Todd Citron on aircraft design
From Boeing Fireside Chat (Forum 360) · · AIAA
“We have been doing just that. So, we have investments and collaborations with for example NASA on various configurations including the transonic trussed wing configuration. We've done work on blended wing body. You know, we feel it's really important that we understand these potential approaches, these potential technologies and what their performance is. And I think some of the challenges goes back to a little bit of what Don was saying is you could look at some of these ideas in isolation and they can look promising, but to know whether they're really going to have a net benefit, it's really critical to look at the integrated system.”
On , Todd Citron, Chief Technology Officer, Vice President and GM of Boeing Research & Technology at Boeing, spoke about aircraft design during Boeing Fireside Chat (Forum 360) on AIAA.
About Todd Citron
Todd Citron, Boeing's Chief Technology Officer, discussed the company's technology strategy and safety approach during a January 2026 fireside chat. He said Boeing is working to embed human-focused engineering design in commercial aircraft by partnering with universities to layer real-world certification examples onto academic safety analysis. Citron noted that about a third of Boeing's demonstrated technologies appear on real products, citing the natural laminar flow winglet tested in 2012 that led to the split winglet on the 737 Max, which he said provides a 2% efficiency improvement per aircraft. He also called for collaboration among regulators, oil and gas companies, and OEMs to advance sustainable aviation fuel, and described end-to-end optimization with real-time data as a potential source of 10% fuel efficiency gains. In May 2025, Citron participated in a podcast discussing the "Art of Business" program, which provides financial education and mentorship to student-athletes and musicians in Lafayette, Louisiana. He said that with the existence of name, image, and likeness (NIL) programs, student-athletes should be treated as small businesses requiring community investment)Skip. Citron expressed skepticism about simply giving athletes money without education, stating that programs like "Art of Business" could help athletes avoid financial missteps.