JoeBen Bevirt

JoeBen Bevirt is an American serial entrepreneur and the founder and CEO of Joby Aviation, a California-based aerospace company. He is the recipient of the 2018 Haueter Award and holds more than 160 U.S. patents in aerodynamics, aircraft design, electric and hydrogen propulsion.[1]

Early life and education

Bevirt was born to Paula Fry and Ron Bevirt. He was raised in Last Chance, California. His name was inspired by a character JoeBen in his family friend Ken Kesey’s novel.[2]

Bevirt graduated from Santa Cruz High School in 1991.[3] He holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from University of California, Davis and a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University.[4][5]

Career

Bevirt had been interested in engineering since his childhood and built one of the world’s first full-suspension mountain bikes while at high school.[6] He co-founded Velocity11 in 1999 to develop robotic laboratory systems for life sciences discovery. The company was later acquired by Agilent Technologies in 2007.[5]

In 2006, Bevirt founded Joby Inc., a consumer products company that developed the notable Gorillapod flexible camera tripod.[5][7] Bevirt also started Joby Energy with a focus on airborne wind turbines.[8]

In 2009, he founded Joby Aviation, a company pioneering the development of all-electric aircraft that can take off and land vertically, while cruising like a traditional airplane.[9][6] In 2020, his company received a signed G-1 Certification Basis from the FAA and airworthiness certification from the US Air Force.[10][11] On August 11th 2021, the company began trading on the New York Stock Exchange, making Bevirt the world’s first eVTOL billionaire according to media reports.[2]

During the COVID19 pandemic, Bevirt worked with the genetics team at the University of California Santa Cruz to launch SummerBio, a company that provides affordable PCR tests with fast turnaround and high accuracy.[6]

In March 2022, Bevirt was invited to testify before the United States House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee during a hearing addressing concerns around aviation noise.[12]

Achievements

In 2018, Bevirt was announced as one of UC Davis’ ‘Most Distinguished Alumni’.[13] He was also the 2018 recipient of the Paul. E. Haueter Award, presented by the Vertical Flight Society to recognize outstanding technical contributions to the field of vertical flight.[14]

Personal life

Bevirt lives in Santa Cruz with his wife, Jenny, and four children.[6]

References
  1. "JoeBen Bevirt Inventions and Patents". patents.justia.com.
  2. Bogaisky, Jeremy (August 24, 2021). "Electric Aviation Launches Its First Billionaire: Joby Founder JoeBen Bevirt". Forbes.
  3. Hoge, Patrick (May 22, 2009). "Inveterate inventor JoeBen Bevirt makes good". San Francisco Business Journal.
  4. Szeto, Leon (1 October 2018). "Alumni Spotlight: JoeBen Bevirt, '95". College of Engineering.
  5. Staff (July 26, 2021). "The Path Forward: Transportation & Innovation with JoeBen Bevirt & Reid Hoffman". Washington Post.
  6. Bobrow, Emily (9 July 2021). "JoeBen Bevirt Is Bringing Flying Taxis from Sci-Fi to Reality". Wall Street Journal.
  7. Kava, Brad (9 September 2015). "Our Big Ideas". Good Times.
  8. Wesoff, Eric (April 16, 2010). "Joby Energy: The Tale of a High-Flying Entrepreneur". www.greentechmedia.com.
  9. Jr, Tom Huddleston (7 March 2021). "Joby Aviation is going public at a $6.6 billion valuation — take a look at its electric air taxi". CNBC.
  10. Garrett-Glaser, Brian (February 9, 2021). "Joby Aviation established certification basis with FAA last year, company reveals". evtol.com.
  11. General, John (October 14, 2021). "It's both a helicopter and a plane. Joby says this is the future of flying". CNN.
  12. "Aviation Noise: Measuring Progress in Addressing Community Concerns". transportation.house.gov. March 17, 2022.
  13. "College Announces 2018 Distinguished Engineering Alumni Recipients". College of Engineering. 1 October 2018.
  14. "VFS - Vertical Flight Society Award Winners". vtol.org.
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