One of the Navy's first female fighter pilots, Mary (Missy) Cummings, will be presenting her lecture on Drones: A tipping point of technology at the College of Engineering's Distinguished Lecture Series at the University of Nevada, Reno.

"I am looking forward to talking about the future of drones and unmanned aerial vehicles at University of Nevada, Reno especially since Nevada has played such an important role in advancing both aerial and ground robotics for the future," Cummings said.

After graduating from the US Naval Academy in 1988, Cummings became one of the Navy's first female fighter pilots in the United States. She later went on to earn her master's degree in Space Systems Engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School in 1994 and her doctorate degree from the University of Virginia in Systems Engineering in 2004. She is an associate professor at Duke University in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Sciences.

During the lecture she will talk about her research which focuses on human and unmanned vehicle interaction, human-autonomous system collaboration, public policy implications of unmanned vehicles as well as the ethical and social impact of these new technologies.

The event will be held in the Ballroom on the fourth floor of the Joe Crowley Student Union Oct. 18. It will begin with a poster session and refreshments which will start at 5 p.m. and the lecture will begin at 6 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. Attendants should RSVP to the event prior to Oct. 13.

To RSVP to the event, email engineering@unr.edu or call (775) 784-6925. For more information, visit http://www.unr.edu/engineering.