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Environmental Professionals Network

School of Environment and Natural Resources

CFAES

Up in the Air with Sustainable Aviation Experts

Jan 10, 2023, 7:15am - 9:30am

Photo button from a collection of different images from the EPN December Evening Event


Program Overview

Commercial, passenger air travel is responsible for around 3% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions on both global and U.S.-based scales1With technological and new fuel source adoption, the International Council on Clean Transportation suggests that aviation GHG emissions can be reduced to a significant enough degree to meet standards set through the 2015 Paris Agreement by 20502.

This EPN Breakfast program will explore commercial-based air travel and aviation technology specifically, as well as the communication strategies used in the industry to address regulator and consumer interests/concerns about GHG emissions.  

Please join fellow environmental professionals and sustainable aviation experts to learn about Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF), the significant technological barriers (power density and energy density for fuel sources) to creating a “sustainable” aviation industry, the greatest opportunities for GHG reductions in the aviation industry, GHG reporting and communication with commercial flight passengers.

The moderated panel discussion will connect the environmental community, consumers concerned about both GHG emissions and air travel, and aviation experts to identify how industry is responding to these challenges and opportunities. This event will inspire and enhance the knowledge base of professionals, students and practitioners across various occupations, industries, and areas of expertise on a critical environmental topic.

1Environmental and Energy Study Institute (June 9, 2022): https://www.eesi.org/papers/view/fact-sheet-the-growth-in-greenhouse-gas-emissions-from-commercial-aviation#:~:text=EPA%20reports%20that%20commercial%20airplanes,total%20CO2%20emissions%20in%202018.

2International Council on Clean Transportation (June 9, 2022): https://theicct.org/publication/global-aviation-vision-2050-align-aviation-paris-jun22/


Agenda

7:15 a.m. Doors open at 4-H Center; Coffee served for in-person attendees.  

7:40 a.m. Breakfast buffet served for in-person attendees.  

8:00 a.m. Livestreaming service begins for virtual attendees.   

8:05 a.m. Neil Drobny, program director, Bronco Challenge for Sustainable Impact. "Test-piloting a new twist in sustainability education."

8:10 a.m. Eric Toman, PhD, interim director, Ohio State’s School of Environment and Natural Resources (SENR) provides welcome remarks. 

8:15 a.m. John M. Horack, PhD, Neil Armstrong Chair in Aerospace Policy, senior associate dean, Office of the Dean, professor, Center for Aviation Studies, and John Glenn College of Public Affairs, The Ohio State University, provides program remarks.   

8:20 a.m. Rob Scholl, president and CEO of Textron eAviation, reviews the current state of jet propulsion, fuel requirements and “sustainable aviation biofuels” and other challenges and opportunities to making “sustainable aviation” into a reality.

8:30 a.m. Geraldine Barnuevo, vice president of sustainability, GE Aerospace, presents the 2050 net zero goals outlined for the aviation sector through the 2015 Paris Agreement and other voluntarily compliance schemes and strategies to work with both internal and external stakeholders across the globe to create and oversee the implementation of a comprehensive ESG Strategy and GHG reduction goals.

8:40 a.m. Bart Elmore, PhD, associate professor, Department of History, The Ohio State University, reports on the issues associated with “greenwashing” in the carbon neutrality and carbon offset domain, including research-based examples of GHG reduction reporting and net zero goals with specific aviation organizations. 

8:50 a.m. Dr. Horack moderates a panel discussion with the Scholl, Barnuevo, and Elmore. 

9:10 a.m. Audience in-person and virtual questions and answer session. 

9:30 a.m. Dr. Toman concludes the EPN Breakfast program component. Livestreaming service concludes for virtual attendees.  


