2010 Member of the Year - Joe Gibbs, Northwest UAV Propulsion Systems/AUVSI Cascades Chapter
This award recognizes an exceptionally dedicated AUVSI member who has made a significant contribution to the goals and objectives of AUVSI. Whether through industry innovation or member recruitment, the recipient has demonstrated his/her commitment to advancing unmanned systems through the promotion of AUVSI’s member services to the unmanned systems community.
Joe Gibbs is responsible for uniting the unmanned system industry in Washington and Oregon states in order to create the Cascade Chapter of AUVSI in September of 2009. As president of this chapter over the last 8 months, he has already made it successful through several in-person chapter meetings in both Portland and Seattle. Attendance at some of these events has topped 150 people, resulting in increased corporate and individual AUVSI membership and participation.
He worked with Federal and local governments in both the US and Canada and brought together academia and industry to organize an unmanned systems technology cluster aimed at improving education and creating jobs. His recent efforts have focused on educating the local industry on civilian robotics/unmanned systems applications that include agriculture, healthcare and environmental protection. As business development manager for Northwest UAV Propulsion systems, he has worked tirelessly to advance the UV industry while supporting AUVSI through participation including sponsorship, exhibits, membership and Chapter activities.