Jan. 13—FORT WALTON BEACH — A local entrepreneur with extensive expertise in aviation-related technology and a commitment to science and engineering education has been appointed to the Federal Aviation Administration's Drone Advisory Committee.
Paul Hsu, founder and chairman of the HSU Educational Foundation in Fort Walton Beach, was appointed to the committee by former U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao. His appointment was announced three days before Chao's Monday resignation became effective.
" The Drone Advisory Committee (DAC) is key to helping the FAA keep pace with innovation while protecting safety," Chao said in a news release announcing the appointment of Hsu and 11 other people to the committee.
The DAC is a broad-based, long-term federal advisory committee whose members provide the FAA with advice on safely integrating unmanned aerial systems (UAS, a technical term covering the wide variety of drones now in use) into the nation's airspace.
More specifically, the DAC works to identify challenges in integrating UAS into U.S. airspace and prioritizing improvements connected with those integration efforts.
Hsu joins the other executives on the DAC who represent a variety of interests connected to UAS integration efforts, including industry, academia, retail, technology and state and local governments, according to the FAA announcement of the latest appointments to the group.
"As the UAS industry continues to evolve, it is important to have DAC members who mirror the many facets of this fast-growing industry," FAA Administrator Steve Dickson said in the news release. "We know the members will help the FAA ensure the highest level of safety while keeping pace with the new and innovative technology for UAS."
Hsu will be one of up to 35 members allowed under the DAC charter. He will serve a two-year term on the committee.
Looking toward his service on the committee, Hsu stressed the need for ensuring safety in airspace system which mixes UAS with commercial air traffic.
"Most important is safety for our national airspace system," Hsu said. "... We just have to be smart."
Beyond that, and focusing locally, Hsu said he sees UAS as an important part of the economic future of Northwest Florida. He estimates that the UAS sector will comprise 30% to 40% of the aerospace industry in the next 10 years.
"We need to be part of this growing industry," he said.
Hsu will join recently named committee members Seleta Reynolds, general manager of the Los Angeles Department of Transportation; Matt Parker, president of Precision Integrated Programs, part of the broad-based aviation firm Precision; Molly Wilkinson, vice president of regulatory affairs for American Airlines; Brad Hayden, founder and CEO of Robotic Skies; David Carbon, vice president and general manager of Amazon Prime Air; Adam Bry, CEO of Skydio, an autonomous air services firm; Kenji Sugahara, president of the Drone Service Providers Alliance; Brandon Torres Declet, CEO of MEASURE, an aerial intelligence company; Jaiwon Shin, CEO of Genesis Air Mobility; Catherine Cahill, director of the Alaska Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration; and Vic Moss, owner of Moss Photography, a Colorado-based aerial photography company.
The DAC is chaired by Michael Chasen, advisory board chairman for PrecisionHawk USA, a North Carolina-headquartered drone and data company.
Hsu's appointment to the DAC won't be the first time he's been selected to serve the federal government. In 2019, he was appointed as a co-chairman of President Donald Trump's Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
Twelve years before that appointment, Hsu served as a full-time associate administrator in government contracting under then-President George W. Bush.
Locally, Hsu is known as the founder of the Crestview Technology Air Park and also as founder of Manufacturing Technology Inc., which serves the U.S. Department of Defense with electronics fitted for aviation as well as battlefield electronics.
Hsu also founded Total Parts Plus Inc., an Internet-based data content company providing electronic component obsolescence management and engineering services, and ActiGraph, LLC, an electronic medical device manufacturer.
Outside of the world of business, Hsu founded the nonprofit HSU Educational Foundation. The organization empowers teaching excellence in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, and offers scholarships and other support for programs "that encourage entrepreneurship, leadership, career technical training, and cultural enrichment," according to the foundation's website.
Amanda Negron, executive director of the HSU Educational Foundation, issued this statement in connection with Hsu's appointment to the committee: "Dr. Paul Hsu's selection and willingness to serve on the FAA's Drone Advisory Committee underscores our mission for encouraging innovation and STEM workforce development while building airport communities that foster expansion of UAS and aerospace in the Northwest Florida region.
"Through his representative advising capacity and the development of the HSU UAS Center of Excellence, the HSU Educational Foundation is dedicated to helping safely and efficiently progress the integration of UAS into the national airspace."
The Drone Advisory Committee's mission to integrate UAS into the nation's airspace is particularly important for Northwest Florida, where military aviation, commercial aviation and private aviation combine to create significant and varied air traffic in what often can be particularly crowded airspace.
The announcement of the committee members comes just days after Trump signed into law the Drone Advisory Committee for the 21st Century Act.
The act is aimed in part at assuring that the increasing use of drones in agriculture and forestry is addressed, and that the "inherently different uses (of UAS) in less populated parts of the nation" also are considered.
To that end, the new law requires that the DAC "should, to the extent practicable, include direct representatives from county and tribal government, agriculture, forestry, and rangeland interests."
Also with regard to committee membership, the new law directs that to "the maximum extent practicable, the Administrator (of the FAA) shall include public participation in the process of nominating individuals for membership on the Committee."
The new law also strongly suggests that the FAA take steps to ensure "full transparency" in the committee's work.
Specifically, the law directs that the FAA administrator "should, to the maximum extent practicable, ensure the work of the Drone Advisory Committee is shared with and easily accessible to the public and shall ensure transparency and openness in the manner in which the affairs of the Committee are conducted."
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