Arlington, Va. - The Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) announced that Lt. Gen Rick Lynch (U.S. Army, ret.) and Insitu's Paul McDuffee have joined AUVSI's Board of Directors.
McDuffee, commercial business development executive with Insitu, Inc., will sit on the board through 2012. Lt. Gen Lynch will sit on the board until 2014.
“We are grateful to the continuing dedication of our members to help take AUVSI to the next level and meet the needs of this growing, ever changing industry,” said AUVSI President & CEO Michael Toscano. “The AUVSI staff and rest of the Board of Directors look forward to working with Paul and Rick to meet the challenges and opportunities available to the unmanned systems and robotics industry.”
About Paul McDuffee:
Paul McDuffee joined Insitu in 2006 after a 30-year career in higher education working with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. McDuffee was responsible for all flight training operations at Embry-Riddle as Flight Department chair, tenured professor, and ultimately vice president of Aviation Training.
McDuffee was recruited by Insitu to design and implement its first formal UAS training program for the ScanEagle and has since taken over the role of principal interface with the Federal Aviation Administration and others interested in carving a path toward commercial viability of unmanned aircraft systems.
McDuffee recently served as a member of the FAA’s Small UAS Aviation Rulemaking Committee and is currently a member of the new UAS Rulemaking Committee providing FAA with recommendations for full integration of all UAS into the national airspace. McDuffee also serves as a resource to ASTM’s F-38 Committee tasked with developing consensus standards for small unmanned systems.
McDuffee is vice-chair of AUVSI’s UAS Advocacy Committee. He is an experienced pilot, airplane owner and flight instructor holding an Airline Transport Pilot Certificate with jet type ratings and has logged more than 7,000 flight hours. He holds a bachelor’s and master of science degree in Aeronautical Science from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
About Lt. Gen. Rick Lynch:
Lt. Gen. Rick Lynch graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1977 and was commissioned as a Regular Army engineer officer. As an engineer he commanded both a combat engineer company and a mobile assault bridge company. Lynch later branch transferred to armor. As an armor field grade officer he was assigned to the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment where he served as S3 (Operations) officer for the 1st Squadron and later as the regimental executive officer. Lynch commanded the 1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment (Mustangs), 1ST Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.
Upon graduation from the United States Army War College, he commanded the 1st “Raider” Brigade of the 4th Infantry Division (Mechanized). After brigade command he was assigned to the joint advanced warfighting program (Joint Staff) where he worked joint concept development and joint experimentation. Lynch attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he obtained a master’s degree in mechanical engineering focusing on robotics. He used that education as the robotics project officer in the Directorate of Combat Development at the Armor Center and later as the Armor Center’s chief of Force Development.
Lynch’s flag assignments include assistant division commander (Support), 4th Infantry Division (Mechanized), Fort Hood and assistant chief of staff for operations, later chief of staff, Kosovo Force (KFOR). He also served as the deputy chief of staff for operations at Allied Joint Forces Command-Naples. While in this NATO command, Lynch commanded the Deployable Joint Task Force (DJTF) of the NATO Response Force. Prior to assuming command of the 3rd Infantry Division, Lynch was the deputy chief of staff for strategic effects for the Multi-National Force Iraq (MNF-I) and the MNF-I spokesman.
Lynch assumed command of the Marne Division and Fort Stewart/Hunter Army Airfield on 13 June, 2006. The Division Headquarters and subordinate brigade combat teams deployed to Iraq in early 2007, where he assumed command of the Multi-National Division Center in Baghdad, Iraq, on 1 April, 2007. Upon his return from Iraq, Lynch commanded III Corps and Fort Hood, from July 2008 to September 2009. Lynch commanded the U.S. Army’s Installation Management Command and was the assistant chief of staff for installation management (ACSIM) from November 2009 to November 2010. He retired from active duty on 1 Jan., 2012.
About AUVSI:The Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) is the world's largest non-profit organization devoted exclusively to advancing the unmanned systems and robotics community. AUVSI’s 7,000 members worldwide come from government organizations, industry and academia. AUVSI is committed to fostering, developing, and promoting unmanned systems and robotic technologies. www.auvsi.org
