Waleed Said

Wide deployment of aircraft electric propulsion for commercial use is at the cusp of being finally realized thanks to continuous breakthroughs and advancements in electronics, materials sciences and smart algorithms enabling high density storage devices and systems to operate at the highest efficiency possible.  A number of platforms are in the design phase to produce all electric or hybrid electric airplanes by early to mid-2020’s. One common denominator amongst these trail blazers is the relatively small size and short flight distances compared to conventional jet engines. The current Zunum airplane design, for example is a 12 seat 500-700 miles platform with a powertrain rating of 1MW. The discussion will describe the Zunum ZA-10 airplane and the technologies and economies that are driving the Zunum engineers to innovate to make this airplane a reality.

Biography:

Waleed Said is Chief Technology Officer of Power at Zunum Aero. He joined Zunum after a distinguished history of technical leadership at UTC Aerospace Systems where he was developing electrical systems for a range of commercial and military aircraft. His experience spans systems engineering, motor drives, power conversion and distribution for both AC and high voltage DC, across development, production, delivery and field performance.  As a Senior Fellow and Discipline Lead of Electronics at UTAS, Waleed was heavily involved in the development of power electronics and control systems for many highly electrified airplanes such as Boeing 787 and the LM F35. Waleed has a Master degree and a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Loughborough University. When not occupied with building a new era of aircraft propulsion, Waleed strives to learn new things, runs or bikes on wooded trails.