Speakers

Geraldine BarnuevoGeraldine Barnuevo, vice president of sustainability, GE Aerospace

Geraldine Barnuevo is the head of sustainability at GE Aerospace. Geraldine works with both internal and external stakeholders across the globe to create and oversee the implementation of a comprehensive ESG Strategy for GE Aerospace. Geraldine joined GE Aerospace after 20 years with General Motors (GM). At GM, she worked globally in several environmentally focused divisions working on environmental operations, due diligence, remediation, sustainability and strategy. In her role as senior manager of sustainability and environmental strategies at GM, she lead the environmental sustainability team across North America to set the strategic direction for GM's environmental, social and governance programs and initiatives. Barnuevo was instrumental in developing the automaker's science-based targets. She led GM's Sustainability Steering Committee, which develops and implements workstreams to further the company's sustainability goals. Barnuevo held several environmental roles across 11 countries, including Ecuador, Brazil and the U.S., managing the company's environmental compliance programs, remediation projects, as well as sustainability initiatives in the areas of waste management, sustainable materials and sustainable supply chain. Prior to joining GM, Barnuevo was an associate professor in Ecuador at the Universidad San Francisco de Quito, where she taught courses on bioremediation, environmental management systems and toxicology. Barnuevo holds an engineering degree in environmental engineering from Universidad International SEK in Quito, Pichincha, Ecuador; a master's degree from the University of Illinois in civil and environmental engineering; and a master's in business administration from Oakland University. She served as the vice president of the GM Latino Employee Resource Group and has a personal mission to drive change in the world as an inspiring voice maximizing positive outcomes for people and the planet.

Bart ElmoreBart Elmore, PhD, associate professor, Department of History, The Ohio State University

Bart Elmore is an associate professor of environmental history and a core faculty member of the Sustainability Institute at OSU. His first book, Citizen Coke: The Making of Coca-Cola Capitalism (W. W. Norton, 2015) won the Axiom Business Book Award for best business commentary in 2015 and the Council of Graduate Schools 2016 Gustave O. Arlt Award in the Humanities. The project, which examines the environmental impact of Coca-Cola’s worldwide operations, grew out of his dissertation at the University of Virginia, but the roots of Bart’s interest in Coca-Cola run deeper, as he grew up in Atlanta, Georgia, the heart of Coke country. Continuing his research at the nexus of business and global environmental history, Bart finished his second book, Seed Money: Monsanto's Past and Our Food Future (W. W. Norton, 2021), which details the international ecological history of the Monsanto Company. It won the 2020 J. Anthony Lukas Work-in-Progress Award and was a finalist for both the American Society for Environmental History's George Perkins Marsh Prize and the 2022 Hagley Prize in Business History sponsored by the Business History Conference and the Hagley Museum and Library. In 2022, Bart was awarded the Dan David Award, the largest history prize in the world described by the Washington Post as a new "MacArthur-style 'genius grant.'" He currently edits the Histories of Capitalism and the Environment Series at West Virginia University Press. Bart Elmore earned his B.A. in history from Dartmouth College in 2004 and his M.A. (2007) and Ph.D. (2012) from the University of Virginia, specializing in global environmental history and American history. In 2012, he accepted the Ciriacy-Wantrup Postdoctoral Fellowship in Natural Resource Economics and Political Economy at the University of California, Berkeley. He then served three years as Assistant Professor in the Department of History at the University of Alabama beginning in 2013 and helped start the department’s environmental history program before joining the OSU faculty in 2016. He was an Eric and Wendy Schmidt Fellow at New America in 2017-2018.

John HorackJohn M. Horack, Neil Armstrong Chair in Aerospace Policy, College of Engineering and John Glenn College of Public Affairs, The Ohio State University

