisor, president of VPE Aerospace Consulting, LLC, is a recently retired Boeing chief engineer. He worked for 39 years at McDonnell Douglas/Boeing as the Director- Survivability Design and Integration and as the Chief Engineer for all fixed wing combat aircraft design in the Boeing Phantom Works. Mr. Bingaman has contributed to many conceptual / preliminary design programs including the YF-118 Bird of Prey, the X-45A and C Unmanned Combat Aircraft demonstrators, and the MQ-25 Stingray USN refueling drone. Mr. Bingaman is honored the “Pioneer of Stealth” (an organization that recognizes the leaders in Govt. and Industry who developed modern low observables technology). He is also an AIAA Associate Fellow. Mr. Donald Bingaman earned a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering from Missouri University of Science and Technology, and a Master’s in Engr. Mgt. from Washington Univer-sity in St. Louis.