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Todd Reichert    

Aerospace Engineer & Co-founder of AeroVelo Inc.; Earned Human-Powered Landspeed Record with AeroVelo Speedbike

Todd Reichert spends his time pushing the limits of human potential, and is the muscle behind Aerovelo's human-powered vehicles. His projects have taken him from human-powered helicopters to aerodynamic bicycles capable of reaching speeds of over 77 mph. He is driven by a desire to tackle problems that are out of the ordinary and is fearless in his pursuit of breaking engineering and physical boundaries. His journey has led to a unique understanding of what it takes to tackle the impossible.

With his business partner Cameron, Reichert founded AeroVelo Inc. in 2012 as a platform for taking on high-profile, thought-provoking and seemingly impossible engineering challenges. AeroVelo’s focus on human-powered vehicles is meant to inspire, demonstrating the untapped potential of the human mind and body. It is also meant to demonstrate what can be achieved on a small and highly-limited amount of energy. Well-chosen design constraints breed unique and creative ideas, leading to innovation and transformative solutions.

Aerovelo has challenged him to take his athleticism to another level. With an output of 1 horsepower for 1 minute, Reichert's legs have powered the flights of the world's first human-powered ornithopter (Snowbird) in 2010, resulting in a massive international following and accolades that include Canada’s top aviation honor: the Trans-Canada McKee Trophy. Shortly thereafter Reichert sought to tackle the AHS Sikorsky Prize in 2013 by powering the human-powered helicopter Atlas to reach an altitude of 3 metres and stay aloft for 60 seconds. In only 18 months the team achieved what many had thought to be impossible, bringing home the $250,000 prize that had remained untouched for over 33 years. Reichert also broke the human-powered landspeed record, earning the title of World's Fastest Human by travelling an incredible 89.59 mph in the Aerovelo-designed Eta speedbike.

These projects and achievements have been featured in Wired, Popular Science, Air & Space and Explore Magazine; on Mythbusters, Daily Planet and National Geographic; on world-wide television and print media including the New York Times, as well as being the subject of a full-length documentary on the Documentary Channel.

Earning his PhD in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Toronto, Reichert’s specialty also lies in the aerodynamic design of both aircraft and streamlined land-vehicles, with a specific interest in blending the functional and the beautiful.

Speech Topics


Do More with Less

Todd's talks center on the common themes of "Doing more with Less" and making the impossible possible.

The Aerovelo story includes lessons on rethinking old problems, and how failure is a critical part of the process. We've all heard that failure is a part of success, but that's an incomplete picture. The real lesson is that the cost of failure become exponentially greater the further into the innovation process you go.

Challenging the Impossible

Whether technological or personal, challenge is the driving force behind discovery. Yet we are so quick to shy away from a challenge, often dismissively categorizing it as impossible. Cameron and Todd use their journey through a variety of historical engineering achievements as a case study in taking on the impossible. In isolating four key ingredients of innovation, Todd describes how we can get past the assumptions and constraints that narrow our vision, and how we can prepare ourselves to take on creative endeavors and difficult challenges.

News


Interview with Todd Reichert, the mastermind behind Beta Foils
We meet with Todd Reichert in Switzerland at Indiana’s Headquarters and get the chance to try out the Beta Foils.

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