Aerospace Leaders in Virginia Beach and Coastal Virginia

Updated: 7 August 2026.

Virginia Beach is a useful starting point for an aerospace conversation, but the evidence points to a wider coastal Virginia system. Hampton, Norfolk, Wallops Island and the surrounding universities all contribute people, facilities and decisions that shape the region’s aerospace future.

This is a navigational list, not a ranking. It focuses on current role evidence, with a practical lens: who is helping research, testing, launch, autonomy, public infrastructure or workforce development move forward?

The people who build the system

1. Trina Dyal

Director, NASA Langley Research Center

Trina Dyal is the Director at NASA Langley Research Center. Leads NASA Langley and its civil servants and contractors across the centre’s aeronautics and space research mission. The role is a useful signal of how coastal Virginia’s aerospace system connects research, testing, launch, autonomy and workforce development.

2. Allen Kilgore

Deputy Director, NASA Langley Research Center

Allen Kilgore is the Deputy Director at NASA Langley Research Center. Helps lead the centre’s operations and research community alongside the Center Director. The role is a useful signal of how coastal Virginia’s aerospace system connects research, testing, launch, autonomy and workforce development.

3. Steve Gayle

Acting Associate Director, NASA Langley Research Center

Steve Gayle is the Acting Associate Director at NASA Langley Research Center. Provides current senior leadership within NASA Langley’s centre-wide structure. The role is a useful signal of how coastal Virginia’s aerospace system connects research, testing, launch, autonomy and workforce development.

4. H. Kevin Rivers

Associate Center Director, Technical, NASA Langley Research Center

H. Kevin Rivers is the Associate Center Director, Technical at NASA Langley Research Center. Provides technical leadership across NASA Langley’s research organisation. The role is a useful signal of how coastal Virginia’s aerospace system connects research, testing, launch, autonomy and workforce development.

5. Glenn Jamison

Director, Research Services and Chief of Flight Operations, NASA Langley Research Center

Glenn Jamison is the Director, Research Services and Chief of Flight Operations at NASA Langley Research Center. Connects research services with the flight operations capability that supports NASA Langley testing. The role is a useful signal of how coastal Virginia’s aerospace system connects research, testing, launch, autonomy and workforce development.

6. John Koelling

Director, Aeronautics Research, NASA Langley Research Center

John Koelling is the Director, Aeronautics Research at NASA Langley Research Center. Leads the centre’s aeronautics research portfolio and the teams working across flight and air-transport challenges. The role is a useful signal of how coastal Virginia’s aerospace system connects research, testing, launch, autonomy and workforce development.

7. Jill Prince

Acting Director, Research Directorate, NASA Langley Research Center

Jill Prince is the Acting Director, Research Directorate at NASA Langley Research Center. Provides current research-directorate leadership inside one of coastal Virginia’s largest aerospace institutions. The role is a useful signal of how coastal Virginia’s aerospace system connects research, testing, launch, autonomy and workforce development.

8. Michael Doty

Associate Director, Aerosciences, NASA Langley Research Center

Michael Doty is the Associate Director, Aerosciences at NASA Langley Research Center. Helps guide the aerosciences work that underpins aircraft, propulsion and flight research. The role is a useful signal of how coastal Virginia’s aerospace system connects research, testing, launch, autonomy and workforce development.

The people who move research into flight

9. Mark Guynn

Chief Engineer, Systems Analysis and Concepts Directorate, NASA Langley Research Center

Mark Guynn is the Chief Engineer, Systems Analysis and Concepts Directorate at NASA Langley Research Center. Leads systems-analysis and concept work that turns future aerospace questions into testable options. The role is a useful signal of how coastal Virginia’s aerospace system connects research, testing, launch, autonomy and workforce development.

10. Patricia Glaab

Branch Head, Aeronautics Systems Analysis, NASA Langley Research Center

Patricia Glaab is the Branch Head, Aeronautics Systems Analysis at NASA Langley Research Center. Leads analysis work on future aeronautics systems, including advanced air-mobility questions. The role is a useful signal of how coastal Virginia’s aerospace system connects research, testing, launch, autonomy and workforce development.

11. Nick Borer

Advanced Concepts Group Lead, NASA Langley Research Center

Nick Borer is the Advanced Concepts Group Lead at NASA Langley Research Center. Leads advanced concepts work on the future of aviation, airports and energy-aware aerospace systems. The role is a useful signal of how coastal Virginia’s aerospace system connects research, testing, launch, autonomy and workforce development.

