Dave Merrill is the co-founder and CEO of Elroy Air, a company dedicated to expanding the reach of express logistics with advanced vertical-takeoff-and-landing (VTOL) cargo aircraft systems. The company's first aircraft - the Chaparral - is designed for fully-automated flight and cargo-handling with lightweight modular containers, and will carry 250+ lbs of payload with a 300 mi range.Dave is a technology executive and startup founder with a background in computer science and robotic+interactive systems. Alumnus of MIT (Ph.D.) and Stanford Computer Science / Symbolic Systems (BS, MS), TED speaker, and experienced startup-builder. His work and companies have been featured by the Discovery Channel, Popular Science, Wired, TechCrunch, the New York Times, Forbes and Aviation Week.