John Langford (engineer)


Dr. John S. Langford is the Founder and CEO of Electra.aero, a startup developing hybrid electric aircraft for regional mobility. He was previously Founder, President, and C.E.O. of Aurora Flight Sciences. Langford founded Aurora Flight Sciences in 1989 in order to design and manufacture high altitude UAVs that could be used for global climate change research. In 2004, Langford received Virginia’s Outstanding Industrialist award for his contribution to business development in Virginia.

Education and career

Langford received his Ph.D. from MIT in the field of aeronautics and public policy. He also received Bachelor and Master of Science degrees in aeronautics and astronautics and a Master of Science in defense policy and arms control from MIT.
While he was a student at MIT, Langford managed the MIT Daedalus human powered aircraft project.
In April 2017, John Langford was elected President of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.