12. Erik Axdahl

Aerospace Engineer, Vehicle Analysis Branch, NASA Langley Research Center

Erik Axdahl is the Aerospace Engineer, Vehicle Analysis Branch at NASA Langley Research Center. Works in vehicle analysis, a practical bridge between aerospace concepts and engineering decisions. The role is a useful signal of how coastal Virginia’s aerospace system connects research, testing, launch, autonomy and workforce development.

13. Elizabeth Lee-Rausch

Chief Engineer, AeroSciences Division, NASA Langley Research Center

Elizabeth Lee-Rausch is the Chief Engineer, AeroSciences Division at NASA Langley Research Center. A current chief-engineer role places her at the centre of aerosciences quality and technical direction. The role is a useful signal of how coastal Virginia’s aerospace system connects research, testing, launch, autonomy and workforce development.

14. Michael Patterson

Cross-Program Analysis and Strategy Lead, NASA Langley Research Center

Michael Patterson is the Cross-Program Analysis and Strategy Lead at NASA Langley Research Center. Works across aeronautics strategy, systems analysis and advanced air mobility research. The role is a useful signal of how coastal Virginia’s aerospace system connects research, testing, launch, autonomy and workforce development.

The people who connect launch, autonomy and place

15. David Pierce

Director, NASA Wallops Flight Facility

David Pierce is the Director at NASA Wallops Flight Facility. Leads Wallops, the coastal Virginia facility supporting research aircraft, uncrewed systems, balloons and rockets. The role is a useful signal of how coastal Virginia’s aerospace system connects research, testing, launch, autonomy and workforce development.

16. Kurt Eberly

Space Launch Director, Northrop Grumman

Kurt Eberly is the Space Launch Director at Northrop Grumman. Leads launch work tied to Northrop Grumman’s Virginia launch heritage and the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport. The role is a useful signal of how coastal Virginia’s aerospace system connects research, testing, launch, autonomy and workforce development.

17. Yiannis Papelis

Chief Technology Officer, Office of Enterprise Research and Innovation, and Executive Director, Virginia Institute for Spaceflight and Autonomy, Old Dominion University

Yiannis Papelis is the Chief Technology Officer for Old Dominion University’s Office of Enterprise Research and Innovation and Executive Director of the Virginia Institute for Spaceflight and Autonomy. Connects university research, autonomy and spaceflight across Hampton Roads. The role is a useful signal of how coastal Virginia’s aerospace system connects research, testing, launch, autonomy and workforce development.

18. Marwan Al-Haik

Batten Chair of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Old Dominion University

Marwan Al-Haik is the Batten Chair of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Old Dominion University. Leads the department that develops the region’s mechanical and aerospace engineering talent. The role is a useful signal of how coastal Virginia’s aerospace system connects research, testing, launch, autonomy and workforce development.

19. Tom Walker

Founder and Chief Executive Officer, DroneUp

Tom Walker is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer at DroneUp. Leads a Virginia Beach company focused on scaling drone services and the systems around them. The role is a useful signal of how coastal Virginia’s aerospace system connects research, testing, launch, autonomy and workforce development.

20. John Vernon

Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer, DroneUp

John Vernon is the Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer at DroneUp. Shapes the technology direction behind DroneUp’s Virginia Beach-based autonomy and drone-services work. The role is a useful signal of how coastal Virginia’s aerospace system connects research, testing, launch, autonomy and workforce development.

21. Roosevelt Mercer

CEO and Executive Director, Virginia Spaceport Authority

Roosevelt Mercer is the CEO and Executive Director of the Virginia Spaceport Authority. Leads the public authority behind Virginia’s commercial spaceflight and Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport activity. The role is a useful signal of how coastal Virginia’s aerospace system connects research, testing, launch, autonomy and workforce development.

22. Duane Fotheringham

President, Unmanned Systems, HII

Duane Fotheringham is the President, Unmanned Systems at HII. Leads HII’s unmanned-systems business, with a major regional presence in Hampton Roads. The role is a useful signal of how coastal Virginia’s aerospace system connects research, testing, launch, autonomy and workforce development.

How to use this list

The strongest starting point is not the most famous name. It is the person whose current role sits closest to the work you need to understand, support or change. Use this list as a map, then follow the institutions and collaborations around that work.

For a practical way to think about how people contribute to complex work, read Working Genius FAQ: 100 Questions Answered. If your organisation needs help turning a strategic challenge into action, see 50 Keys to Hiring a Strategy Leadership Consultant.

If this list helps you see your own leadership challenge more clearly, get in touch with Jonno White by email. The best leadership work is practical rather than motivational: something people can use on Monday morning, not a feeling that fades by Friday.