Parimal Kopardekar (PK)

Parimal Kopardekar (PK) is the Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) Mission Integration Manager. While PK will continue his current duties as the director of the NASA Aeronautics Research Institute (NARI), this appointment will allow additional focus of PK’s broad expertise on the AAM mission. And in particular the coordination of ARMD wide activities supporting the AAM mission goal ofdeveloping a validated AAM system architecture that defines a safe, certifiable, and scalable AAM system. 

PK also serves as a senior leader and advisor for the Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate with a keen focus on airspace operations and integration including unmanned aircraft systems, advance air mobility, wildland fire management, autonomy, and future airspace operations.  In this capacity, he is responsible for exploring new trends, research areas, collaborations, and partnerships relevant to aeronautics enterprise. 

He enjoys initiating new concepts and technology ideas that increase airspace capacity and throughput, reduce delays, and reduce the total cost of air transportation. At NASA, he has initiated many innovative research projects including reduced crew operations, net-enabled air traffic management, autonomy for airspace operations, Shadow-Mode Assessment using Realistic Technologies for the National Airspace System, and low-altitude airspace management system focused on Unmanned Aircraft Systems operations.

Recently, he co-led a comprehensive needs assessment study for wildfire mitigations.  In the past, he served as the NASA’s senior technologist for Air Transportation Systems. He invented Unmanned Aircraft System Traffic Management to safely enable large-scale drone operations at lower altitudes, which is now being globally adopted.  He also chairs the International Civil Aviation Organization’s unmanned aircraft system advisory group.

He is a recipient of many awards, including the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Hap Arnold Award for Programmatic Excellence, NASA Government Invention of the Year, NASA Exceptional Technology Achievement Medal, NASA Outstanding Leadership Award, NASA Engineer of the Year Award, and the prestigious Samuel J. Heyman Service to America’s Promising Innovation Award.

PK was named among 25 most influential people in drone industry. He serves as the Co-Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Aerospace Operations and is a Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics as well as Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society.  He also serves as an adjunct faculty and teaches undergraduate and graduate-level courses related to operations management, supply chain management, and innovation. 

He holds a Doctor of Philosophy from University of Cincinnati and a Master of Science degree from University at Buffalo in Industrial Engineering, and a Bachelor of Engineering degree from University of Bombay in Production Engineering.

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Parimal Kopardekar Biography (PDF)

Jul 25, 2023

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