Leveraging Emerging Aviation Technologies to Improve Safety and Quality of Life in Rural Tribal Communities
Abstract
In Oklahoma, roughly 65% of highway fatalities occur on rural roads even though only 35% of the population live outside of the urban areas. Inflationary pressures and federal/state budgets constraints will limit future roadway expansion and upgrades. Thus it is critical to explore ways to reduce the growth of demand from highway traffic in rural areas. The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma – the third largest federally-recognized tribe – is exploring innovative emerging aviation technologies to address these escalating safety issues and reduce routine road traffic associated with tribal healthcare. This webinar will provide an overview of the Choctaw Nation’s efforts but will also explore the full spectrum of opportunities including workforce development, improved health outcomes for rural communities, and improvement in quality of life. Engagement will be encouraged in the webinar to address and seek stakeholder input and perspective.
Speaker Bio
James Grimsley serves as the Executive Director for Advanced Technology Initiatives with the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma and a Regional Innovation Officer (RIO) for the Texoma Semiconductor Tech Hub led by SMU. Mr. Grimsley is a former Oklahoma Transportation Commissioner with oversight and governance responsibilities for the Oklahoma Department of Transportation. Mr. Grimsley currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Commercial Drone Alliance (CDA) as well as a variety of other boards and advisory groups. As part of Mr. Grimsley’s Choctaw Nation duties, he currently manages the FAA BEYOND Program (the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma is the only tribal lead participant in the BEYOND program), and previously managed the FAA Integration Pilot Program (IPP) for the Choctaw Nation. In October 2022 U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg appointed Mr. Grimsley to the FAA’s Advanced Aviation Advisory Council (AAAC). Mr. Grimsley has also served on multiple FAA Aviation Rulemaking Committees (ARCs) including the Beyond Visual Line of Sight ARC.
Mr. Grimsley’s undergraduate and graduate degrees are in aerospace and mechanical engineering, and Mr. Grimsley has more than 34 years of professional experience in the aviation and defense industries including corporate executive experience as well as being an Associate Vice President for Research at the University of Oklahoma. Most of Mr. Grimsley’s career has involved uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) and emerging aviation technologies. Mr. Grimsley has published papers in both peer-reviewed engineering journals and law journals on issues related to drones and emerging aviation. Mr. Grimsley has also testified before Congress on aerospace innovation topics and has appeared multiple times before the Oklahoma legislature to discuss aerospace and aviation policy issues. Mr Grimsley was a speaker at the White House Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) Summit in August 2022. Mr. Grimsley has been a regular speaker at industry and academic conferences and a commentator in the press since 2007 for drone and emerging aviation topics.
Mr. Grimsley earned a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering and an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering, both from the University of Oklahoma.