John M. Horack, Ph.D., is the inaugural holder of the Neil Armstrong Chair in Aerospace Policy at The Ohio State University, with tenured, full-professor appointments in the College of Engineering’s Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering department and the John Glenn College of Public Affairs.  A 30-year veteran of the spaceflight industry, Dr. Horack also currently serves as He also serves as the senior associate dean of Engineering at Ohio State, and is a globally-recognized leader in space-based research, flight hardware development, program management, and space policy. Prior to joining Ohio State in 2016, he served as vice president of Teledyne Brown Engineering’s Space Systems group in Huntsville, Alabama. Dr. Horack has served as vice president of research for UAHuntsville, where he had fiscal oversight for the entire University’s research enterprise, including 14 research centers and laboratories, growing annual research expenditures from ~$65M to nearly $100 million.  Dr. Horack had an impressive career at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center having achieved the level of senior executive service. His last position at NASA was as manager of the Science and Mission Systems Office, where he was responsible for advanced, complex science and exploration research and nearly 400 civil service personnel and contractors.  For work in this role, he was awarded the NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal.  Dr. Horack also held the positions of gamma ray astrophysics research scientist; assembly, test, and calibration scientist for the Burst and Transient Source Experiment; and resident scientist for spacecraft integration for assembly and test of the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory, launched in April 1991 aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis. He began his NASA career in 1987 after graduating from Northwestern University with a B.A. in physics and astronomy.  He earned a M.A. and Ph.D. in physics from UAHuntsville in 1992 and 1993, respectively.

Rob SchollRob Scholl, president and CEO of Textron eAviation

Rob Scholl is president & CEO of Textron eAviation, a business segment that is pursuing Textron’s long‐term strategy to offer a family of sustainable aircraft for urban air mobility, general aviation, cargo, and special mission roles. In this role, Scholl oversees the development and expansion of Pipistrel as a Textron eAviation subsidiary. Scholl leverages the work across Textron’s aerospace and defense businesses in developing new opportunities to take advantage of fixed wing and rotorcraft expertise in emerging aerospace technologies and markets. He is responsible for building external partnerships and creating a path for the further development and utilization of aircraft electrification and connected mobility technologies in the global market. Scholl was previously SVP of Textron’s eAviation initiative prior to it becoming a Textron business segment. Prior to his role with eAviation, he was Textron Aviation’s SVP – Sales, leading the global Commercial Aircraft Sales, Pre‐Owned Sales and Flight Operations. He was responsible for global sales initiatives to ensure a strong and direct industry presence to meet customers’ needs for Cessna and Beechcraft jets, turboprops, and pistons. Rob also served on the Board of Directors of Flight Safety Textron Aviation Training. Scholl’s prior roles within the company included vice president of Customer Service Parts & Programs, vice president of Marketing, and regional vice president of Sales. He began his career with Textron in 2007 as a member of Textron’s Leadership Development Program where he was a manager of Customer Leadership in Sales & Marketing. In 2008, Scholl was promoted to director of Corporate Strategy at Textron Inc. Later in 2010, he moved to CWC, a division of Kautex, as director of Business Development. Scholl has a bachelor’s degree in Geological Sciences and Business Economics from Brown University and an MBA in Marketing Management from Ohio State University. He is an instrument rated private pilot and a certified Six Sigma Greenbelt.


Additional Information

This event’s menu features apple and cinnamon overnight oats; spinach, roast red bell peppers, goat cheese frittata with onion jam; turkey sausage; sweet potato hash with fresh thyme; apple streusel coffee cake; and seasonal fruit will also be provided. Coffee, hot tea, orange juice, and water will be served. There will be plates, cups, woodware, and napkins.  

We strive to host events that are inclusive and accessible to everyone. If you have a disability and require accommodations to fully participate in this activity, please reach out to Callia Téllez (tellez.13@osu.edu). Requests made five business days in advance will generally allow us to provide seamless access. However, we will make every effort to meet requests made after this time frame. You will be contacted by someone from our staff to discuss your specific needs. For the virtual audience, a closed captioning option via EPN’s YouTube live stream will be available, as well as other accommodations as requested on the registration.

Masks are optional for all event attendees at this event, in accordance with Ohio State’s Safe and Healthy Protocols as of this date. In-person attendees will be expected to follow Ohio State protocols regarding the prevention of COVID-19 transmission. More health and safety information available on this Personal Safety Practices page

This program will be livestreamed on the  EPN YouTube page. Additional information on livestream connections are available to those who register as a virtual participant for this event. 

EPN Breakfast Series

The Environmental Professionals Network hosts a monthly breakfast series with compelling speakers on important innovative topics at the Nationwide and Ohio Farm Bureau 4-H Center on Ohio State’s campus - open to all!