what we do Engineering change This Boeing engineer is helping guide the future of flight—autonomously as told to daryl stephenson Jim Paunicka is a Technical Fellow in St. Louis who leads development of autonomous technologies for unmanned aerial vehicles. In this Frontiers series that profiles employees talking about what they do at Boeing, Paunicka explains what it means to be a Boeing engineer on projects that are critical to the company’s future—and that of aerospace. When I was a kid growing up in northeast Indiana, I was fascinated by how things worked. I would take things apart to see what was inside and how things were put together. That led to an ongoing fascination with computers and electronics. As a Boeing engineer today, I’m still fascinated by how things work. Most of what I do at Boeing Research & Technology is related to unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs, and autonomyrelated technologies. It’s an important area for Boeing to be in because of the bright future that many see for these types of vehicles. There are new mission areas in the civil sector where UAVs can play a critical role and do things more affordably and safely than people can. But to meet the promise of a future market, these systems will have to be capable, safe and affordable. I work closely with our business unit customers to ensure we develop technology that’s really going to help them and their future business. And I work with people in government labs to enhance Boeing’s technical credibility so that whenever they think of technology, they think of Boeing. Our work with autonomous systems technologies is helping create breakthroughs that will enable UAVs 10 Boeing Frontiers to perform functions in civilian society that are long, tedious or where we don’t want to put people in harm’s way. These include monitoring agricultural and coastal areas or pipelines, railroad tracks and other infrastructure. But before the Federal Aviation Administration approves expanded use of UAVs in U.S. airspace, we in the technical community have to prove these systems are really ready for prime time. It’s up to us to develop the technologies further, then verify and validate them, so the FAA can make an informed decision that this autonomous operation with autonomy software is safe enough to put UAVs in the air. It’s exciting work, but I’ve had many opportunities at Boeing to help shape our future. I’ve also been fortunate to have mentors in my life who inspired me. My grandmother, who grew up in the Great Depression, was very influential. She told me on many occasions I should strive to do well in school because, she said, education is something no one can take away from you. When I was in high school, I was in a theater group, with a diverse, multi-generational set of people, and met a guy who was an electrical engineer. His stories about engineering inspired me to become one. Engineers provide value to society in more ways than just designing new products or bringing new technologies to market. I’ve learned many skills that I’ve used in volunteer and educational activities in our community in St. Louis. Like my grandmother did with me, I try to bring kids hope that if they stay in school, study hard and graduate, they can do well—and discover new and exciting worlds just as I did. n daryl.l.stephenson@boeing.com
Frontiers February 2015 Issue
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