John-Paul Clarke
NAC Member
Contents
Experience
John-Paul Clarke is a professor of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics at The University of Texas at Austin, where he holds the Ernest Cockrell Jr. Memorial Chair in Engineering. Previously, he was a faculty member at the Georgia Institute of Technology and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT); Vice President of Strategic Technologies at United Technologies Corporation (now Raytheon); and a researcher at Boeing and NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).
Prof. Clarke is an expert in the development and use of stochastic models and optimization algorithms to improve the efficiency and robustness of complex systems, with a particular focus on aviation. For example, his work led to the development of the world’s first fully autopilot-coupled continuous descent arrival procedure to be used in daily operations; airline schedules that are “robust” to poor weather and/or aircraft failures; and a state-of-the art algorithm to maximize the likelihood of success for a portfolio of research and development projects (or financial assets) with uncertain future performance and schedule.
Throughout his academic career, Prof. Clarke has consulted extensively and co-founded multiple companies. His two most recent companies are: Pace Revenue Management – a London-based company that utilizes state-of-the-art machine learning algorithms to estimate the demand for and set the optimal price of perishable goods; and Universal Hydrogen – a company dedicated to the decarbonization of aviation via a novel low capital expenditure hydrogen supply and distribution system. In addition to being the Deputy Chair of the Board of Directors of Cayman Airways Limited, he is also a member of the Boards of Directors of Universal Hydrogen Co., Proven Investments Limited, and Indigo Insurance Ltd.
Education
Dr. Clarke received the S.B., S.M., and Sc.D. degrees from MIT in 1991, 1992, and 1997, respectively. He is a Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) and the Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS) and is a member of the Airline Group of the International Federation of Operational Research Societies (AGIFORS), the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS), and Sigma Xi. His prior honors include the 2003 Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Excellence in Aviation Award, the 2006 National Academy of Engineering Gilbreth Lectureship, and the 2012 AIAA/SAE William Littlewood Lectureship, and the 2015 SAE Environmental Excellence in Transportation Award.