PATRICK SHERMAN

Patrick Sherman has been flying drones since 2010, amassing a depth of experience uncommon in such a young industry. He has conducted extensive flight operations alongside firefighters and other first responders and, beginning in 2012, he performed pioneering work using drones equipped with thermal imaging cameras through a partnership with FLIR.

He has also used drones to conduct other ground-breaking missions, including: habitat restoration for native fish and wind turbine inspections. Owing to his expertise in testing and demonstrating drone technology, he was invited to Shenzhen, China in 2016 to assess innovative new systems currently under development.

Patrick is an internationally recognized expert in the drone community: the author of more than 100 published articles that have appeared in magazines including Drone360, RotorDrone, Drones, Model Aviation and Drone in the UK. He is a founding member of the Academy of Model Aeronautics sUAS Task Force, the Oregon State Legislature's Drone Working Group and the AUVSI Cascade Chapter Board of Directors.

A top-rated speaker and instructor, Sherman has taught classes and spoken at events across the United States, including: the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), InterDrone, AUVSI Xponential, the Drone World Expo, Drones Data X, the Drone User Group Network National Conference, the International Drone Expo, AMA Expo West, and the Cleveland National Air Show, as well as the Drones Oman conference in Muscat earlier this year.

He was selected to host the online coverage of the first-ever US National Drone Racing Championship, organized by Drone Sports Association and organized and hosted a national contest to inspire students to study STEM subjects using drones.

Patrick is known to fans worldwide as “Lucidity,” the public face of the popular Roswell Flight Test Crew YouTube channel, which has more than 22,000 subscribers and 4.3 million video views. Sharing their adventures online since 2011, the crew promotes the safe, beneficial and non-intrusive use of drone technology, providing real-world demonstrations in applications such as public safety, industrial inspection and scientific research. In recognition of their standing in the industry, the crew receives sponsorship from FLIR, the AMA and SOAR Oregon, among other supporters.

A master scuba instructor and licensed private pilot, he holds an undergraduate degree summa cum laude from the University of Southern California in sociology and English, as well as an MBA with honors from Willamette University. He also holds a Part 107 Remote Pilot In Command certification.