Design-Build-Fly: A Brahmal Institute Seminar with JP Stewart
This seminar will be given by JP Stewart, the Senior VP of Product Development at Electra. Electra is pioneering electric aviation, having recently successfully tested a new electric aircraft design capable of taking off in just 150 feet. JP will discuss the technical challenges faced in developing a truly sustainable aircraft, as well as some of the future directions for electric aviation.
As SVP Product Development at Electra, JP is responsible for all aspects of Electra’s product, engineering, certification, and technology developments. He was previously the Vice President and General Manager at Electra where he led Electra’s operations. Before joining Electra, he led the development of an eVTOL aircraft for Porsche as Senior Technical Program Manager at Aurora Flight Sciences (a Boeing Company).
He is an aerospace engineer from Virginia Tech by training and previously worked as the propulsion/system test and solar array leads for Aurora’s solar-powered aircraft and as a mechanical engineer on various Aurora programs. He began his career in the UAS industry and founded a company to collect and process aerial imagery of farms for precision agriculture through the Yale Entrepreneurial Institute.
He was recognized by the National Business Aviation Association in their 40 under 40 class of 2024 and, in college, he was selected by Aviation Week for the 20 Twenties program for ‘[f]earless enthusiasm, curiosity, engineering capability, and concern about the world beyond themselves.”