Captain Robert E. Lynch, FRAeS is a graduate of the Air Force Aviation Cadet program and served 6-1/2 years as an officer in the US Air Force in B-52 aircraft. There he received two "spot" promotions to the next higher rank for outstanding service as a member of a Strategic Air Command (SAC) combat crew and Instructor/Evaluator on the SAC Standardization Evaluation Board.

Captain Lynch joined United Airlines in 1965 where he completed a 30-year career, serving as a line Captain qualified in both narrow-body and wide-body aircraft in both domestic and international operations. He served as a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Line Check Airman as well. Captain Lynch also holds type ratings in corporate jet aircraft and has logged several thousand hours in general aviation aircraft.

Captain Lynch served as Chairman of both the United Airlines Pilot's Professional Standards program and the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) National Professional Standards program. He authored both the Professional Standards program procedures and training syllabus documents that are the basis for current-day programs employed by virtually all US airlines. He also served as a member of other national-level safety and human factors committees.

Upon retirement from United Airlines in 1995, Captain Lynch joined Battelle Memorial Institute as a Senior Consultant and was appointed Project Manager of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Aviation Performance Measuring System research program. This program is tasked with developing next-generation technology for airline flight safety programs.

Captain Lynch has been instrumental in focusing the national & international aviation industry on development of new methodologies to assist with aviation risk management. Under Captain Lynch's direction, this NASA program has developed, prototyped, demonstrated, and patented a substantial number of new flight data analysis tools, many of which have now become a normal part of airline flight safety programs worldwide. His duties in this position include both day-to-day management of the research program and collaborative interface with US & European airlines, aircraft manufacturers including Boeing & Airbus, vendors of flight safety analysis programs, and numerous government agencies in the US and abroad.

Captain Lynch also served with the NASA Space Shuttle Cockpit Council, assisting in the redesign and upgrade of Space Shuttle cockpit instrumentation. He has completed systems training on the Space Shuttle and has flown the Shuttle simulators at both Johnson Space Center and NASA Ames Research Center.

Captain Lynch has received numerous aviation industry awards including Achievement Awards from United Airlines, the Air Line Pilots Association, and NASA. He is also a Fellow at the Royal Aeronautical Society in London and, accordingly, is entitled to use the abbreviation FRAeS after his name.