November 16, 2016 Program:  Lt. Col. (Ret) Warren Rapp | Drones and Their Evolving Applications

LtCol(ret) Warren Rapp recently retired from the military after serving for over 26 years.  He started off his career as a Marine Pilot for ten years, then switched to the Nevada Air Guard for the last 16 years.  He flew helicopters, fixed wing aircraft, C-130's for then Nevada Air Guard, and finally flying unmanned aircraft at Creech AFB in Southern Nevada. 

Highlights in LtCol Rapp's career include being a flight instructor in Navy Flight School, serving on Governor Sandoval's committee for UAS economic development for Nevada, acting as a UAV military technologyadvisor, and finally serving as the Commander of the 232nd Operations Squadron at Creech Air Force Base from 2008-2014.  Upon retirement, LtCol(ret) Rapp accepted a position with the Nevada Institute for Unmanned Systems(NIAS), and was tasked with setting up FAA UAV testing operations in Northern Nevada. 

In September of 2014, LtCol Rapp(ret) was selected as the new Business Director for the University of Nevada Reno’s Advanced Autonomous Systems Innovation Center(NAASIC).  This center targets local, State, and International business collaborations in the exploitation of Advanced Autonomous Systems involvingRobotics, UAV’s, and Advanced Manufacturing.  

Lieutenant Colonel Rapp was born in Clovis, New Mexico in 1967, but considers himself a local as he attended Roy GommElementary School, Swope Middle School, and graduated from Reno High School in 1985. LtCol Rapp attended Brigham Young University on a Soccer Athletic Scholarship from 1985-1990.  Rapp's family lineage dates back to the late 1940's in Nevada, and he proudly boasts his parents were married in Hawthorne in 1956.  He is currently married to his wife Kim, along with their four children, Jared, Brandon, McKenzie and Alexis.